Head Start Parent

Using the Head Start Parent,
Family, and Community Engagement
Framework in Your Program:

Markers of Progress
1

This document was prepared under Grant #90HC0003 for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start, by the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement.

Contents
Letter to the Members of the Head Start Community .................................................................................................................... 1
Foreword............................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Using
These indicators are based on the Head Start
Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework.
(See page 6.)

For example, program leadership can promote professional development strategies (such as crossprogram training and team building) that build a program environment that respects the strengths and cultural backgrounds of families. Within this program environment, teaching and learning processes include teacher invitations for family visits to observe classrooms and share information about children’s talents, interests, and needs. Through child assessments and surveys of teachers and parents, the program director and staff collect data for continuous program improvement so that they can better support families as lifelong educators. Looking for and thinking about “connections” will help assure your PFCE practices are program-wide and lead to the well-being of children and their families. This will also lead you to use your time and resources wisely by building on and linking PFCE successes rather
These decisions are based upon data about families’ progress on meeting family and child goals (e.g., community assessment data, self-assessment data and data on staff-parent interactions). This best describes our program.

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PROGRAM
LEADERSHIP

CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT

PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAM
ENVIRONMENT

FAMILY
PARTNERSHIP

TEACHING &
LEARNING

COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIP

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
AND CHILD OUTCOMES

Use this space to record your thoughts about what you are already doing that you would like to celebrate, challenges that you need to face, and new ideas about what you will do to move your program toward effective PFCE.

33

PROGRAM
LEADERSHIP

CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT

PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAM
ENVIRONMENT

FAMILY
PARTNERSHIP

TEACHING &
LEARNING

COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIP

FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
AND CHILD OUTCOMES

Continuous Improvement
Leadership and staff are committed to continuously improving systems and activities to engage and support parents, families, and the community. With a strategic PFCE vision and goals shared by program leadership, staff, and families, programs can conduct staff and parent surveys and use data from