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Use family engagement to address urgent challenges in K-12 schools

Deploy 'Five Simple Principles’ to fight chronic absenteeism, engage hard-to-reach families and improve student outcomes.

Instructors: Drs. Steve & Peggie Constantino

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Overview

It’s easy to talk about the importance of family engagement. But how can family engagement be applied, practically, to improve the school experience for students and families?

In this 5-session virtual cohort, national family engagement expert and best-selling authors Dr. Steve Constantino and Dr. Peggie Constantino take aim at some of the toughest challenges facing school leaders today, and demonstrates practical ways in which a commitment to family engagement can help solve them.

Where previous iterations of this cohort and work focused on teaching the theory behind the “5 Simple Principles,” this experience was designed to give educators the skills and tools to apply those principles to solving real-world problems in schools.

Whether you’re looking to combat chronic absenteeism, boost student outcomes, engage disengaged families, or reach hard-to-reach students and students with disabilities, this cohort was designed to help you (and your team) build a foundation of trust and change the culture of your organization, one conversation at a time.

Throughout the cohort, Drs. Steve and Peggie Constantino will provide practical examples and research from their own work, while presenting an actionable framework and challenging attendees to apply proven family engagement strategies to build confidence and address key challenges in your schools and communities.

Dates

Weekly sessions starting in October 2024

Cost

$495 per person
(discounts available for teams)

Who should attend

Superintendents, Assst. Superintendents, Program Directors, Migrant/Immigrant Supplemental Program Directors, Family Support Specialists, Site Administrators, District and County Office Administrators

Dr. Steve Constantino

dr peggie constantino

Dr. Peggie Constantino

Meet your instructors

With over 25 years of experience in Family Engagement, Dr. Steve Constantino has designed and delivered award-winning keynotes, concurrent sessions training, masterclasses, and customized professional development services to education clients around the United States and worldwide. You now have the opportunity to join national experts Drs. Steve and Peggie Constantino for a unique exploration into authentic family engagement practices and actionable results, rooted in his best-selling Five Simple Principles ™ model and curriculum.

Dr. Margaret “Peggie” Constantino is an Executive Professor in Education Policy, Planning, and Leadership and Director of the Executive Ed. D. Programs at the William & Mary School of Education. Her career in education includes classroom experience as a special educator in elementary, middle, and high school settings. As a school-level leader, she led the development and implementation of one of the largest International Baccalaureate Programs in North America. She has served as principal at the elementary and high school levels in both suburban and urban school systems. She also served as director of special education in Cobb County, GA, the nation’s 24 the largest school system. Dr. Constantino’s teaching and project work crosses doctoral and principal preparation programs, with expertise in innovative leadership, special education, design thinking, action research, equity, and social justice.

The experience

Your team will engage in a series of intentional learning activities designed to help them apply a proven family engagement framework to improve student outcomes, build community trust and close learning gaps.

Drive Student Success & Change Your Culture

In the opening session, Drs. Steve and Peggie Constantino will help your team shift its view of family engagement from theory to practice. Learn how to leverage family engagement as a tool to improve students outcomes and propel your organization forward.

Collaborative Problem-Solving Sessions

Based on the best-selling Five Simple Principles to Engage Every Family™, a series of (5) live, collaborative sessions demonstrate how educators can use proven family engagement practices to build confidence and address day-to-day challenges in their schools and communities.

Access to Personalized Learning Portal

In addition to the live sessions, each attendee receives password protect access to the RocketPD Learning Portal, where they can access session recordings and resources to self-reflect during their time in the cohort.

Plus, Drs. Steve & Peggie Constantino’s Case Study Book

As an added bonus, all participants will receive a copy of Dr. Steve and Dr. Peggie Constantino’s best-selling book, Case Studies to Engage Every Family™, a collection of 30 actionable case studies of the Five Simple Principles™ at work.

The outcomes

Educators who enroll in this cohort will:

  • Bridge the gap between family engagement theory and practice.
  • Learn how the 5 Simple Principles™ can be applied
    to address: student outcomes, chronic absenteeism, disengaged families, MTSS supports for hard-to-reach students and students with disabilities and more.
  • Emerge from this program with a practical examples and a proven framework to build authentic trust, solve strategic problems and effectively engage parents in the academic lives of their children, while changing the culture of their organization.

What educators are saying…

maria ovalle-lopez, director of family engagment, klein isd

“Attending the Master Class was a true privilege. Applying the learning and receiving immediate feedback allows me to implement the strategies immediately in my work setting!”

Maria Ovalle-Lopez

Director of Family Engagement, Klein ISD (TX)

“Steve (& Peggie) are passionate, captivating, and motivating speakers. They offer practical and common-sense advice, based on years of research and practice experience, about how to create and sustain effective family-school partnerships.”

Karen L. Mapp, Ed.D.

Senior Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

“If anyone would like to add to their personal growth or their contribution to the community, I would highly recommend Drs. Steve and Peggie Constantino’s Master Classes and resources.”

Nancy Gauthier

Family and Community Engagement Specialist, Aldine ISD (TX)

The sessions

Session #1

October 1, 2024 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM EST

How to drive student success (& improve your culture) with a focus on family engagement

  • Explore the link between culture & student success
  • Model elements of a positive family engagement culture
  • Compare positive examples to your own culture
  • Apply family engagement principles to start improving
Session #2

October 8, 2024 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM EST

Family engagement as a tool for cultural proficiency

  • Recognize & identify implicit biases in schools
  • Identify organizational structures that contribute to bias
  • Use the cultural proficiency continuum to implement positive practices
  • Learn to promote engagement in every aspect of your community
Session #3

October 15, 2024 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM EST

Engagement for all: A multi-tiered approach to student success

  • Identify barriers to engaging hard-to-reach families (including those with disabilities)
  • Model practical interventions that families can deploy at home
  • Highlight salient challenges impacting families of struggling (and hard-to-reach) students
  • Emerge with strategies to support families of students with disabilities and other barriers
Session #4

October 22, 2024 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM EST

Using family engagement to tackle chronic absenteeism

  • Explore causes contributing to chronic student absenteeism
  • Model family engagement strategies to drive higher student attendance
  • Explore teacher and staff roles in listening to and working with families
  • Deploy proven principles to engage families in limiting student absenteeism
Session #5

October 29, 2024 | 3:30 - 5:00 PM EST

Small wins make for big change

  • Conduct a self-assessment using the Five Simple Principles rubric
  • Implement a systematic, data-driven process in which practitioners pursue action (or Change) and research (or Understanding), while promoting a learning culture
  • Introduce action research as a collaborative process of problem-solving in schools
  • Engage in initial stages of cyclical action research, including problem identification, selection of interventions, reflective analysis, & cycles of improvement

Packed with benefits

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Expert-led

Connect live with top people, on topics you care about

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Collaborative

Join colleagues from other schools for lively discussions

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Mobile app

Create flexibility & learn on your time with our mobile app

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Recorded sessions

Never miss a beat with available recordings (for 30 days)

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Certificates of completion

Get credit for your hard work with personalized certificates

Register now

Build a team of any size and save.

Individual

$495

per person

Access to (5) live 90-min. sessions

Practical action items

20 Case Studies to Engage Every Family book

Access to the RocketPD Learning Portal

Register now

Team of 5

$480

per person

Access to (5) live 90-min. sessions

Practical action items

20 Case Studies to Engage Every Family book

Access to the RocketPD Learning Portal

Register now

Team of 10

$465

per person

Access to (5) live 90-min. sessions

Practical action items

20 Case Studies to Engage Every Family book

Access to the RocketPD Learning Portal

Register now

Want to bring a team of 10 or more?

Contact us for large group rates.

Contact RocketPD

Get Notified

Fill out the form below to be one of the first notified when new cohort dates are announced.

Get our Ultimate Guide to Family Engagement in K-12 Schools

*When you sign up for our guide, we’ll also subscribe you to our RocketPD Community Newsletter, a monthly curated selection of education news & headlines, with a focus on teacher & staff engagement. Don’t want to receive the newsletter? Unsubscribe at any time.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Using Family Engagement to Solve Real Problems in K-12 Schools Cohort?

In this 5-session virtual cohort, national family engagement expert and best-selling authors Dr. Steve Constantino and Dr. Peggie Constantino take aim at some of the toughest challenges facing school leaders today, and demonstrates practical ways in which a commitment to family engagement can help solve them. Topics include. using family engagement to: improve student outcomes, engaged disengaged families, reduce chronic absenteeism and MTSS for hard-to-reach students and students with disabilities, and more.

Why do this as part of a cohort?

The RocketPD cohort experience is designed to give school district leaders an actionable, affordable and convenient way to facilitate difficult but necessary strategic conversations and initiatives at a time when schools and school communities face both intense initiative fatigue and competing distractions. Districts can register select members of their building or central-office teams for open cohorts.

What’s included in this program?

Attendees will participate in (5) collaborative 90-min. virtual learning sessions (all over Zoom). During the cohort, they will also have access to RocketPD’s password protected Learning Portal, where they can access recordings and resources provided by Drs. Steve and Peggie Constantino and any special guests. All attendees will receive a copy of Dr. Steve and Peggie Constantino’s Case Studies to Engage Every Family book.

Who should participate?

The Using Family Engagement to Solve Real Problems in K-12 Schools Cohort is designed for Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Project/Program Directors, Migrant/Immigrant Supplemental Program Directors, Family Support Specialists, Site Administrators, District and County Office Administrators, Site Parent Engagement teams.

How will this help my team?

While most schools and school leaders believe in the value of effective family engagement, even the best educators struggle to bridge the values of family engagement theory into meaningful practice in schools. This cohort identifies several urgent strategic problems in schools and demonstrates how a commitment to family engagement and the Five Simple Principles can be applied to practically address those challenges with positive outcomes.

If you (or your team) has participated in a previous cohort experience or 5 Simple Principles workshop through The Constantino Group, this cohort provides an opportunity to dig deeper and apply that theory to practical, real-world applications in schools.

How can I participate?

If you’re interested in joining the Using Family Engagement to Solve Real Problems in K-12 Schools cohort, save your spot by completing this registration form. Once you sign up, you’ll receive more information about the program, including payment and invoicing details. You’ll also receive a detailed follow-up email with information about your cohort, including scheduled session dates and times. Should you have questions at any time throughout the process, you’ll receive the phone and email of our project coordinator to ensure a positive experience.

At RocketPD, we have one goal: to provide you (and your team) with an engaging, collaborative and high-quality professional learning experience. Should you have any questions, at any time, email us at [email protected].

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