School leaders from across Minnesota share ideas for connecting with families, including non-English speaking families, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Focus on personal connections.

  • Seek to make personal connections with all families.
  • For those whom English is not their primary language, use educational assistants and community members to help customize messages and assist in communications.
  • Reach into the community to find these bi and multi lingual community members.

Establish a mentorship group.

  • Align mentors and groups by languages. One school implementing this shared it is using all staff for a ratio of 10:1.
  • Mentors contact families on Mondays to find out things are going for the family. This can include academics, but should be more holistic.
  • Create a form for mentors to fill in family needs such as nutrition.
  • Those not contacted Monday, try Tuesday, then Wednesday.
  • Any family unable to be contacted by Wed is referred to advocacy team to figure out how to reach family using community contacts and other resources.

Survey parents and students.

  • Ask how the school is doing in reaching out and communicating to identify gaps and opportunities.
  • Consider asking for their ideas to build connections.
  • Take action to improve.

Create a private Facebook group.

  • These can be for parents or for students to connect and support one another.
  • They should be opt-ins.

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Stay Connected

Stay apprised of resources and news on COVID-19 for schools at: MREAvoice.org/covid19