Meet Your Family Advocates!!

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Family Engagement and the Role of Family Advocates

Mission  

Shoreline Schools will actively engage all families so they are seen, heard, and included in school communities, with the intent for all students’ success.

Vision: Equitable family engagement will embrace diversity, identify and break down systemic barriers, act as a bridge between the school and families, have a positive impact on student achievement and behavior. Family Engagement will empower families to know how to support their child’s education, and for schools to learn from the expertise families have about their child. Academic and whole child success is dependent on family engagement.

In Shoreline Schools, each building has a Family Advocate. 

Whether you are searching for ways to be engaged in your child's school or you have a need for specific resources, your family advocate is a great person to know.

Family Advocates are the school leads for  Natural Leaders and support the  family engagement work in each school.

Our Family Engagement work is based on Family Design Collaborativeinformed by Beyond the Bake Sale by Dr. Mapp, and in partnership with Washington Family and Community Trust and Washington Alliance for Better Schools.

We engage in a Cycle of Inquiry with the theory of action being:  having families and schools partnering together creates higher levels of success for students.

Natural Leaders in Shoreline

 Natural Leaders wants you!!! Interested in partnering with other parents and having an impact in your child's school?

About Natural Leaders 

Research has consistently shown students’ success to be highly correlated with the level of their parent engagement. (Jeynes, Education & Urban Society, 2007).   When parents are involved, students achieve more, regardless of socio-economic status, ethnic/racial background, or the parents’ education level. Most parent engagement projects are top-down – they are school-directed training programs teaching parents how to help their own kids succeed. While unintended, this sends the message that parents need to learn how to help their kids. The focus is on each parent helping their own child/ren.

The Natural Leader project is different. Parents take on a leadership role and focus on the many talents and gifts that families have. They build relationships with families in their community, identify what helps these families be successful with education and then implement their ideas. A driving focus is collaborative community organizing where parents are equal partners with schools and community organizations sharing a common goal of both adults and children achieving success in education.

The Natural Leaders Program was developed by WABS in 2003 with parents in Shoreline, Everett, Edmonds, Marysville, Monroe, Mukilteo and Northshore schools to create liaisons between schools and families. Natural Leaders are K-12 parents from within the participating school’s community to coordinate parent engagement activities at the school. Because they come from within the school population, Natural Leaders have credibility to build trusted relationships with other parents and are uniquely situated to listen to families’ ideas and needs and bring them together with the school to improve student learning and family/school relations. Natural Leaders work closely with a designated school contact (typically a family advocate, counselor or ELL teacher). Kaje 2015

Award Recipients: Natural Leaders in the Shoreline and Northshore School Districts for Outstanding Human Services Program 

http://www.wabsalliance.org/community-leadership/natural-leaders/