How can we engage families?

Early childhood educators serve as advocates for children and their families. You are a teacher leader in your school. You have been asked to develop a presentation on how and why families should be involved in the assessment process, how to communicate assessment results to families, and how to advocate for families. Your audience will be your colleagues at your site.
Fostering family engagement in the assessment process is not always easy. Engagement of families can vary widely from site to site, city to city, and district to district. How can we engage families? How can we serve as advocates for the children we teach and their families? How can we help others engage in good practice? Often, this is a matter of taking the first step forward. As a teacher leader, you must consider the local environment, the educators at your site, and current procedures in order to encourage change.