Episode 4: Equity and Family Support

Read in Spanish (Leer en Español)

Katrina Daniels, a school principal, describes the expansive way that her school assures equity and family support during the pandemic. (6 min.)

Facilitator Guide

Early Care and Education Environment Indicators and Elements of High-Quality Inclusion: E2: Family Partnerships, E6: Instructions
DEC Recommended Practices: Family, Instruction

As you watch this episode, pay attention to how Katrina defines equity, and the equitable supports that were offered to families to meet their needs given the challenges of the pandemic.

Reflection Questions

Katrina Daniels discusses working to close the learning gap created by inequitable access to resources and opportunities as early as preschool. What systems, policies, or situations create these inequities? What strategies have you observed or used that can help close the gap?
Katrina shares that equity is more than just a buzzword, but is at the foundation of their early childhood and preschool programs. Why is it important for equity to be at the core of early childhood and preschool programs? What strategies have you used or observed to ensure this?
Katrina explains how important it is to adjust and tailor instructional support to meet the needs of families. This acknowledges the critical role families play in partnering with educators to provide instructional support for children collaboratively. What strategies have you used to gain a better understanding of the unique strengths, needs, routines, and preferences of the families of the children you teach or support? How do you use that information to help families support their children's learning at home and in the community in meaningful ways?
How do you incorporate materials or experiences that acknowledge family culture, routines, preferences, and priorities into the learning environment and your instructional support? How does incorporating familiar contexts and materials into your environment create better outcomes for children? How does it help you to gain a better understanding of children's abilities and progress?
What are things that people do when engaging with you personally that help to build trust or help you to feel comfortable trusting them? What are things people do that make you believe they care about you? How can you incorporate these things into your work with families to build trust and show that you care?

Katrina describes a variety of ways to support families, from providing technology, to remaining compassionate and understanding about the challenges that families face when using other resources in the community.

Using the internet, search out resources in your community that might be helpful for families who are balancing work and their child's education. Think about the variety of needs that families may have and find resources related to:

Technology
Food and nutrition
Housing
Health and mental health
Employment
Transportation

Come back together as a group and discuss the resources that you found in your online search.

Which resources did you already know about and which ones were new discoveries?
Were there resource gaps in your community?
How might you build a school community that nurtures families through community partnerships?