Family/Community Network Meetings

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This page contains information to help you (as a district/school leader or parent/community member) organize your very own “Family/Community Partner Network Meeting”. These events are fun, informative and help to build important connections!

Family/Community Network Meetings are designed to support family and community representatives who participate on school or district PBIS leadership teams, or would like more information about becoming involved on a team. They can be held within the district, or regionally.

Typically scheduled as 90-minute meetings, these events provide opportunities for family and community team representatives to gain information about team participation and school/family/community partnerships, share ideas and network with each other, and learn more about PBIS. Meeting topics/agendas vary, and the content is guided by the needs of the district/region.

The first meeting should focus on the value of having family and community members as active team members, and the important role they serve. Subsequent meetings may be on various topics such as: effective teaming strategies, implementing PBIS at home, or strategizing ways to increase community involvement.

For increased participation at your meeting, and to help ensure a successful event, the following tips are recommended:

- Hold the meeting at a time that would be more convenient for families and community members. Plan to start at 5:30 or 6:00 p.m;
- Coordinate and provide a light meal, such as pizza or mini-subs, and have beverages available;
- Allow participants to bring their children;
- Provide childcare in a room nearby, or in the corner of the meeting room (school staff or high school students may be able to help.) If that is not possible, then allow the children to stay in the room near their parents;
- Make activities available for the kids, such as games, cards, puzzles, art supplies, etc.;
- Schedule the meeting in a room that can be set up with tables (preferably round) and make the room as comfortable and welcoming as possible, using tablecloths, centerpieces, etc.

Tools & Materials:

For your first Family/Community Network Meeting, you are welcome to use the following:

-Fam/ComNetworkMtg_June2014_Part1 - Slide PPT

- Sample flyer

-Certificate of Participation

Family/Community Cafes

Often included as part of these informative meetings is a method for building partnerships referred to as the Family/Community Cafe. These Cafe sessions (based on the World Cafe model) are a technique for bringing school staff, educators, families and community members together to share ideas in a philosophy of conversational leadership (somewhat of an 'enhanced' table discussion.) They are interactive, fun, and productive! The process is often modeled in a workshop at the Illinois Leadership Conferences, where External Coaches have the chance to experience it themselves, and then facilitate Family/Community Cafes in their own districts.

Are you having a hard time hosting jam-packed events for family and community members? Consider these fun twists that may increase the number of participants at your next event:

Start EARLY: Consider hosting events within 15 minutes of school dismissal. Youth can move to a ‘tutoring room’ and briefly visit with family members as they arrive. Families can then participate in the 90 minute Network meeting and share a light, quick meal with their children and other participants before heading home by 5pm.
Focus on benefits to families: Free 90 minutes of tutoring for the kids, light family meal, tips and tools that can be used at home, information to help your child be more successful at school, time to relax and network with other parents & community members, etc.
Advertise leadership/involvement opportunities before and during to recruit family/community members for school-based and district-wide team member, volunteering, special projects, PTA/O etc.

Quotes from parents after their participation in a Family/Community Meeting:

"Thank you for creating a forum which enables parents to discuss our thoughts, ideas, areas of confusion, etc....the potential of building a great community around PBIS starts with steps like last night :-)"

"It was great meeting parents from different schools and the people driving the initiative at the district level. I think that all your efforts are commendable - especially since a significant social integration needs plenty of time and tons of creativity!"

"My experience with PBIS continues to enrich my quest to imbibe new concepts. Thank you for reaching out and making the schools more socially sensitive."

The Network would like to support districts in hosting their own Family and Community Team Representative Network Meetings and will share your meeting information on this website. Please email us at SFCP@pbisillinois.org to notify us of your scheduled date. We encourage PBIS External Coaches who might want to replicate these in their own districts to participate in any upcoming meetings.

Upcoming Network Meetings (TBD):

Network Meetings Hosted in FY13-14 School Year:

Network Meetings Hosted in FY12-13 School Year:

District-Only PBIS Family Representative Meetings:

Family and Community Representatives have an important role on PBIS teams, and their input is valuable.

If you are a family or community member interested in participating at one of these network meetings,

please email: SFCP@pbisillinois.org

Below are snapshots from previously held Family/Community Network Meetings: