Authors: Susan Shaffer, President, Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium, Inc.
In my first blog post, Making the Case: Why SFECs Should Integrate Family Math into their Programming, I outlined the rationale for WHY Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFECs) should weave math into their family engagement efforts. Now I delve into the practical aspects of HOW.
To answer this question, I went straight to the source. Four SFECs provided specific examples showing how they integrate math into their programs. All agree that family math efforts play a crucial role in helping parents understand the significance of math in their children’s lives. Children need math to prepare them for future success.
Here are four approaches that SFECs are taking to integrate math into their family engagement programming:
Online Family Math Resources
Online resources are invaluable for families and educators seeking convenient access to a wealth of educational tools and resources on family math. The Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center website contains over 500 resources searchable by audience, topic, and grade level. The website collection of resources grows with additional new resources every month on topics including family math, such as Family Financial Literacy, how families learn about money together; Helping your Child Learn About Money, a simple guide useful for both families and classroom teachers; and Money Monsters, an extensive collection of free, fun resources from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Although many of the family math resources in the collection were created by organizations across the country, the Ohio SFEC website also contains family engagement research and resources from the Ohio SFEC team. For example, Money Talks is a family math resource for families of adolescents to encourage families to talk and learn about money together.
Family Math Curriculum Development
Parent workshop series offer an opportunity to meaningfully engage parents and caregivers with family math information and with each other. Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE), the California SFEC, is creating an 8-week family math program focusing on students in pre-K-5th grade. The program is designed to help families with students in these grades know how to better support their student in math, navigate how to overcome their own math anxieties to make Common Core math more approachable, and know what to ask their student’s teacher about math. Week 1 will provide an orientation to PIQE and preview of what will be learned. Week 2 will address such questions as What is meant when we say “math”? Why is math important? Week 3 will focus on math learning gaps, attitudes, math anxiety, using reflection to tell their own math stories. Week 4 tackles the Common Core curriculum. Week 5 will guide family members in how to ask their child’s teacher about math instruction? Week 6 will identify how to integrate math into everyday life. Week 7 will host a community dialogue, providing a forum for families to ask questions of their school and hear from a math academic coach and a local school administrator (principal, resource teacher, math specialist) who will share math resources with families. Week 8 will celebrate graduation from the course.
Family Math Webinars for Families and Educators
Webinars provide the ability to disseminate information so that families and educators can learn on their own schedule and without having to travel. Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium’s (MAEC) two SFECs collaborated to develop a webinar series that began airing this past Spring. The first, Unlocking the Power of Family Math: Making it Easy and Fun, focused on cultivating a positive math learning culture at home, overcoming misconceptions that math is difficult and not enjoyable, and providing tools for success. The second, Play with Me! How Games and Playtime Can Help Your Child Learn Math Held, explored how games, puzzles, and playtime can promote children’s math learning. A third webinar, Sharing Storybooks, is scheduled for August 21, 2024. The webinar series will be available in English and Spanish. These webinars were co-hosted by the Consortium for Engaging Families Across Maine (CEFAM), the SFEC for Maine, the Collaborative Action for Family Engagement (CAFE), the SFEC for Maryland and Pennsylvania, and NAFSCE’s Center for Family Math. Webinar topics have been partially informed by having the Center for Family Math attend partner meetings and asking what educators and the community most cares about.
Professional Learning on Family Math
Two vehicles for providing professional learning are Communities of Practice (CoP) and Institutes. CoPs enable school and classroom educators and other practitioners to collaborate within a shared domain of interest. CEFAM, for example, will host a CoP on family math for educators across Maine. Participants will engage in shared activities and practices. Institutes offer the opportunity for district leaders to hear from experts, share experiences, and learn about new strategies to integrate family math. CEFAM and NAFSCE will co-host the Family Math Learning Institute for district family engagement leaders during the Maine Educator Summit. This institute aims to support district leaders in integrating family math into their engagement strategies effectively.
Effective integration goes beyond mere inclusion of math activities; it involves incorporating mathematical concepts and skills into various facets of family engagement. An SFEC may consider helping schools add a family math component into parent workshops, providing resources for math games and activities at home, and offering support for parents and caretakers to understand and navigate their children’s math curriculum. Starting this effort early in childhood ensures that all children recognize their potential to excel in math. There is also opportunity for systems-level work in Family Math. For example, CEFAM and NAFSCE are in discussions with Maine’s Department of Education to create a statewide family engagement framework. Family math is one of the areas of exploration to be considered. In another example, the National Director for Family Math will join the Joint MD and PA CAFE Advisory Council.
The stories these four SFECs shared underline that integrating math into SFEC programs is a multifaceted effort. It requires collaboration, resources, and innovative approaches to make math a natural and enjoyable part of family life, ultimately advancing the field of family, school, and community engagement.
