Article Link: http://www.exchangepress.com/article/strategies-for-building-social-support-for-families/5019882/
Today’s schools are fraught with fragmented and partial services being given to our most precious resource, our community’s children. Families with small children need to have both educator and social service support, especially those families at risk, by providing them with deserved ecological care. There are three kinds of professionals who can enhance this home-school-community connection: education professionals, children’s parents or caregivers, and community agency providers or social service practitioners. Educators must be sensitive to the life space barriers in the home that negatively affect academic progress. Based on their outreach needs, diverse families dictate for the neighborhood the types of referrals and services. The caregivers lead in the kinds of designated community resources to be implemented, as families at risk are the ones utilizing these resources. School professionals must be keen to familial issues, offering appropriate, high-quality care.Educator biases of families at risk
Research indicates that many educators are not sensitive to the home and neighborhood struggles experienced by families in need and do not empathize with families at risk who reside in low-income, high-crime, inner-city communities. In these communities, parent/caregiver involvement is understandably low due to their life circumstances. However, educators often interpret nonparticipation as indicating that education ...