Module 4: Specialized Recommendations

 Importance of the Family Liaison Role 

The number of family liaison positions in school systems has increased over the recent decades, particularly among Title 1 schools and those with high multilingual learner populations. Family liaisons serve multiple diverse roles, with a mission to build relationships with families that allow for more connection with their child’s educational experience. Family liaisons typically follow the Parent Teacher Association’s National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. The Colorado Department of Education’s P-12 Framework for Family Community and School Partnerships can guide advocacy efforts, including the role of a family liaison, and provides schools with rubrics for self-assessments of such partnerships. 

When conducting family interviews, the family liaison may be the first person to consider as a potential collaborator, as they may have an existing relationship with the family and information about how to maximize the success of the interview. Family liaisons may be strong partners for the interview itself, as families may feel more comfortable attending an interview with a school staff member that they are familiar with. Schools should consider how family liaisons are integrated into family interview processes, how information is shared with staff about relevant information obtained from family liaisons, and more broadly how this role can improve family connection to the school, ultimately improving student and family outcomes.. 

 Sharing Data and Information 

One of the most critical aspects of strong family interviews is having systems in place that allow for the efficient sharing of data. Family interviews can be conducted by multiple school staff members, and systems must be created to share relevant information. For example, home language survey data, language proficiency information, behavioral intervention data, family communication logs, parent-teacher conference feedback, and MTSS data are extremely valuable information sources to guide family interviewing. Schools must find ways to allow for efficient sharing of such information to relevant personnel. School staff should consult with district policies for sharing information among school staff as well as permissions required for sharing information with external partners. 

Reporting Interview Findings in Educational Records 

Information collected during a family interview will be extensive, and not everything obtained will be relevant for the educational record. School staff should consider how the information obtained may align with the reasons for engaging in the interview (e.g. academic performance, behavior). Interview data should be presented in a strengths-based way, and a summary of the students strengths can be a standard section in MTSS notes and special education evaluations. Notes from the family interview can be kept by the interviewee and relevant content can be shared with appropriate school staff. Families should always have information about who will have access to the information they are providing. Families can also have the opportunity to remove content from the educational record if desired. This will result in building stronger trust and more robust  information sharing. 
 

Interviewing the Student 

School staff can also gain culturally and linguistically responsive information by interviewing a student directly. The interview questions provided in this resource can be developmentally adjusted to the student, and students of all ages can be interviewed. This process can strengthen the relationship with the student, and provide different perspectives from family interviewing. Student interviewing has also been shown to deepen student ownership over the educational experience, particularly when conducted in strength-based formats. Interviewing students should be seen as a potential addition to family interviewing techniques, and not instead of such techniques.  

 Considerations for Early Childhood Populations 

It is more likely that families with children entering early childhood  settings identify as multilingual, and the school experience may be the first exposure to English instruction for the family. Thus, it is more likely that interpretation and translation services are needed among these families, and school leaders should systematically review how to allocate resources so that families are able to access such resources efficiently. When conducting family interviews, school staff should allocate more time to help families understand and navigate the educational system. Routines-based interviews in early childhood are family-centered and can easily integrate cultural and linguistic considerations into a strengths-based format. Home visits are common within early childhood settings, and processes can be created to guide these visits in terms of strength-based family interviewing and building culturally and linguistically responsive relationships with families. 

Family Interviewing Pertaining to Trauma 

There are many situations where we need to ask families sensitive questions pertaining to trauma. Before asking any of these questions, the interviewer must consider the purpose of the question, and how it potentially relates to supporting their child in the educational environment. In addition, the relationship with the family and the environment of the interview will likely relate to the depth of information provided. Many families will want to share their stories, and their traumatic experiences may be viewed as resiliency by some families. It is important to enter these interviews without assumptions pertaining to the impact of trauma or experiences within such events, as the specific family experience and influence of the trauma must be understood from their perspectives. Asking questions pertaining to trauma can result in vicarious and secondary trauma, and people conducting family interviews should receive training in trauma-informed practices prior to engaging in such interviews. The WIDA Consortium has published specific recommendations pertaining to trauma-informed practices with multilingual learners. 
 

Observing Differences in Communication 

There will be situations when communication between families and schools may not be ideal, for the families, the schools, or for both parties. It is important that the school should be focusing on communication as long term relationship-building, and not solely as compliance. From a legal standpoint, families must have meaningful participation in the IEP process, although the conceptualization of meaningful participation will vary by family. Communication with families should be documented, including when communication is not reciprocated. School staff should document communication attempts in strengths-based ways, and refrain from making judgements about families based on communication patterns.