4/20/10- Virtual Cluster Meeting - Family Engagement

We're having our first 'Virtual Cluster Meeting' this month: Flyer

Here’s the key info:

Date:	April 20 , 2010, 10:00 am-Noon
Location:	Your Computer!
Registration Fee:	$27 WSTC Member, $42 non-member
Deadlines:	April 19, 2010
Registration:	Click here to register

Ever felt like you were ‘reinventing the wheel” when designing forms, procedures, and events to engage parents at your program? We’re starting a new effort to make it easier for ECEAP, Early Head Start and Head Start (including MSHS and AIAN) staff to learn from each other and share resources. We’re calling them “Virtual Cluster Meetings”, and our first will be for staff members who work directly with families. Across the region our Head Start and ECEAP programs have developed great ideas and systems for getting and keeping families engaged, but staff are often working in a vacuum, with little contact with their counterparts in other programs. This virtual cluster meeting is designed to kickstart that connection and information sharing process, and will include both the 2-hour webinar discussion and the establishment of an ongoing online community for staff who work with families to continue to share ideas and resources.

Our opening topic will be: Families in Transition.
Join this webinar as we discuss the dynamics of managing both families who are leaving our programs while welcoming new families you will meet during spring and summer enrollments. What are success tips to make the transition smoother for families who are exiting? How can we establish strong, long lasting connections with new families who are entering? What are the important elements to remember with Kindergarten transition? What systems, forms, policy or procedures does your program have that supports this part of your work? How are you utilizing community partners in your transition work?

You’ll have an assignment before the meeting—each participant will be asked to send us something that they think works well, and that they think others might be able to use, whether it’s a form, a set of procedures/policies, an event agenda, a short summary of a great idea, etc.

The discussion will be led by Deborah Northern, Program Manager for Family Engagement at Puget Sound ESD, and Katy Warren, Professional Development Manager at WSA/WSTC.