Cambridge Agenda for Children Out-of-School Time
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  • Our Work
    • Cambridge OST Coalition
    • Communities of Practice
    • Elementary Network
    • 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 Empathy


Joseph Corbie, director of the Fletcher-Maynard community school in Cambridge, MA shares about his experience keeping it real and building empathy with parents. Empathy, he explains, is the corner stone of making parents feel welcome and is key to overcoming challenges related to family disengagement: "I try to come from a place of encouragement, whether that person was there yesterday, was there from day one with this child or just got there. I try to say, I'm happy to see you or its good to meet you."

Guiding Questions

  • What does it sound like to "come from a place of encouragement" when you can tell that things are hard for the families you work with?
  • How do you contribute to creating a compassionate environment for your families?
  • What are the strategies you use to build meaningful relationships with families?

Our Takeaway

  • Building empathy means knowing families and having real conversations with them, coming from a place of positivity and encouragement - and when the program director models that engagement and approach towards parenting and parents, families can feel the difference throughout the program.

Cambridge Agenda for Children out-of-school time

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