My Journey Celebrating Families in a Cultural Context
Presenter
- Maria Elaine Petrino, M.S.Ed., Brooklyn College
Session / Time
- Breakout Session III
- 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
- Glenwood Room
Description
Parents and caregivers are a child’s first teachers and an integral part of a child’s development. How do we get families involved and keep them involved in their child’s education? This workshop will discuss ways educators and administrators can build strong relationships with families and create many opportunities for families to participate in their child’s learning and development.
Goals / Content / Intentionality
By the conclusion of this session, participants will::
- collect relevant information about families in their school community to learn more about students and find strategies to involve families in their child’s education,
- identify characteristics such as key people in their student’s lives, customs, roles and responsibilities, culture, and home routines to improve teaching practices,
- establish relationships with families to support their needs and encourage participation in workshops and classroom activities,.
- help families connect with one another to find emotional support and share resources,
- connect their knowledge of families to their teaching practices in the classroom and at-home learning activities, and
- share student goals and give families a “voice of dignity.”
My hope is that participants will realize the importance of building family relationships, will use suggested strategies for their population, and are motivated to connect their findings to student expectations and family involvement efforts..
- Building relationships with families is critical to supporting your students as an educator.
- Knowledge of families, their strengths, and their challenges will enable you to plan opportunities for involvement in the school, the classroom, and at home.
- Familiarity with the surrounding community will support, promote and create many opportunities for families to participate in their child’s learning and development.
Presenter Bio
Maria Elaine Petrino, M.S.Ed., Brooklyn College
Maria Elaine Petrino, M.S.Ed., Brooklyn College
As an early childhood coordinator working for the New York City Department of Education, Marie Elaine Petrino provided instruction and support for the early childhood programs in public schools and community-based programs in Brooklyn, as well as East Harlem, Chinatown, and the Lower East Side in Manhattan. This included giving demonstration lessons, arranging classrooms, providing resources to support developmentally appropriate practices, and facilitating educators and parents to build relationships and strengthen home-school connections.
Petrino previously worked as a pre-K teacher and coordinator at Project Reach Youth, a family literacy-based program in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, whose components included a pre-K classroom, an infant-and-toddler program, adult education, parent-child activities, and workshops on parenting skills. She was part of a team that recruited the students and families, designed and facilitated classroom instruction to include families, and promoted staff development as well as program assessment and evaluation. With the aim of including fathers in the educational and learning experiences of their pre-K children, Petrino initiated and designed a father-involvement program featuring workshops and trips that integrated literacy in the activities through play and conversation.
With a master’s degree from Brooklyn College, Petrino has facilitated the Infant and Toddler program for 14 years and has also taught social studies for early childhood educators and a course for students seeking their master’s degrees and extended certifications.
