How the Power of Family Engagement Changes the Trajectories of Students and Teachers

Presented by Andy Danilchick, Co-Founder and Director, The Project for Mental Health and Optimal Development, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education; Sylvia Hall, Co-Founder, GAB-on!; and Jarrid Hall, Co-Founder, GAB-on!

Sponsored by GAB-on!

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The past two years have been incredibly challenging in the world of education. One of the silver linings is that the impact of parent engagement in a child’s school day has risen in visibility. Decades of research tell us this is key to a child’s academic achievement and agency, and in igniting aspirations.

Developing a student’s agency builds critical thinking, gives them a voice to ask for help when navigating hurdles, and allows them to share their struggles and joys to look forward and better understand their possibilities. Harnessing family engagement through student agency opens a window for parents to see their child’s struggles and joys, guide and support their child’s strengths, and feel connected as a family.

In this edWebinar, Andy Danilchick, Co-founder and Director of The Project for Mental Health and Optimal Development at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, shares the impact of harnessing parent engagement and empowering student voice as pathways to academic achievement, social-emotional development, student advocacy, and overall mental health for students, and the impact that has in the classroom. Key takeaways include:

• Consistent parent/family engagement plays a critical role in students’ academic, social, and emotional learning
• Student voice has the power to identify a child’s struggles, joys, and possibilities and change the trajectory of their future
• Student agency, when connected with parent engagement outside of the classroom, has results that lead to higher education, career opportunities, and life preparedness

This recorded edWebinar is of interest to K-12 teachers, school and district leaders, librarians, education technology leaders, and school counselors.

About the Presenters

Andy Danilchick is the director of Penn GSE’s Project for Mental Health and Optimal Development. He leads the Public Schools Consortium for Mental Health and Optimal Development and the Possibility Mentoring Project. Andy is also a leadership consultant, researcher, and teacher educator. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Penn GSE’s Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education Program. Andy holds a master’s in educational leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. from Swarthmore College. Andy’s research interests include action research, possibility development, 360 assessment, and teacher development.

Sylvia Hall is the proud mom of two teenagers and co-founder of GAB-on! With a 15-plus-year career in strategic and relationship marketing, she pivoted her energy and dedication to navigating the world of special education in both private and public schools on behalf of her son who learns differently. Sylvia holds a certificate from the Harvard E.D.U. Family Engagement in Education program and has been recognized by Women’sNet, Northeast Arc, and the 2022 SIIA CODiE Awards for GAB-on! She is living the adolescent parenting journey in the moment and tends to spontaneously bring rescue pups home.

Jarrid Hall is the proud dad of two teens, an idea generator, and builder of GAB-on! His resume includes years of business development and sales at Fortune 500 companies and startups domestically and in Europe. He started his first business at age 12, went on to build the U.S. business for a Dutch start-up, and spent time in London to open a new technology market. He built GAB-on! to connect with his kids and to show them how to be unafraid to try to start something from scratch and to be involved in an effort for the impact it can have.

Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.

Join the Student Voice community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

GAB-on! gets every family talking, about school, every day. Family engagement in a child’s education improves all the “A’s”: attendance, academic achievement, agency, and aspirations. GAB-on! gets parents engaged in their child’s learning consistently and actively at home, so students are engaged every day at school.

Student-managed in school and student-led at home, we overcome barriers that families may face engaging in their child’s education and meet families where they are in the engagement journey through consistent, student-led conversations at home about their child’s day at school. We turn the concept of family engagement into action for all families.