NCFL joins NHSA leaders at the 2015 Parent and Family Engagement Conference
The nation’s leaders in two-generation education solutions will host a Town-Hall style convening at National Head Start Association’s 2015 Parent and Family Engagement Conference to showcase the emerging partnership between National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) and NHSA. Presidents Sharon Darling and Yasmina Vinci will share their organizations’ vision for a promising new parent and family engagement practice in Head Start programs that strategically connects the Parent, Family and Community Engagement Framework (PFCE) with project-based, relevant, and hands-on family learning activities.
The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) has honed family learning for low-income and ethnically diverse families by engaging organizations in its newest iteration of the Parent and Child Together (PACT) Time—Family Service Learning. This two-generation approach to community building, now being implemented in 10 partner U.S. communities, has proven to empower families to create positive change in their own communities.
This video tells the story of Toyota Family Learning families at East Side House, their circumstances in their Mott Haven neighborhood in the South Bronx and commitment to making it a better place for their children, and how Toyota Family Learning inspired, supported, and shaped one of ESH’s Family Service Learning projects last year:
Family Service Learning participants have reported an increased use of technology for educational purposes, problem-solving, and workforce-training skills; advancements in language development and employment; and, most importantly, the confidence and know-how to be more engaged in their children’s education.
The Head Start PFCE provides a research-based, organizational guide for implementing relevant Head Start Program Performance Standards relative to family engagement. NCFL’s Family Service Learning model serves as a catalyst to help programs reach the PFCE Family Engagement Outcomes:
- Family Well-being
- Positive Parent-Child Relationships
- Families as Lifelong Educators
- Families as Learners
- Family Engagement in Transitions
- Family Connections to Peers and Community
- Families as Advocates and Leaders
The natural progression of the NCFL Family Service Learning model strategically connects the PFCE Family Engagement Outcomes with project-based, relevant, and hands-on intergenerational activities that build child outcomes by increasing adult capacity.