Family Engagement Toolkit
2022 NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference, Family Leadership Institute Participant
Engaging with families to support students to a brighter future takes time, effort, and intention. Members of NCCEP’s Family Engagement Advisory Committee compiled the resources below to share with other GEAR UP programs. The resources are meant to serve as inspiration or templates for other GEAR UP programs’ family engagement work.
If you want to learn more about ways to use the resources, check out NCCEP’s professional development opportunities that review family engagement strategies.
Getting to Know Your Families
2022 NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference, Family Leadership Institute Participants
To serve families, start by getting to know who they are and what they need. This core element of family engagement creates a strong foundation for your work.
Needs Assessment
Sample Needs Assessment (provided by Chicago GEAR UP)
Constructing a Locality Map (provided by NCCEP)
Communicating with Families
Sample Flyer (provided by Appalachian State GEAR UP)
Sample Call Script (provided by Cal State University Fullerton GEAR UP)
Planning Services
2022 NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference, Family Leadership Institute Participants
Planning services requires determining what content to deliver and how to deliver it. Consider ways to create two-way conversations with families, and focusing on the knowledge and tools they need to support their students.
Collaborating with Families
Let’s Talk Story (provided by GEAR UP Hawai’i)
Engaging Families and Train the Trainer (provided by Region One ESC GEAR UP)
Examples of Services and Activities
“College is Affordable” Presentation (provided by Cal State University Fullerton GEAR UP)
Next Guides (provided by GEAR UP Tennessee)
Collecting and Analyzing Data
2022 NCCEP/GEAR UP Annual Conference, Family Leadership Institute Participants
Continuous improvement is an important element of any GEAR UP program. Be sure to collect data and analyze it so that you can use that information to improve family services each year.
Data Collection Templates
Overview, Parent Cover Sheet, Parent Sign-In Sheet, Parent and Student Sign-In Sheet (resources provided by GEAR UP Tennessee)