Ideas to Encourage Natural Connections Among Families

At ReachWell, we have made family-staff partnerships the core of what we facilitate as a company. Research has shown that fostering deep, meaningful relationships between staff and families is a key factor in family and student academic and social outcomes.

These relationships are a piece of a puzzle, albeit an important one, but not the entire picture. Families & Schools Together (FAST) promotes the Family Systems Theory, where facilitating family-to-family relationships is another means to supporting students.

The Benefits of Facilitating Family Connections

By creating relationships within and between families, individual parents and guardians become accountable to each other. They begin to depend upon one another as a base of mutual support. This is particularly important for families who frequently face stressors, which often disrupts a child's daily routine. FAST has seen that by strengthening family relationships, families are better able to cope and support their children.

These family relationships can:

• Build cohesion and stability in families’ and students’ lives
• Create an accountability structure
• Build social capital between families, schools, and the community
• Empower parents and guardians with the skills and confidence to nurture their children
• Empower students and give a sense of security, improving academic and social outcomes

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlights protective factors to reduce Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), including social networks and communities that support parents. This includes caring adults outside the family who can serve as role models or mentors.

Family and Community Event Best Practices to Facilitate Family Connections

• Include small group team building activities or icebreakers that promote families to meet one another.
• Host meetings of families from the same neighborhood, or with a common interest. Examples: Immigrants from the same country, grandparents raising grandkids, families of 5th-grade boys.
• Reach out to local non-profits and faith-based organizations, and ask for their help in connecting families with each other and the school.
• At events where you serve food, invite teachers and families to sit together while having conversation starters at the table.
• Teachers or main offices can form communication networks between families in their classrooms.
• Introduce families to each other during drop off and pick up times.

Use ReachWell's Features to Facilitate Family Connections

• Increase event attendance by adding community functions to the app calendar and uploading event banners.
• Increase event attendance by sending reminders through multiple platforms. Through ReachWell, you can send information on the app, through email, text, call, and on your website.
• Send a weekly newsletter that includes a student or family spotlight. Families can learn more about each other and find common interests they may not have known about previously.
• Send a survey to learn more about each family. This can help you to find and connect families with common interests or who live in the same neighborhoods.
• Upload app banners with photos of students and families to create a sense of community.