(Hui) Working together in small groups for a shared purpose – to increase family well-being in a digital age
ASCEND, a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to advancing family well-being in a digital age, is supporting this year’s NMPED Community Schools Conference Rooted in Family, Guided by Community: Coming Together, Stronger than Ever by organizing and conducting a series of collaborative online conversations, exploring direct family connections with the Six Key Practices of Community Schools.
Unforgetting (Learning, UnLearning, ReLearning) honors “The 4Rs” – Reciprocity, Relationships, Responsibility, and Redistribution. These qualities represent the importance of balanced giving and receiving, strong connections between people, personal accountability, and equitable sharing of resources within a community.
Remedios is a Spanish word that signifies healing, help, or solutions. Learn to use the power in your hands (curiosity, identity, agency, courage, commitment and trust) to connect, create and heal.
The video below explores how we must learn, unlearn and relearn about collaboration, in order to successfully deal with the inevitable conflict that arises as we pursue our individual and shared goals.
DO About It – Hui (hoo’ee) is a Hawaiian word for a cooperative group working together for a shared purpose. In this case, our need to rehumanize. Establishing small groups of parents who host cultural and creative activities in their homes and at community events outside of school can be a transformative strategy for overcoming barriers to participation, strengthening communication, and fostering meaningful engagement in the school alignment process. It’s time to move from fighting with each other to fighting for each other.
Unforgetting (Remedios): the power in (y)our hands
Unforgetting: Remedios (the power in (y)our hands) is a part of Five-by-Five, a weekly series of 25-minute conversations among invited guests, who are teachers, parents, students, school leaders, and advocacy leaders. Durable Life Skills provide healing, help and solutions for increasing family well-being in a digital age. The video describes what we’ll discuss in our first “Five-by-Five” sessions.
We learn, unlearn and relearn together through collaborative conversations as we explore how storytelling allows us to broaden our ways of recognizing and honoring learning beyond traditional, linear Western models. Well-being stems from a healthy relationship between people and their environs. Those relationships include both human and nonhuman relationships, such as relationships with one’s ancestors, other animals and the land.
These qualities represent the importance of balanced giving and receiving, strong connections between people, personal accountability, and equitable sharing of resources within a community.
Our conversations combine the lived experience of the people shown below:
Conversation topics
“Power Pairs” of the Six Key Practices of Community Schools anchor three conversations about increasing parent and family engagement. Topics relate to and reinforce themes that will be explored in keynotes and workshops during the conference. Conversation Topics:
The Power Of Small Parent Groups Engaged In Cultural And Creative Activities
Establishing small groups of parents who host cultural and creative activities in their homes and at community events outside of school can be a transformative strategy for overcoming barriers to participation, strengthening communication, and fostering meaningful engagement in the school alignment process.
Why this matters…
- Overcoming documented barriers: building comfort and trust; addressing logistical challenges; enhancing communication
- Increasing engagement in the alignment process: fostering cultural relevance and inclusion; expanding parent leadership and voice; strengthening networks and partnerships
Harnessing Local Traditions to Enhance School-Family-Community Relationships
Strong family partnerships help schools build trust with the broader community, making outreach efforts more authentic and effective. When families feel valued and respected, they become trusted ambassadors, sharing positive messages about the school within their networks.
Integrating local traditions into school life creates a powerful bridge between students, families, and the broader community. When schools honor and celebrate the customs, languages, and histories of their local area, they foster a sense of belonging, pride, and shared identity that strengthens relationships at every level.
Why this matters
- Key benefits – build trust and cultural respect; strengthen community identity; boost student engagement; encourage intergenerational connections; promote equity and inclusion
- Practical strategies for integration: cultural celebrations and events; curriculum connections; community partnerships; family storytelling and sharing; bilingual communication
Benefits and Strategies to Increase Parent Engagement
Strengthening family partnerships transforms schools into true community anchors. It amplifies the reach and effectiveness of outreach initiatives, ensures programs are relevant and inclusive, and builds a foundation of trust that benefits students, families, and the entire community.
Build from families, as the centers of human connection
- Building trust and communication through deeper community connections and cultural responsiveness
- Expanding the school’s reach through broadening network access and community event participation
- Enhancing program effectiveness through tailored services and feedback loops
- Promoting equity and inclusion by bridging gaps and shared leadership
- Improving student outcomes and school climate through holistic support to build cultures of safety, belonging and care.
Strengthen Family Partnerships to Improve School Community Outreach
Why this matters…
- Alignment improves when parent voices are heard, leading to more effective and equitable implementation of MLSS and Community School strategies.
- Intentional outreach and creative engagement strategies are essential to bridge gaps and ensure all families are empowered to participate, especially those facing systemic barriers
- Sustainable alignment depends on ongoing, two-way communication, collaborative leadership, and accessible support services that reflect the real needs of the community
Overcoming Barriers to Parent Engagement
Common barriers include: Language and cultural differences; lack of time due to work or family commitments; limited access to technology or transportation, negative past experiences with schools; unawareness of school policies, events, or available resources; feeling unwelcome or undervalued by the school community.
What’s working so far…
- Use multiple and flexible communication channels combining traditional methods (phone calls, paper handouts) with digital tools to foster trust and make families feel valued.
- Be consistent and clear, with cultural sensitivity to overcome engagement barriers.
- Remove logistical obstacles—through translation, flexible formats, and resource support—broadens participation.
- Empower parents as partners for stronger, more sustainable engagement and better student outcomes
Align Multi-Level Systems of Support (MLSS) and Six Key Practices
To effectively measure how family involvement influences the success of community outreach initiatives, schools need to use a combination of qualitative and quantitative metrics that capture engagement levels, outcomes, and perceptions from multiple stakeholders. We will discuss key approaches and indicators schools can use to assess this impact.
Knowing where you are, where you’re headed and progress you’re making
- Use existing (traditional) measures: parental involvement metrics; student outcomes related to family engagement; event participation
- Add more meaningful measures: Social Cohesion Impact Measurement (SCIM) Framework; Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement: (parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community) as interactive spheres of family engagement.