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Family Life |
Welcome the Family Life Commission page. Here you will find resources and information to strengthen the home and improve the quality of life for all Utah children.
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Sue Carey
Family Life Commissioner
(801)261-3100
Email Sue
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Ready! Set! School! provides activities and resources to help parents prepare their
pre-schoolers for kindergarten. Parents can be their children's first and best teachers.
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DOWNLOADS:
> Managing Meal Time
> Feeding Young Children
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"Raising Readers" is a new 8-minute video starring parents and their young children. Through common everyday activities, the video shows fun and easy ways to build strong muscles for getting young children ready to read. The video clearly demonstrates listening games and writing tasks that research shows makes a difference in preparing children for reading success. When parents and children watch the film together, the fun and learning begin!
This video was produced by Jean Ciborowski Fahey, Ph.D, Education Director of the South Shore Hospital Reading Partnership in Weymouth, Massachusetts and Family Literacy Consultant to the Massachusetts Department of Education.
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| There are many Early Childhood websites available with useful information for parents on subjects such as, Agencies in Utah, Child Care, Community Services, Disabilities, Head Start, and Research. Click here to find many helpful sites. |
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National Standards for Family-School Partnerships |
A new way of leading: Building family-school partnerships for student success
When planning a program, look at each of these standards and see if your program uses each piece. If it does, then your chance of having a successful program will increase.
PTA’s National Standards for Family-School Partnerships
Standard 1: Welcoming all families into the school community —Families are active participants in the life of the school, and feel welcomed, valued, and connected to each other, to school staff, and to what students are learning and doing in class.
Standard 2: Communicating effectively —Families and school staff engage in regular, two-way, meaningful communication about student learning.
Standard 3: Supporting student success —Families and school staff continuously collaborate to support students’ learning and healthy development both at home and at school, and have regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills to do so effectively.
Standard 4: Speaking up for every child —Families are empowered to be advocates for their own and other children, to ensure that students are treated fairly and have access to learning opportunities that will support their success.
Standard 5: Sharing power —Families and school staff are equal partners in decisions that affect children and families and together inform, influence, and create policies, practices, and programs.
Standard 6: Collaborating with community —Families and school staff collaborate with community members to connect students, families, and staff to expanded learning opportunities, community services, and civic participation. |
In the 2002 research review A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement, Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp conclude that there is a positive and convincing relationship between family involvement and student success, regardless of race/ethnicity, class, or parents’ level of education. To put it another way, when families are involved in their children’s learning both at home and at school, their children do better in school. The report also points to specific types of involvement as being especially beneficial to children’s academic success.
Click here for the Findings that support the Standards.
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Family Education Plan |
A Family Education Plan is a framework to achieve successful life-long learning, the outcome of which will strengthen and enrich the overall well-being of the family. This program is intended to be a hands-on support to assist parents as they pursue a continuum of learning, develop parental leadership, and fulfill their important responsibility as their child’s first teacher and educational advocate.
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Three For Me- A Little Means A Lot |
Three for Me is a free PTA program designed to effectively involve parents and families in support of children and their education. The website below tells you how to register for free, use their free handouts and forms, and get ideas for increasing involvement. Parents are asked to sign a pledge that they will volunteer 3 hours during the school year to help their child be more successful in school. Volunteer hours can be counted whether they are at home or school. The pledge helps parents realize the value of their participation in the educational success of their student and will help to increase parental involvement.
http://www.three4me.com/index.htm
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PTA Unit Achievement Award |
The PTA Unit Achievement Award recognizes and celebrates the great things local PTAs are doing all the time. There’s no fee to participate, and the application process is easy! The 2007-08 application should be available soon on the National PTA website. The PTA national office will send a customized certificate, suitable for framing, that recognizes your PTA for its efforts.
To qualify, your PTA must meet all four of the following requirements:
- Obtained a 5 percent net increase in membership or a minimum of one member per student in the unit’s school(s).
- Conducted at least one program or project that provided an opportunity for parents to be involved in the school.
- Conducted at least one program or project that increased awareness among parents about issues that affect student achievement or school success.
- Participated in the state PTA’s convention or another state-sponsored event.
Click here for more information: http://www.pta.org/local_leadership_subprogram_1157664409109.html |
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National PTA's Parent Involvement Schools of Excellence Certification |
The Parent Involvement Schools of Excellence Certification recognizes schools whose parent involvement programs are based on the National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs. The standards, already endorsed by nearly 100 health and education organizations, were created around the six types of parent involvement identified by Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University. National PTA's Schools of Excellence Certification establishes the gold standard for parent involvement practices by providing a framework for schools to evaluate themselves. This certification is designed to help schools in the nation assess their parent involvement practices, make improvements where needed, and earn one of two distinctions:
1. Certification of Excellence, for schools that have outstanding parent involvement practices in place.
2. Recognition of Commitment, for schools that are committed to pursuing excellence in parent involvement.
Click here for more information: http://www.pta.org/local_leadership_subprogram_1116958590625.html |
Resources from National PTA |
Click here for additional resources for parents. There are articles with information in the following areas: Student Achievement, Safety, Media Technology, and Health and Wellness. Sign up on the right side of the screen for an email newsletter that will arrive every 2 weeks in your inbox with ideas and helps for parents on many topics.
http://www.pta.org/parent_resources.html
Sign up for free E-learning Courses on the following topics:
- PTA Basics
- Grant Writing
- Conflict Management
- Planning and Goal Setting
- Parliamentary Procedure
- Running a Successful PTA Program
- Effective Advocacy for Your Child
- Writing and Proposing PTA Resolutions
- Planning Your PTA Year
http://www.pta.org/leadership_training_resources.html |
Additional Resources |
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Child Welfare |
There are many agencies in Utah working to prevent child abuse and protect the rights of children.
"Prevent Child Abuse Utah has been working to prevent child abuse for more than 22 years and is the leading statewide educational organization working at local levels to prevent child abuse and neglect. With offices in Ogden, Salt Lake City, Tooele and St. George, PCA Utah’s board of directors and staff are committed to preventing child abuse before it occurs. PCA Utah continues to lead the way in building awareness, providing education and inspiring hope to everyone involved in preventing the maltreatment of children." Read more here.
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Turn Off the TV Week |
Turn Off the TV Week: April 21 - 27, 2008 is Turn Off the TV Week.
You can find more information at http://www.tvturnoff.org.
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Useful Links |
This web site is filled with information to help parents learn about the problems kids face, how to recognize danger signs, and how to talk to your children. Parents can also subscribe to an electronic Parenting Tips Newsletter. PTA is an organizational partner of this organization.
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Time to Talk |
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Time To Talk is an online community, resource and toolkit to help parents connect with their kids. National PTA is a strategic partner of Time To Talk.
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National Family Week and Family Table Talk |
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National Family Week has been celebrated since 1968. It is the week of Thanksgiving (November 18-24, 2007).
The Utah PTA has an official program called Family Table Talk. We start celebrating the week with this program on Sunday, November 18, 2007.
It is a very easy and fun program to run. All you have to do is have a family meal and talk together on this day. On pages 375-377 in the Utah PTA Handbook given to the presidents you will find flyers you can use to advertise this program.
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Take Your Family to School Week |
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