Cambridge Agenda for Children Out-of-School Time
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  • Our Work
    • Cambridge OST Coalition
    • Communities of Practice
    • Elementary Network >
      • Elementary Network Coordinator
    • Quality Improvement System
    • Training >
      • Training On Your Own Time
    • OST Symposium
    • Middle School Network
    • OST-School Partnerships
    • Stories of Family Partnership
  • News & Events
    • Upcoming Training
    • Upcoming Communities of Practice
    • MSN Updates
    • Newsletters
    • Events Calendar
  • Stories of Family Partnership
    • Common Ground
    • Parent Voices
    • Showing Them that They Matter
    • Showing us What they Know
    • Empathizing with Parents
    • Building Dialogue
    • Creating a Welcoming Culture
    • Celebrating Families
  • Resources
    • OST FAQ & COVID-19 Resources
    • 5 Key Elements for Successful Virtual OST Programming
    • Blog
    • How to Write a Blog Post for AFCOST
    • Publications
    • Professional Development Reports
    • Find It Cambridge
    • STEAM@Home
  • About Us
    • Mission and Beliefs
    • Our Ways of Being
    • History
    • Organizational Structure
    • Who we are
    • Contact
    • Work with us

Building Dialogue

Vanessa Fisher, Director of the Frisoli Youth Center, tells us how she engages families by building dialogue & relationships: "I don't think there is any single way you can be in touch with a family without really knowing who that youth is". 

​We join Vanessa at the Frisoli Youth Center to learn how a new approach to family phone calls has helped strengthen their family partnership practice.


Guiding Questions

  • Are there small things that you can change about your family engagement strategy that will shift the quality of conversations with families?
  • How often do you talk with families for more than 60 seconds?
  • How does the way young people engage with your program change if their family has a meaningful connection with your program staff?

Going Deeper 

  • Video of Vanessa Fisher Explaining the Family Engagement Continuum
  • Listen to Karen Mapp explain the 3 Prerequisites of Effective Family and Community Engagement
Create your own user feedback survey

Cambridge Agenda for Children out-of-school time

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