Are you ready??? It is time for RADICAL Family Engagement Week and ParentCamp is excited to get the week kicked off! ParentCamp is over the moon excited to partner with the US Department of Human Services – Administration for Children & Families and the US Department of Education to dig deep into family engagement so we can connect, strengthen and collaborate with each other.
Laura Gilchrist, (@LauraGilchrist4) Vice President of ParentCamp (@ParentCamp) shares a few words to welcome you to the experience on Monday, October 26th starting at 1:30 pm.
We want to make sure you have all that you need and be able to enjoy Virtual ParentCamp – RFEW, so please scroll down for all kinds of great information.
Date: Monday, October 26th
Time: 1:30 pm ET/12:30 pm CT/11:30 am MT/10:30 am PT
Please plan to arrive by 1:25 pm ET/12:25 pm CT/11:25 pm MT/9:25 pm PT so that we can honor everyone’s time. The event WILL NOT be recorded, so you want to make sure you do not miss it!
Flow for the day:
Your guide for Radical Family Engagement Week, Dr. Melissa Brodowski
1:30 pm ET – Welcome to Radical Family Engagement Week with Melissa Brodowski who will be your guide for the entire week.
1:30 pm ET – Welcome Dr. Debbie Burgeron (@OHS_Director) – Director, Office of Head Start (OHS) (@HeadStartgov) and Early Childhood Development (ECD) (@ECDgov)
1:35 pm ET – Welcome Ruth Ryder – Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy and Programs – Formula Grants in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)
1:40 pm ET – Explanation of how we ParentCamp! Laura Gilchrist (@LauraGilchrist4), Vice-President, ParentCamp and Julie Pile (@juliepile), President, ParentCamp
1:50 pm ET – Session 1 – Use the Breakout Room options to start one room, feel free to visit multiple rooms!
2:05 pm ET – Half way message to let you know if you wish to change rooms, it is ok!
2:18 pm ET – Time to wrap up message and change rooms
2:20 pm ET – Session 2, Rooms repeat from Session 1 – Use the Breakout Room options to join another room if you wish, feel free to visit multiple rooms!
2:35 pm ET – Half way message to let you know if you wish to change rooms, it is ok!
2:48 pm ET – Time to wrap up message, rooms will automatically close in two minutes
2:50 pm ET – Shareout – we will be using PearDeck to engage with everyone, so please go to www.joinpd.com on another device or in another browser tab. We will give you the code to use at the event.
3:00 pm ET – Wave goodbye to your new friends
We guarantee, the time will go extremely quickly!
So here we go….your sessions to choose from….thank you to all of our amazing facilitators! Please click on the links below their images to learn more about them…we guarantee you will want to connect with them! Remember…you can visit as many are as few of rooms which you like. Virtual ParentCamp is about you as a learner, leader and connector! Engage! This experience is all about YOU!
Room 1 – Innovative Early Learning Strategies at Home
Facilitator: Tabatha Rosproy (@TabathaRosproy), 2020 National Teacher of the Year with us this week! Tabatha has been a supporter of Virtual ParentCamp since the beginning and we are thrilled she could join us. Watch a video of Tabatha talking about her experience at Virtual ParentCamp.
The Little Vikes preschool program at Cumbernauld Village in Winfield was thrust in the national spotlight after its teacher, Tabatha Rosproy, was named National Teacher of the Year. A wonderful accomplishment and recognition for the value of this program. Watch this video of the residents talking about and interacting with the kids.
Room 2 – Parents as Talent Developers
Facilitators: Dr. Sheilah Jefferson-Isaac (@7dreamkeepers) and Dr. Brenda Williams Harewood (co-author) (@docbwilliams) lead a discussion of Parents as Talent Developers. Don’t worry – you don’t have to read the book first.
“This book give minority parents (African American, Latino) the tools they need to help their children perform much better in school. Kernels are seeds in the plant world. The kernels on an ear of corn are the seeds needed to grow the next generation of corn. We use this term in the sense that each parental practice that we highlight in this book should be viewed as a seed for a child’s academic growth.”
As a special treat…if you would like to continue these conversations, join the Parent as Talent Developers Voxer Book Chat. Voxer is a free app available on many devices which allows for asynchronous communication. It is another great way to connect with people across the nation. Sign-up for the book chat by Monday, November 9th from the events page on the ParentCamp website. www.parentcamp.org/events
Watch this video of Doc Brenda talking about her experience at Virtual ParentCamp.
Room 3 – Supporting Foster, Kinship and Adoptive Families
Facilitator: Dr. Kelly Henderson, Executive Director, Formed Families Forward (@FormedFamilies)
This will be a great session to share experiences and resources of Kelly and others in the room. We know there are so many families being formed due to necessities. Thank you for stepping up for children, now it is your turn to be supported. Kelly’s family is formed in part through public foster care and adoption. Her children have a range of learning, behavioral and cognitive disabilities for which they have received early intervention, special education and related services.
Room 4 – Navigating Special Education
Facilitator: Carmen Sanchez (@car_ma_sanchez), Education Specialist at the US Department of Education (@usedgov), Office of Special Education Programs and is an Advocate for Families.
We are thrilled Carmen is joining us, she is a wealth of knowledge and can bring so many resources to the room. As an Education Program Specialist in OSEP, Carmen serves as the lead for the parent program, which is comprised of parent training and information centers, community parent resources centers, and parent technical assistance centers throughout the country. Carmen is also the proud parent of a young adult with a disability and has used a variety of informal and formal strategies for resolving disputes during her child’s time in early intervention and special education.
Room 5 – Equity for our Youngest Learners and Families
Facilitator: Duncan Kirkwood (@DuncanKirwood) is a veteran, author, speaker and a social justice and education advocate. He recently wrote Rerouting: Resilience Tools and Tactics
Duncan has been teaching adults AND kids about how to accomplish your goals and reach your intended destination regardless of obstacles through resilience. He is a favorite of Virtual ParentCamp attendees and has honored us by leading collaborative discussions in our equity room series for a number of weeks.
Room 6 – Engaging Fathers
Facilitator: Terris Todd, Executive Director for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans (@AfAmEducation), US Department of Education (@usedgov)
Terris Todd is the newly appointed Executive Director for the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. He comes from Battle Creek, Michigan, where he lives with his wife and three daughters. Most recently, Todd served as the director of education and children services for Community Action of South Central Michigan, serving low income children and families. Terris knows first had the importance of engaging fathers (male figures) in children’s lives, especially at the youngest ages. Join in on this great conversation of how to engage male figures in our school communities.
Room 7 – Families as Partners in Social-Emotional Learning
Facilitator: Dr. Neal Horen, Director of the Georgetown University’s Early Childhood Division at the Center for Child and Human Development (@GUUCEDD) and the Director of the HOYA clinic in the Department of Psychiatry.
Dr. Horen is the leader in the fiend of early childhood mental health and will lead discussion of families being partners in supporting children during this most unusual times.
Room 8 – The Aftercare-Childcare Part of the Puzzle
Facilitator: Sarah Shaw, Program Coordinator, South Carolina Childcare Inclusion Collaborative, The University of South Carolina (@UofSC), Child Development Research Center
Aftercare and childcare are an extremely important support system for many families and even more so during these times when many schools are operating in hybrid or virtual modes. This discussion will focus on how these programs can and should be incorporate into school and community ecosystems.
Room 9 – Health and Well-Being in the time of COVID
Facilitator: Dr. Mohamed Soliman, Education Program Specialist, US Department of Education (@usedgov), Office of Special Education Programs, Monitoring and State Improvement Planning Division
Dr. Soliman is an expert specializing in neurodevelopment, executive functioning, as well as developmental and achievement based assessments. We all are experiencing isolation and anxiety during these times of COVID. This session will be full of ways to help you and your child survive and thrive and this will start with YOU feeling connected to others in the room and for you to know that you are not alone.
Room 10 – Supporting our English Language Learner (ELL) Families
Facilitator: Dr. Alecia B. Walters, Education Program Specialist, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (@ED_Sped_Rehab), US Department of Education (@usedgov), Office of Special Education Programs
Dr. Walters will be facilitating discussion in how we support our ELL families. Especially during this time of COVID, ELL families are feeling even more disconnected, how can we support and connect them?
Room 11 – Mental Health and Resilience
Facilitator: Dr. Martha Okafor, Regional Administrator, Administration for Children and Families (@ACFHHS) within the US Department of Health and Human Services (@HHSGov)
Will lead a wonderful discussion centering around mental health and resilience. These are our most requested topics at Virtual ParentCamp!
Room 12 – Helping Families Meet Basic Needs
Facilitator: Elizabeth Caywoood (@ElizabethCaywo4), Early Childhood Technical Assistance Specialist, ICF
Elizabeth will share places where families can find help in meeting basic needs. Many you may not have thought of, we will also be crowdsourcing ideas to share!
Room 13 – Fostering Connections in Military Families
Facilitator: Jermaine Sullivan, Military Affairs Team (MAT) Lead, US Department of Education (@usedgov) Office of Communication and Outreach
“Of the more than 1.2 million school-aged children of service men and women, more than 80 percent attend public schools… We want all military-connected school children to have an equal and fair opportunity for academic success. This requires that those individuals who make up our nation’s educational system—our teachers, principals, school nurses, coaches, and counselors—understand the unique situations the children of our service members experience” (Source: https://www.ed.gov/veterans-and-military-families)
Room 14 – Reaching Migrant and Refugee Families
Facilitator: Sun-Young Ahn, Early Childhood and Parents Team, US Department of Education (@usedgov), Office of Special Education Programs
Some of the hardest to reach families are migrant and refugees, many because of fear, unknowns and now knowing who to trust. How can parents, schools and communities understand and connect with families to make sure they feel valued and supported in our school ecosystems.
Room 15 – Tribal – Listen to Native Families
Facilitator: Dr. Lisa Blackmon, Program Specialist, Administration for Children and Families (@ACFHHS) within the US Department of Health and Human Services (@HHSGov)
Lisa has doctorate in early childhood education with an emphasis on Native American studies she is also a member of the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma (@ChickasawNation). Did you know there are 574 federally recognized Indian Nations in the United States? Come to this session to learn how we can listen AND engage our tribal communities.
Room 16 – Embracing LGBTQ Families
Facilitator: Howard Morrison (@howardmorrison) Early Childhood Technical Assistance Specialist, SRI Education
Howard Morrison specializes in early childhood education on a variety of topics, including interagency data integration and data use, data governance, data sharing agreements, school readiness, public-private partnerships, stakeholder engagement, and state systems.
As NTOY Tabatha Rosproy (@TabathaRosproy mentions in her video above, “families come in all styles.” Howard will lead a discussion of how we can be inclusive and embrace all families.
Room 17 – Supporting Families in Transition Years
Facilitator: Dr. Carlene Reid (@CarleneDReid), Education Program Specialist, Office of Special Education Programs, US Department of Education (@usedgov)
With a background in speech therapy, Carlene knows the youngest years of a child’s life is the most formative. Transition into preschool and kindergarten can be a scary time for families. This room will be filled with ideas for how to support families with young children.
Room 18 – The Positives of Self-Care
Facilitator: Tecoria Jones, Parent Advocate, Family Voices United (@family_voices)Member
Tecoria is a passionate parent advocate raising her voice to the national level. As a mother of six children ages 2 to 20, she has learned if she doesn’t take care of herself, she will not be able to take care of her families. Come join Tecoria as she guides the conversation around taking care of one self.
Room 19 – Addressing Family Trauma: Restorative Tools and Practices
Facilitator: Dr. Scott Sells of the Family Trauma Institute, co-author of Treating the Traumatized Child
Dr. Scott specializes in working with impossible or stuck cases whose families have not been successful with other counselors. He founded the Parenting with Love and Limits (PLL) model that is being used across the US and Europe.
If a child has experience trauma, most likely, other family members have also. Addressing trauma treatment for children and adolescents using a Family Systems Trauma (FST) model goes beyond individual therapy to include the child and their entire family. Talk about ways in which you will be able to use for either your own family or helping other families deal with trauma.
If you enjoy this session, you may like to join us for our next national Virtual ParentCamp which will be held on Wednesday, November 4th 8 pm ET/5 pm PT. Dr. Scott will be joining us again! Register on the events page on our website: www.parentcamp.org/events
Room 20 – Supporting LatinX Families – Session will be spoken in Spanish
Facilitator: Theresa Cruz, Hispanic Family Engagement Coordinator, Learning Grove
Facilitator: David James (@DJE_29), Assistant Principal, Edwards Elementary School, Newberg Public Schools
Two of our Virtual ParentCamp regular facilitators are joining us to lead an amazing session on supporting and engaging LatinX families. Definitely come and pick Theresa and David’s brains. They are doing some amazing work in their local communities.
Room 21 – Talking to our Kids about the Current Social Environment
Facilitator: JaDonnia Bishop (@jadonnia) Director, Bishop Reality Consulting, Family and Child Wellness, Our Diversity
Talking to your kids about the current social environment can be difficult, but JaDonnia is very skilled at bringing the lens of “hope” to every conversation. You are guaranteed to enjoy this room with one of our regular Virtual ParentCamp skilled facilitators.
Room 22 – Parent-School Collaboration
Facilitator: Dr. Ted Huff (@TedHiff), Educational Consultant/St. Louis Regional Professional Development Center, EducationPlus (ePlus), 2015 Missouri Middle School Principal of the Year, 2016 Missouri Principal of the Year
There is no one better than Ted Huff to lead this room about parent-school collaboration. Ted’s middle school was selected as a National Partnership School (@CenterofExcel) not once, not twice, not three times, but four times! They were also named a National School of Character (@CharacterDotOrg) twice! Make sure you ask him about Viking Dads and his FACE Team.
Room 23 – The Unique Needs of Rural Families
Facilitator: Staci Cummins, Presidential Management Fellow, Rotation with the Administration for Children and Families (@ACFHHS), Office for Early Childhood Development at US Department of Health and Human Services (@HHSGov)
As a low-income, first generation college graduate and graduate student, Staci wants to bring a sense of urgency and a deep belief in the power of education to school systems and policy makers no matter where children live. Families who live in rural communities have their own unique needs and challenges. In this session, connect to learn how we can help our rural families.
Zoom Tips:
How to edit your screen name on Zoom App
How to change your screen name on Zoom profile & within a meeting
We will be using the Zoom capability of participants being able to change rooms themselves:
- Once the rooms are opened, find the Breakout Room icon
- For laptops or desktops, it will either be at the bottom of your screen or you may need to click on “More” and then select Breakout Rooms. Click on the room which you wish to enter, you may need to click Join and then you will be taken there.
- For tablets – Click on the Breakout Rooms icon (usually in the upper left corner), select the room which you wish to join and then click the Join button.
- If you are having issues finding the Breakout Rooms button, click on the Leave Room button and you will be taken back to the main meeting room where Julie can “transport” you to another room. You will need to follow Step 1 above to find the new Join request.
This event is part of a week-long series on Radical Family Engagement. You can see more information about and register for the series of events at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ecd/radical-family-engagement-event#. We hope that you can join us for all of the incredible events this week!
We hope that you enjoy the event, please share your highlights and experiences on social media using #ParentCampRFE #RadicalFE #FamilyEngagement and tag @ParentCamp, @ACFHHS, @HHSGov and @usedgov, along with giving compliments to any of the facilitators above.
Looking for more Virtual ParentCamp opportunities, join us every other Wednesday for our national Virtual ParentCamp. We gather today from 8-9 pm ET/5-6 pm PT. Register for upcoming dates on the events page on our website: www.parentcamp.org/events.
Connect with ParentCamp via our LinkTree
ParentCamp Headlines 2020-21
1. Publication—GETTING SMART: Julie Pile and Laura Gilchrist wroteGetting Smart Article: Stakeholders at the Heart of Education
2. Publication—KAUFFMAN FOUNDATION: Find Laura Gilchrist talking about Virtual ParentCamp in a recent Kauffman Foundation article: As Schools Debate Reopening, Parents are Called to be Partners.
3. ParentCamp is presented at the Nevada All Virtual Family Engagement Summit on October 17, 2020 (Nevada DOE Family Engagement)
4. Virtual ParentCamp is Keynoting “ClassTag Collaborate” Conference Series “Building School Community” in North Carolina and Georgia, beginning October 2020.
5. ParentCamp is presenting at the Virtual ESEA Conference Feb 8-11, 2021. ParentCamp: Family-School-Community Integration to Create the Ideal Education Ecosystem (Session Link)
6. ParentCamp partnered with NAFSCE, the National Association for Family School Community Engagement, on September 16 and September 24, 2020 to design and host “Virtual ParentCamp Experiences” for NAFSCE members.
7. ParentCamp partnered with the Maryland State Department of Education in July and August 2020 to design and host 3 Virtual ParentCamp Experiences statewide.
8 . Virtual ParentCamp partnered with DigiStoryKC and Thank You Walt Disney to design and host the first nationwide Virtual CareerCamp – Digital Media Careers using ParentCamp’s Family-School-Community Integration Model, June 18, 2020. We received positive feedback from participants. KC Digital media industry participants were amazing. and requests for future CareerCamps.
9. Virtual ParentCamp partnered with #KCIMAGINE and Thank You Walt Disney in May 2020 to put on the 1st ever Virtual Digital Media IndustryCamp using the Virtual ParentCamp FSCI Model. (Kansas City)
10. ParentCamp presented at the Go Boundless #anewwayforward Summit on April 28, 2020.
11. ParentCamp partnered with the Kansas State Department of Education in April 2020 to put on 2 Virtual ParentCamps – 1 with elementary families, 1 with secondary families — followed by 2 Virtual ParentCamp Experiences for educators across the state.
#ParentCamp #ParentCampRFEW #VirtualParentCamp #FSCI #FamilySchoolCommunityIntegration #FSCE #FamilySchoolCommunityEngagement #ParentEngagement #RFEW #RadicalFamilyEngagementWeek #FamilyEngagement #RadicalFE #USSACF #USDOE #Partnerships #ReimagineEducation
