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FAMLY ENGAGEMENT
Recruiting Families to Attend
Literacy Events
When planning to engage with families, it is important to remember a “one-size-fits-all” approach will not
work. The priority should be a “good fit” to the needs and assets of students and families in your community.
In other words, there is no “best” strategy to use with every family in every situation. And, as your families
change and evolve, so will the strategies you utilize to engage families in events. Use the list below as a start-
ing point and update and enhance these engagement strategies throughout the school year.
• Whenever possible, provide childcare, food, translation, and transportation for events.
• Broaden family invitations – invite dads, grandparents, uncles, etc. — whomever has a significant role in
the child’s life!
• Flyers are only one method of communication and typically not very effective due to their impersonal
nature. Use a variety of methods (oral, written, and virtual) to connect with families. The more personal the
invitation, the more likely families will want to attend! Personal invitations convey the message “I’m
special” and you really want me to attend. A flyer doesn’t convey the same message. Try a personal phone
call, face-to-face, or home visit, etc. You could say, ”Mrs. Jones, I’ve seen you at several of our workshops
and I really think you would be an excellent addition at our next literacy event. You are a natural leader
with so much to offer. Our next workshop is Tuesday at 6 p.m. Can I count on you attending?”
• Ensure all staff at the school are aware of the upcoming event to help recruit families and promote the event.
• Publicize events on social media. Many families use social media on a regular basis (Facebook, Twitter,
YouTube, Instagram), so you should be familiar and comfortable communicating to families this way.
• Utilize incentives – T-shirts/hats to build community at events.
• Think like a marketing executive and change up your presentation titles to entice families to come. Instead
of a workshop on Family Routines, try “Beating Breakfast and Bedtime Battles.”
• Give parents a reason to attend. Always connect the content back to their child. The more specific you can
be with how this effects their family and their child, the more likely families will see the importance and want
to attend. Make connections for families between what they do and promoting positive child outcomes.
• Offer meetings at various days and times – including weekends.
• Assign a family representative to each classroom to help recruit families and market the event.
• Develop a phone chain to recruit and market the event. Have families sign up at the beginning of the year
and empower classroom family representatives to manage.
• Develop classroom/grade-level incentives for participation in events.
• Have students write/draw invitations to the event.
• Hold meetings in the community. The public library or local bookstore are perfect locations for conducting
a literacy event.
• Utilize engaged families to recruit a new family to an event.
• Choose a consistent color for sending home flyers/information regarding upcoming family events.