Dr. Karen Mapp, renowned for her work on family engagement, asked the audience at the 2024 ESEA Conference to list 5 events or activities that schools are currently doing to engage families. She then asked the audience to circle the activities that fit all three of the following criteria:

• Families leave knowing more about what their child should know or be able to do at that grade level

• Families leave knowing how to employ a new tool or activity at home to support those goals

• Families have the opportunity to share learning strategies and knowledge about their child

“This is how you do effective family engagement”, she said.

It turns out that our K-5 Family Math Night events hit each of the criteria she listed for providing effective family engagement:

• The activities in our kits are designed around the standards so families can clearly see what their child is learning at their grade level.

• To help support learning, we include tools such as ten-frames and number lines. Parents can see how the tool is used during the activity and take this knowledge home with them.

• Each of our event kits include an online evaluation form where parents can scan a QR code and easily share feedback and information about their child and what they learned during the event.

One of our goals at Math Unity has always been to engage families in fun hands-on math activities that are linked to learning. We know that when schools and families partner together around the common goal of educating students, learning increases and students succeed.

Let us help you engage your families as partners in the education of their children because working together is key to developing academic achievement for all children.