Leaders from the Prichard Committee are currently testing out a new way to highlight a school district’s family engagement practices in select counties across the Commonwealth. Among these counties are Rowan, Davis, Washington, and Harrison County.
Grace McKenzie, Director of Family Friendly Schools with the Prichard Committee, said the new certification process is designed to complement the Family Friendly Schools and Family Friendly Early Care and Education certification processes.
“It's going to mean both that the district has a critical mass of schools that have met family-friendly school certification and that the district has established the norms and structures at the district level to institutionalize family community partnerships as a core element of effective educational practice at every level within the district,” said McKenzie.
McKenzie said key elements of Family Friendly Districts include having a feedback group and action team that gathers, reviews and implements changes based on family and school leader feedback.
“We've been certifying schools and been in partnership with KDE and Partners for Rural Impact and Learning Grove and NCFL for several years now around that process. But we wanted to explore those district level elements that were necessary to really provide that leadership and support at the school level to ensure that it's embedded really throughout a whole district,” said McKenzie.
Officials said the certification reinforces the role of families that makes them true partners in the learning for their child and what their hopes and dreams are.
Interested district leaders are encouraged to submit their name and information to the Family Friendly District certification information form to receive updates. That form can be found on the Department of Education website.