NAEYC is pleased to recognize the following ten programs as being exemplary in their family engagement practices:
- Children's Village Child Care Center in Philadelphia, PA...
- CRT Locust Early Care & Education Program in Hartford, CT...
- Iowa State University Child Development Laboratory School in Ames, IA...
- Montgomery County Community College Children's Center in Blue Bell, PA...
- Rainbow School in Stanford, CA...
- School for Friends in Washington, DC...
- Sheltering Arms Early Education & Family Center - International Village in Atlanta, GA...
- Sunnyside Child Care Center at Smith in Northampton, MA...
- The Family Schools, Inc. in Brewster, MA...
- YWCA of Minneapolis Downtown Children’s Center in Minneapolis, MN...
These five programs are recognized for their noteworthy family engagement accomplishments:
- BlueSkies for Children in Oakland, CA...
- Kidango Little Washington Township in Fremont, CA...
- Temple Beth Sholom Foundation School in Miami Beach, FL...
- Egenolf Early Childhood Center in Elizabeth, NJ...
- Pocono Services for Children and Families in East Stroudsburg, PA...
What should families look for?
Family engagement occurs when there is an ongoing, reciprocal, strengths-based partnership between families and their children’s early childhood education programs. The research clearly indicates that meaningful engagement of families in their children’s early learning supports school readiness and later academic success. NAEYC’s Engaging Diverse Families (EDF) project investigated the family engagement practices of early childhood education programs. High-quality programs:
- Encourage your participation in decision making. Programs with Boards of Directors with family representation, active committees, and regular parent-teacher conferences encourage shared decision making about the program and your child.
- Facilitate consistent, two-way communication. Programs should communicate with you through multiple formats and in your preferred language.
- Seek out information about your life and community and integrate this information into their curriculum. Programs should welcome your talents, interests, or family traditions into the classroom!
- Support your efforts to create a home environment that values learning by connecting you with information and activities that enhance early learning. Announcements of community events, lending libraries, and newsletter tips about child development are examples of how programs can extend the learning beyond the classroom.
- Have program leadership and teachers who are dedicated, trained and supported in their efforts to reach out to and include families.
Questions?
Please visit the official Engaging Diverse Families page on NAEYC's website for more information!
Write to us at engagingdiversefamilies@naeyc.org
Funding for Engaging Diverse Families was provided by The Picower Foundation.
