This past year and half, I have spent a great deal of time and energy into learning about how to meet families where they are and what I can do to engage them through projects such as a family engagement book study (Facilitating Critical Conversations: A Cross-Institutional Collaboration for (Re)Envisioning Family Engagement), participation in my district’s Equity Leadership Group, etc. While I have been opening my heart and my mind to equity, I know I need to take the next big step of putting into practice some of the ideas that I have taken away from this work. One idea I have is to provide more in-person opportunities for families to come into the classroom to share what’s important to them, such as traditions, hobbies, language, and their personal experiences. I can measure this progress by keeping a record of engagement levels throughout the year and surveying families to learn what is working, what’s not, and see if any changes I make in response to their feedback improves engagement. I can also ask families to share anecdotally their feelings about school, etc. at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year. Another “move” is to learn more explicit ways to engage with my students who are just beginning their English-learning journey. I find myself wondering if I’m doing the best I could be doing for them (knowing that I’m probably not). I want to start learning some phrases in the languages that my students speak. I want to invite the ML teacher and coach in to observe and give me feedback (hello, vulnerability!). And I know I need to improve my own planning and organization to be better prepared for each day. 

For students to thrive academically, they need to see themselves as important parts of the school community, and they need to buy into learning. When students are not able to access the same extra-curricular opportunities because of lack of transportation for example, they might begin to feel less than important. To address what I need in the classroom, my school needs to provide more professional development on culturally responsive teaching (how to support multilingual learners at all stages of their English learning and learning about the specific populations we have and how their prior background and experiences shape their views of school, etc.)

Megan Murrow