Kindergarten - Building Family Partnerships

Our Core Beliefs About Family Partnership

Two smiling women with child
  • All families have dreams for their children and want the best for them.
  • All families have the capacity to support their children’s learning.
  • Families and school staff should be equal partners.
  • The responsibility for building partnerships between school and home rests primarily with the school staff, especially school leaders.

Family Teacher Conferences

  • Family hugging

    Building Family Partnership

    Family Teacher Conferences are an opportunity to work in partnership with all families to support students to discover their spark, a strong sense of self, and purpose.

    Scroll through this postcard carousel for recommendations and resources to help you plan for meaningful and impactful family teacher conferences.

    Tips for Teachers
  • three adults and a child sitting around a table with papers

    Communicate Students' Growth

    Share what their student knows and can do, how they have grown, and what they will work on next.

    Conference Agenda Slide Deck
  • an adult and a youth reviewing an assignment

    Share Artifacts of Student Learning

    Build a mini-portfolio of each student's work to show their progress in the standards. Select examples in several content areas that highlight the specific skills and knowledge they have built over time.

    Family Conference Template
  • a student and a parent sitting side by side looking at a binder

    Listen to Families

    Invite family members to share their concerns, questions, hopes, goals, and dreams for their students. Note them and discuss a possible plan of support and/or enrichment.

     

    Learn more
  • a parent and a student sitting side by side, smiling, in front of a computer

    Involve Students

    Encourage students to be present and to discuss their learning, goals, challenges, hopes, and dreams. Prepare them in advance to share how they have grown, what they are proud of, and what they want to improve next. 

    Proud, Help, & Improve Reflection
  • A man carrying a child and a woman holding another child are meeting with a man in a school

    Dig Deeper

    This Rubric for Family Teacher Conferences can be used to identify best practices for Family Teacher Conferences.

    Rubric for Family Teacher Conferences

    Goals for Building Family Partnership

    Families are our students' first teachers. Kindergarten may be the first time they are entrusting the care and education of their child with another person. The transition to kindergarten is an important milestone, and teachers play a vital role in helping families to navigate the process. Having a positive transition will likely influence the family-school partnerships formed with teachers in other elementary grade levels. In many ways, you are families' first ambassador to the public school system.

      Resources for Building Family Partnerships

      How does your school build family partnerships? Get to know the systems and structures your site already has in place. Use the checklists below as more concrete guidance for your practice.

      Before School Starts Checklist

      The First Week Checklist

      Back to School Night Checklist

      Maintaining Family Partnerships Checklist

      Reflection Questions

      1. What does collaboration and effective partnership with families look like in your role and at your site?
      2. How are you continuously building towards authentic relationships?
      3. How are you practicing cultural humility in your partnership with families?

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      This page was last updated on October 20, 2023