Hazel Park City School District

family engagement is an ongoing struggle, and Hazel Park is not alone in having difficulty getting groups of families and caregivers to work together in a meaningful way that would foster meaningful discussion and planning. I would love to work through multiple channels to engage families and the community to encourage or increase involvement. For districts like Hazel Park that struggle getting families to come and participate, changes can be made to meet families where they are. Hazel Park has a strong community with parents engaged in sports, community events, and time that centers their children. Meeting at school playgrounds, sports practices or similar events may increase engagement by removing the barrier of competing priorities, time constraints, or scheduling conflicts. Using Zoom conferencing or one-on-one live surveys or phone calls would also increase participation from families who aren't able to attend in person. Increasing communication and notice of committee or group planning meetings, and having notice come through trusted and noticeable avenues such as teacher communication apps or notes home with children may be less likely to get lost in the shuffle than a social media post or small paragraph in a school newsletter. Finally, a multi-pronged approach of having community groups, local government, recreation departments work together to encourage group planning and decision-making is more likely to foster a sense of community and show the impact of collaboration and companionship.

I would have workshops and brainstorming sessions for the community to participate in. All interactions with the community need to be accommodating to the needs of the community. That means having workshop sessions outside of regular business hours, so that people with jobs can attend. That can also mean that these workshops need to provide food and possibly childcare so that community members are not forced to pick between eating dinner or going to the workshop.