Ms. Haskett and Ms. Clements after the attendance workshop they hosted at Tanner Duckrey School.
In December 2018, the FACE office held a SAC Academy workshop called “Discussing Attendance as a SAC.” In this workshop, the attendees participated in an activity where they brainstormed all obstacles that prevent consistent attendance at their schools. After listing these obstacles, the group members identified which obstacles were school-wide obstacles that their SACs could possibly discuss and tackle. The workshop presented ways to have structured and intentional conversations about attendance in a SAC meeting. After the workshop, Terena Clements and Nichole Haskett, both parents at Tanner Duckrey School, decided to collaborate and take what they learned at the workshop back to their school!
Just a few weeks later, Ms. Clements and Ms. Haskett hosted a parent workshop about attendance at Duckrey. They used the SAC Academy Materials that are available online for all schools to use, to replicate the workshop and tailor it for their school’s needs. They used some of the same structures as the SAC workshop in order to facilitate conversations about attendance, however, because all of the families there came from the same school community, they were able to have a targeted conversation about the attendance obstacles specifically at Duckrey and potential strategies that could alleviate these obstacles.
Ms. Clements and Ms. Haskett showed a practical and effective way to utilize available SAC resources and workshops in order to increase family engagement at their school. Through the workshop, Duckrey parents brainstormed together and set action steps for future goals and future conversations around attendance. It was an informative and very engaging session in which many parent voices were heard. We celebrate the hard work and initiative that these parents showed and hope, as always, that SAC members take advantage of SAC Academy workshops and SAC Training Materials to support their schools!
Has your school used any of the SAC Academy workshop materials to improve your SAC or meetings? What kinds of workshops would you like to see in the future? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter @sdpFACE!
