HSPMC: Training Guide-Individualizing: A Plan for Success (Module 2)

Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community:
Individualizing: A Plan for Success
Module 2

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Creating Essential Partnerships--Families and Staff Working Together

In this module, participants will gain an understanding of the family's role in child development and how important it is to include the family in any plans for the child. Participants will also learn strategies to help them build positive relationships with families.
Outcomes
As a result of completing this module, participants will be able to:

Build strong partnerships with individual families based on mutual respect and trust and the understanding that working together encourages the child's development

Plan and implement individualized strategies for encouraging ongoing communication between staff and families to share information about each child's health status, culture, home language, skills, needs, strengths, interests, and past and current experiences at home, at the center, at an FCC home, and/or during group socialization sessions

Collaborate with parents to use shared information while encouraging a child's development at home and in Head Start settings

Key Concepts

Families are truly their children's primary educators. They have known their children since birth and will have lifelong relationships with them.

Families and Head Start staff have different perspectives about a child. Combining their information creates a more complete picture of the child's health status, culture, home language, interests, skills, needs, abilities, likes and dislikes, personality, temperament, and how the child's development is influenced by his or her family and culture.

Head Start staff take the lead in creating and maintaining systems that encourage ongoing communication with families.

Head Start staff use an individualized approach to sharing information with families by offering a variety of communication strategies that respond to each family's unique characteristics.
Background Information
A partnership is a cooperative relationship among two or more people that is based on shared goals, rights, and responsibilities. Partnerships are most successful when the partners respect and trust each other. This means that partners have confidence in each other and realize that working together is beneficial to all. When Head Start families and staff develop strong partnerships based on mutual trust and respect, there are benefits for families, staff, and children, such as:
Family members learn more about their children and consequently strengthen their parenting skills. Feelings of competence may lead them to set and pursue new goals for personal, educational, and professional growth.
Staff also learn more about the children. They feel more competent because sharing information and strategies with families helps staff respond to each child as an individual.
Children feel more secure knowing that both their families and Head Start staff can keep them safe and help them learn at home and in Head Start settings. They are proud of their family's involvement.
Families and Staff Working Together
Families play an essential role in an individualized child development program when they work in partnership with staff in each step of The Individualizing Cycle. To help staff get to know their child, family members share information about the child's health and developmental history; likes and dislikes; special interests; home language; culture, family values, and traditions; and relationships with other family members. Each family also works with staff to implement the program's curriculum by setting goals and planning individualized strategies for encouraging the child's growth and development. As staff and the family use these strategies at home, at the center, and/or during group socialization sessions, they collect information about the child's activities. During home visits and conferences, staff and the family share this information and review the child's progress. They set new goals and plan new individualized strategies tailored to respond to the child's changing characteristics.
Individualized Partnerships
Just as children have unique characteristics, so do Head Start families. They represent great diversity in culture, language, composition, traditions, and past and current life experiences. Because of these differences, the strategies that staff use to build a partnership with one family may be inappropriate for another. For example, staff may have frequent contacts with a teenage parent and her mother who live together, participate in home visits, and attend group socialization sessions. Sharing information with this family is likely to be a natural, ongoing occurrence. On the other hand, staff may have few opportunities for face-to-face communication with a single mother who attends a full-time employment training program and is raising her child alone. To build a partnership with this mother, staff could write brief notes or make regular phone calls. Staff might arrange to meet with her in the evening or at other times when she is not in training to let her know that her input is valued even though she is unable to volunteer in the classroom.
When staff cannot communicate in a family's home language, extra attention is needed to make sure written and verbal messages are understood. Although it may be difficult when numerous languages are represented in a program, every effort should be made to offer written materials in the languages of enrolled families. When needed, the program should seek the assistance of an interpreter who understands a family's language and culture.
Respecting Each Family's Culture
Strong partnerships between Head Start staff and families are culturally responsive. As outlined in the Multicultural Principles for Head Start Programs and incorporated throughout the Head Start Program Performance Standards, all families have a culture that defines their approach to the world. Culture may also determine beliefs about education, guidance, play, and learning and can govern the way people interact.
Staff need to learn from families and other credible sources which communication and interaction practices are typical of a family's culture. For example, in many cultures, sitting three feet away from parents during home visits is an ideal distance for having a personal, but not intrusive, conversation. Other cultures may consider this too close or too distant. Other elements of interactions such as eye contact, tone of voice, and response times to questions are also influenced by cultural values. To illustrate, in many cultures it is appropriate to answer a question as soon as it is asked. However, in some Native American and Asian cultures, it is more respectful to reflect on a question and consider what one wants to say before replying.
Culture also influences the planning of an individualized program. The family's attitudes toward play, academic skills, discipline, and food may be rooted in culture. When staff understand the cultural basis for a family's beliefs, they can respect the family's point of view and more effectively plan with them for the child's Head Start experiences.
In some cultures, the teacher is seen as someone who always knows best. Respect for Head Start staff may be so great that some families may feel uncomfortable when the program encourages their active involvement. It may take time to develop a partnership with these families. However, over time, most families recognize their important role. They realize that Head Start staff know a lot about working with young children, but that there is still more to learn, particularly about their child. Eventually, they will understand that developing and maintaining a partnership with staff enhances their child's progress.
Communication and Information-Sharing Strategies
To reach out and involve a family, staff need to identify individual strengths and barriers that could support or hinder communication.Then staff select communication and information-sharing strategies that match each family's unique characteristics.
Partnerships between Head Start staff and families do not just happen. They evolve as staff and families get to know and understand each other. The process of building each partnership begins when a child and family enroll in Head Start. It continues as staff use individualized strategies to communicate with families and share information about the child's interests, skills, and experiences that may influence development. An important part of every Head Start staff member's job is to take the lead in establishing and maintaining partnerships with families; however, over time, as the partnership gets stronger, families are likely to become more active partners.

Activity 2-1:
Building on Each Family's Strengths Purpose: In this activity, participants learn how to build strong, individualized partnerships with families.

Outcomes
Participants build strong partnerships with individual families based on mutual respect and trust and the understanding that working together encourages the child's development.
Participants plan and implement individualized strategies for encouraging ongoing communication between staff and families to share information about each child's health status, culture, home language, skills, needs, strengths, interests, and past and current experiences at home, at the center, at a FCC home, and/or during group socialization sessions.
Participants collaborate with parents to use shared information while encouraging a child's development at home and in Head Start settings.
Materials:

Chart paper, markers, tape
Handout 8: Two Heads Are Always Better Than One
Handout 9: Building on a Family's Strengths
Handout 10: Action Plan

Explain to participants that this activity will focus on the elements of strong partnerships and how to build strong partnerships based on each family's unique strengths.

Ask participants to choose one or more partners (depending on group size). Distribute Handout 8: Two Heads Are Always Better Than One and review the instructions. Give participants 30 minutes to complete this assignment.

Ask a few volunteers to present their plans for working together to complete the selected task. List the following characteristics of strong partnerships on chart paper:

Members choose to belong
Members respect each other
Members are honest
Members trust each other
Each member makes unique contributions
Members have shared goals
Members divide responsibilities
Everyone benefits from the partnership
As you review each characteristic, ask How does it apply to the partnerships you just formed? How does it apply to the partnerships you build with families?

Have participants form small groups. Distribute Handout 9: Building on a Family's Strengths. Give participants 30 minutes to complete this assignment.

Trainer Preparation Notes: In the next step, participants act as facilitators. This gives them a greater role in their training and helps them recognize the knowledge and life experiences they bring to the workshop.

Reconvene as a large group. Ask the small groups to take turns facilitating the discussion about responses to the questions.

Have participants form pairs. Distribute Handout 10: Action Plan. Give participants 20 minutes to complete their plans.

Trainer Preparation Notes: Some barriers to building strong partnerships with families are not easily overcome. Education staff can work with other members of the Head Start team to discuss and develop strategies for building partnerships with families who are affected by extreme and often overwhelming sources of stress such as chronic illness, extreme poverty, homelessness, or drug or alcohol abuse.
If participants have such families in their programs, allow sufficient time to discuss strategies for involving families without asking them to take on additional responsibilities that could cause further distress.

Ask several volunteers to share and receive feedback on their Action Plans. Be sure to cover all of the steps in The Individualizing Cycle. Ask discussion questions such as the following:
How can you tailor your approach to match the strengths and other characteristics, including differing languages and cultures, of individual families?
What barriers to building strong partnerships are typical of the families and staff in your program?
What can Head Start do to overcome these barriers?
How can you follow up with families to let them know how the information they have shared is being used to offer an individualized program for their child?

Close by asking participants to share their Action Plans with other Head Start staff and to involve them in implementing some of the proposed changes.

Activity 2-2:
Building Strong Partnerships Purpose: In this activity, participants learn to use an individualized approach to building strong partnerships with families.

Outcomes:
Participants build strong partnerships with individual families based on mutual respect and trust and the understanding that working together encourages the child's development.
Participants plan and implement individualized strategies for encouraging ongoing communication between staff and families to share information about each child's health status, culture, home language, skills, needs, strengths, interests, and past and current experiences at home, at the center, at an FCC home, and/or during group socialization sessions.
Participants collaborate with parents to use shared information while encouraging a child's development at home and in Head Start settings.
Materials:

Chart paper, markers, tape
Handout 11: Building a Strong Partnership
Appendix D: Characteristics of Strong Partnerships

Explain to participants that this activity will focus on the characteristics of strong partnerships and on individualizing communication and information-sharing strategies to match a family's characteristics.

Ask participants to brainstorm a list of partnerships, including famous ones. Here are some examples to get you started:

Business (Sears and Roebuck)
Family (my grandmother and grandfather)
Entertainment (Barnum and Bailey)
Cartoons (Mickey and Minnie)
Government (President and Vice President)
Public servants (police officers who share a patrol car)

Now ask, What do these successful partnerships have in common? List the responses on chart paper. For example, in successful partnerships, the members usually:

Choose to belong
Respect each other
Are honest
Trust each other
Make unique contributions
Have shared goals
Divide responsibilities
Benefit from the partnership

Ask participants, Which of these common characteristics apply to your partnerships with families? Have participants describe incidents from their experiences that illustrate the characteristic. Distribute and discuss Appendix D: Characteristics of Strong Partnerships. Participants can use Appendix D as a reference.

Distribute and review Handout 11: Building a Strong Partnership. Have participants complete this assignment before the next coaching session.

Meet with participants to discuss their completed handouts. Reinforce the following key points:

Each family has unique characteristics that need to be considered when planning ways to build a partnership.
Strategies that work with one family may not be effective with another.
Staff should use a culturally competent approach to building partnerships.

Coach Preparation Notes: Some barriers to building strong partnerships with families are not easily overcome. Education staff can work with other members of the Head Start team to discuss and develop strategies for building partnerships with families who are affected by extreme and often overwhelming sources of stress such as chronic illness, extreme poverty, homelessness, or drug or alcohol abuse.
If participants have such families in their programs, allow sufficient time to discuss strategies for involving families without asking them to take on additional responsibilities that could cause further distress.

Have participants use what they learned in this activity to build a strong partnership with a specific family. Discuss, without naming the family, the family's characteristics, culture and home language, potential barriers to the partnership, and ways to overcome them. Have participants plan individualized strategies for communicating and sharing information with the family. Ask participants to implement their plans over the next month.

Meet with participants to discuss what happened when they implemented their plans. Focus on how the improved partnership benefits the family, the child, and the participant. Encourage participants to use what they learned to improve their partnerships with all families.

Activity 2-3:
Looking and Learning from Both Sides Purpose: In this activity, participants learn how to use information shared by families to encourage a child's development at home and in Head Start settings.

Outcomes:
Participants build strong partnerships with individual families based on mutual respect and trust and the understanding that working together encourages the child's development.
Participants plan and implement individualized strategies for encouraging ongoing communication between staff and families to share information about each child's health status, culture, home language, skills, needs, strengths, interests, and past and current experiences at home, at the center, at an FCC home, and/or during group socialization sessions.
Participants collaborate with parents to use shared information while encouraging a child's development at home and in Head Start settings.
Materials:

Chart paper, markers, tape
Handout 12: Sharing Information about Each Child
Handout 13: Using Shared Information

Trainer Preparation Notes: Copy each of the charts from Handout 12: Sharing Information about Each Child onto a piece of chart paper. You can use the examples on the handout or make up your own. Post the chart labeled Information Head Start Can Share with Families at one side of the room and the chart labeled Information Families Can Share with Head Start at the other.

Explain to participants that this activity will focus on the kinds of information families and Head Start can share and developing strategies for using the information to individualize a child development program.

Have participants form four small groups. Distribute Handout 12: Sharing Information about Each Child and review the instructions and examples. Assign two groups to complete the first chart, Information Head Start Can Share with Families, and two groups to complete the second chart, Information Families Can Share with Head Start. Give participants 20 minutes to complete this assignment.

Ask the two groups who worked on the first chart to alternate sharing their general categories and specific examples until all are listed. Have a volunteer record the responses on the appropriate chart. Ask the other two groups if they have additional entries for the chart. When everyone thinks the list is complete, use the same procedure to record categories and examples on the second chart.

Discuss the differences and similarities between the items on the two charts by asking questions such as the following:
What do families know about their children that Head Start staff might not know? For example:

Health history
Relationships with family members
Cultural practices
What the child likes to do at home
What the child is afraid of
What do Head Start staff know about children that families might not know? For example:

Favorite play material
Roles the child takes during dramatic play
Use of English language skills
Effectiveness of strategies listed on a child's Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Why is it important for staff and families to share information about each child? For example:

Families are the primary influence on a child's development before, during, and after participation in Head Start.
Families can help staff plan a program that reflects and supports their cultural values and practices.
Staff and families each see the child in a different setting.
Staff and families each have knowledge of the child's skills in English and the home language.
Sharing both perspectives creates a picture of the whole child.
Children are changing all the time, so staff and families need up-to-date information to individualize.
Both staff and families can encourage a child's development.

Have the groups trade charts and perspectives. The two groups that worked on the family chart now focus on the Head Start chart and vice versa. Distribute Handout 13: Using Shared Information and review the instructions and examples. Give participants 20 minutes to complete this assignment.

Ask each group to present their strategies for using the shared information. Other participants can add their suggestions to expand on the ones that each group offers.

Close by having participants think of a family with whom they have difficulty sharing information. Ask participants to make a commitment to identify and overcome barriers to sharing information with this family.

Activity 2-4:
Keeping Up-to-Date Purpose: In this activity, participants learn how to use information shared through partnerships with families to encourage the child's development at home and in Head Start settings.

Outcomes:
Participants build strong partnerships with individual families based on mutual respect and trust and the understanding that working together encourages the child's development.
Participants plan and implement individualized strategies for encouraging ongoing communication between staff and families to share information about each child's health status, culture, home language, skills, needs, strengths, interests, and past and current experiences at home, at an FCC home, at the center, and/or during group socialization sessions.
Participants collaborate with parents to use shared information while encouraging a child's development at home and in Head Start settings.
Materials:

Chart paper, markers, tape
Handout 14: Putting Information to Use
Handout 15: Reaching Out to Share Information

Explain to participants that this activity will focus on sharing information with families and developing strategies for improving their communications with families.

Distribute Handout 14: Putting Information to Use and review the instructions and examples for Part I. Give participants 20 minutes to complete their charts.

Discuss each participant's completed chart.

Review the instructions and examples for Part II of Handout 14: Putting Information to Use. Give participants 20 minutes to complete Part II.

Discuss the completed handouts, making the following points:

Families are the primary influence on a child's development before, during, and after participation in Head Start.

Families can help staff plan a program that reflects and supports their cultural values and practices.

Staff and families each see the child in a different setting.

Staff and families each have knowledge of the child's skills in English and the home language.

Sharing both perspectives creates a picture of the whole child.

Children are changing all the time, so staff and families need up-to-date information to individualize.

Both staff and families can encourage a child's development.

Distribute Handout 15: Reaching Out to Share Information. Review the instructions and the examples. Have participants complete this assignment before the next coaching session.

Meet with participants to discuss their experiences in reaching out to a specific family. Ask the following questions:
What information did the family share about their child that Head Start staff might not have known?
What information did the participants share about the child that the family might not have known?
How can families and staff use the shared information to individualize at home and in Head Start settings?
How did making an extra effort to communicate benefit the child? family? participant?

Encourage participants to repeat this activity to improve their approach to communicating and sharing information with Head Start families.

Next Steps:
Ideas to Extend Practice Participants can build on the skills developed through this guide by completing the following activities, independently or with other staff. Some of these activities can contribute to the participants' professional portfolios.

Learn a Second Language
Does your Head Start program enroll families whose home language is not English? If so, work with your community college or adult education department to offer a series of classes to help staff learn some key phrases in the language that will help them communicate and respond to children and families. Invite families to participate and assist the teacher with correct pronunciation and word usage.
Possible Portfolio Entry: List of key phrases in home languages used by families in the program

Develop Communication Strategies
Sometimes families who have a child with a disability feel they are unable to meet their child's needs and are left out of decisions made by professionals. They may not realize what an important role they play. Work with others on the Head Start team to plan or revise your system for maintaining ongoing communication with families and everyone else involved in implementing and reviewing children's IFSPs and IEPs.
Possible Portfolio Entry: List of effective communication strategies

Conduct a Workshop on the Role of Parents
Use Activity 2-2 of this module to plan and implement a series of workshops for families on the important role they play in an individualized child development program.
Possible Portfolio Entry: Outline and handouts for the workshops

Become a Culturally Competent Practitioner
It can be overwhelming to try to become an expert on every culture represented in Head Start. It is more important to be a cultural learner. Ask families to help you and other staff learn about their culture's norms, expectations, practices, and values. Record this information in a format that is accessible to all staff.
Possible Portfolio Entry: A videotape or audiotape of conversations with families or a series of brief articles, illustrated with photographs, about the cultures represented in the program
Handouts

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