Building Connections with INTENT
Parents are not accidentally involved,
but intentionally involved.
- Dr. Siddle Walker
Families are essential stakeholders to the success of a school. Deep and meaningful family engagement can be transformative to building a school community that feels inclusive and relevant. Trust is a key element needed to build strong family relationships and we have continuously seen open communication and welcoming spaces support the development of trust for families. You can then build upon and deepen trust through creating spaces for families to meaningfully take part in their child's learning and build bonds of community with one another.
The INTENT Framework was developed in order to help families to come together, share perspectives and engage in community building activities. It is a new way to think about engaging families that dismantles power dynamics and prioritizes human connection.
This resource highlights the framework in its entirety as it was first born as a holistic way to plan programming. It can also be used as a lens to modify and innovate existing family programming with the aim of incorporating individual elements of the framework that fit the events as they are. For example, an annual back to school fair with a large family turn out across multiple grade could be modified using the lens of ‘Explicit Space for Connection, Reflection and Identity Sharing’ by creating grade level zones where families whose students share a grade or class can connect and answer a connecting question upon their arrival.
Below you will see the framework outlined, which includes:
Description of INTENT Element
Questions to ask yourself about your school wide programs and ways in which those programs can be pushed or reconsidered in order to align with the INTENT lens.
*Learn more about community builders in our resource ‘Beyond Ice Breakers to Community Building’.
We have many examples of INTENT programming and ways in which this framework has been used to support school communities seeking to deepen and strengthen their programming. To learn more about the INTENT framework in practice and building deep family engagement contact us here!