Partnering with Families of Children Who Are Dual Language Learners

Partnering with Families of Children Who Are Dual Language Learners

Brandi Black Thacker: Welcome! Welcome, everybody, to the third of four webinars  in this series that has been put on over the past month. In this Dual Language Learner Program Assessment conversation -- I was about to say ‘extravaganza’ -- which it really is -- I mean, so many -- almost 900 people are registered for this conversation today, and those are numbers in which, have been sustained over time. So, it's clear that this conversation is important to all of us and we're excited to be a small part of it. We want to welcome everybody.

And, we're going to have a couple of folks joining us this afternoon that we're excited for you to hear about. We're also going to be introducing, of course, ourselves. And Dr. Richard, would you like to offer any welcoming remarks here?

Dr. Guylaine Richard: I would just say what I said at the beginning -- we are so happy to have you all here and, you know, to engage in that wonderful conversation. As a dual language learner myself, I feel like, you know, I am more than excited to continue the conversation. Please share your great ideas and great strategies because we all can benefit from them. So, definitely, work on the general chat and we will be right there with you. Thanks, Brandi.

Brandi: Yeah, thank you, Dr. Richard. Well, I'm guessing that we should probably sort of anchor here in -- I feel like one of those folks who are opening up a very important ceremony. What brought us together today is the Dual Language Learners Program Assessment, as we mentioned before and how this conversation is the third in a series of four. We’ll tell you a little bit about what the fourth and final conversation will be next month, but we have the distinct honor and privilege to really anchor this conversation in the 9th section in the DLLPA, which is what we'll call it from this point on, for short.

Our favorite topic, maybe yours too -- the Family and Community Engagement Program Services -- and you can see here, if you've been in the DLLPA, that this section really anchors itself in activities that are both culturally and linguistically responsive, and how, as we do in all aspects of our work, lift up the parents and promote their role as the child's first and forever teacher, and we also love to say ‘lifelong advocate’. And, I love this language here. It completely breathes life into the way that we do the work that we do in our Head Start communities. With that, we better say hello, Dr. Richard in terms of, you know, not giving people stranger-danger. So, I want you guys to meet one of my most favorite folks, and if you've ever met her, she's one of yours too -- the one, the only -- and the fabulous Dr. Guylaine Richard, everybody!

Dr. Richard: Good afternoon, everyone! It's such a pleasure for me to be with you. And, you know, Brandi was going to do that because she's so far from me that I can't kick. That's what she understands. But, you know, thank you very much, Brandi, for this wonderful, you know, welcome. And, I welcome you too, because, you know, we're going to actually have a lot to do as we are moving together on this journey this afternoon with our participants. Thank you.

Brandi: Thank you, Dr. Richard! And, hey, everybody! My name is Brandi Black Thacker. I have the true privilege of being part of the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement team. And, also, a true privilege of bringing to you today one of our leaders from the Central Office of Head Start -- we want you to welcome with a big thundering virtual applause in the chat, everybody -- Jennifer Amaya. Hey, Jennifer!

Jennifer: Thank you, Brandi. Good afternoon, everyone! I'm thrilled to be with all of you today. I am Jennifer Amaya, the Content Lead for Culture and Language at the Office of Head Start in the Office of Early Childhood Development at the Administration of Children and Families. Welcome to the third national webinar series implementing the Dual Language Learners Program Assessment.

Today, as Brandi mentioned, we will concentrate on the Family and Community Engagement Services section of the DLLPA. Since Head Start inception, family engagement has been a cornerstone of the program for over 50 years. Head Start services, at its core, are responsive to the unique and diverse families in their programs and their communities. Families enrolled in Head Start programs, they speak more than 140 languages and dialects for nearly over 300,000 Head Start children that speak a home language that is not English.

Many Head Start and Early Head Start programs serve communities that are more rationally, ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse than ever before. This amazing diversity means the Head Start programs are able to create opportunities and innovative family engagement approaches that truly embrace the uniqueness of our children and families.

For today's webinar, as Brandi mentioned, I'm excited to share that as of yesterday, we have over 900 participants register. This is really exciting. I wanted to thank all of our federal partners - the Office of Head Start National Centers, the regional T/TA staff, and many others who have been involved in the planning of the DLLPA national webinar series. We are grateful for the time and the commitment shown by all of our partners in putting together today's webinar. I especially want to acknowledge the Office of Head Start National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement and our colleagues from Region I, Head Start Training and Technical Assistance staff, and the Dual Language Learners Academy participants for sharing with us their experiences, their voices from the field, in the implementation of the DLLPA. Our colleagues from PFCE have integrated in today's presentation

Key highlights shared by our colleagues. In setting the context for today's webinar, briefly, I wanted to highlight for you the purpose of the Dual Language Learners Assessment, which is to assist the Head Start child care and pre-K programs to assess their management systems and services to ensure the full and effective participation of children who are dual language learners and their families. In Head Start, this comprehensive management system is referred to as ‘Coordinated Approach for Dual Language Learners.’ The DLLPA can also help a program to ensure the integration of culturally and linguistic responsive practices for all children. It is anchored in the current Head Start program performances standards which retain existing regulations and include new standards for encouraging and supporting cultural and linguistic appropriate services for children -- birth to 5.

The DLLPA is also aligned with the 2007 Head Start Act requirements to support children who are dual language learners. This tool includes research-based practices for the implementation of the regulations. Also, the OHS multicultural principles for early childhood leaders were used as a guide to develop the DLLPA. In the development of the DLLPA, we also included feedback from grantees to ensure that their voices from the field were integrated in the tool. This truly has been a comprehensive process that is responsive to supporting the needs of our Head Start programs serving children who are dual language learners and their families.

So, when we think about the importance of why we need to take a closer look at the implementation of the DLLPA, it is extremely necessary and important to remind us that just like the U.S. population at large, Head Start families represent the increasing diversity of our nation. For those of you who are joining for the first time our national webinar series, I wanted to provide you with a brief summary of our initial work to launch the DLLPA and the current status of our efforts to support diverse children and families.

In August 2018, we conducted a national webinar to introduce the DLLPA. We showed participants how to access the DLLPA online on the Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Center -- ECLKC. We also demonstrated how to use the tool and the results of the ratings to strengthen management systems in Program Services areas. So, based on the responses from participants, and as part of our action steps, OHS, in partnership with the National Centers, were prompted to create a webinar series from January to April 2019 to provide you with a deeper approach to implementing the DLLPA and to support your program in assessing your systems and services for children who are dual language learners.

So, in January 2019, a number of you had participated in the first of the national webinars led by OHS in partnership with the National Center on Program Management and Fiscal Operation. We discussed the importance of systems and what they play in implementing quality services, highlighting the role of the DLLPA in program assessment and planning and identifying strategies to integrate this tool in program planning.

We also had the opportunity then to hear from Telamon Corporation in North Carolina Head Start, who shared with us their insights and strategies in enhancing systems and services to support children who are dual language learners. Last month, in February, our colleagues from the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning conducted the second of the national webinar series which concentrated on the Education and Child Development Services section of the DLLPA. Our colleagues discussed how to support children who are dual language learners through transitions and how to integrate discussions of children who are dual language learners with disabilities. They also shared with us, Region I and Region X, T/TA network and staff experiences and insights in the implementation of the tool.

Now that I have provided you with a summary of the national landscape and OHS’s ongoing efforts to support the growing diversity in the populations that we serve, I hope you are really excited to learn and to take a closer look and explore the Family and Community Engagement Programs Services section of the DLLPA. But before I end my remarks, I also wanted to thank all of you who are participating in today's webinar because of you, your ongoing efforts, your daily commitments, and your passion to provide high-quality services to all children. I encourage you to join on April 9 -- the fourth of the national webinar series hosted by the National Center on Health and Wellness, who will concentrate in addressing health equity through culturally and linguistic responsive health services. Brandi will be telling you a little bit more at the end, but once again, thank you to all of our partners for your hard work in putting together today's webinar. Now that you have a context for using the tool, let's go to the main stage to our colleagues from PFCE. Brandi?

Brandi: Thank you so much, Ms. Jennifer! Well, you guys see why I get so excited when Jennifer is with us and the leadership that she offers us as we all work together on making sure that we create the space to have these important conversations together. Another person we'd like to acknowledge on the line, and Jennifer alluded her gratitude to her colleagues at the Office of Head Start, but we have special thanks for our Federal Project Officer, Kiersten Beigel, who's on the line with us today as well.

So, we're excited to be with you all, and we want to jump right in to some foundational information that many of us hold dear and lift up often, not only as it relates to how we do what we do within the Head Start community across the country, but Dr. Richard, I'm not sure, you're also going to give us some larger research as we transition into, as you said, Ms. Jennifer, the main stage.

Dr. Richard: Thank you, Brandi, and thank you, Jennifer. Thanks, Kiersten. What, we're going to be just giving you a glimpse of what the research has been saying, and also I have, like, you know, been so in with you with some testimonies. When I look at, in the general chat, some of the things that, you know, our participants Have been sharing with us, like,  you know, in one county, in one program, I think 95 percent of your children being bilingual -- But you know, one of, you know, what we have found out, like throughout the Head Start and Early Head Start in, you know, children and families enrolled in those programs speak more than 140 languages. I can't imagine -- I can’t imagine having 100 -- more than three languages spoken around me. And, you know, now, if for some programs that have had many more, like, you know, like there's a program in Virginia that I know has a lot of children speaking and families speaking many languages, but those are what the research is saying -- 140 languages in Head Start.

And, you know, the other point that we wanted to really share with you is that children who are dual language learners make up at least one third of all children in Early Head Start, and are in more than 85 percent of programs. So, imagine those little kiddos starting talking to each other -- I would love to witness a talk where everybody is speaking their own language in a Head Start program. That would be, like, you know, where all 140 families are represented. It will be fun and exciting!

And, I think, also the research is talking to us about the need for us to support bilingualism and multilingualism from the early years because that can result in wide-ranging benefits,  from cognitive, academic, and social advantages in the preschool and school years, to health and economic ones later in life. And, you know, I can tell you, like, when I was by myself being raised, I was -- I had the opportunity to speak two languages very fluently, and I tell people one of the things that is not happening when you are dual language when you speak more than one language, you don't translate; you go directly to that bank where that language is.

So, meaning if people are worried about the fact that you have to be translating, that you have to make a lot of effort, the person who is a dual language learner doesn't do that. You go straight to -- if you were speaking French to me right now, I would go straight in French. I don't have to translate from French, from English to French. I don't have to translate from English to Creole. I go immediately to that.

So, that's an advantage for me to feel that people may have to take away that it's very difficult for you to manage all those languages together. And another point that the research is saying, that learning home languages increases family unity. It's, you know -- I have to recognize what -- I know I'm going to murder your name, but May was saying that it was difficult for her because her children were bullied. This is what she shared with us in chat. But those are the kind of -- but understanding that the effort that we make is to conserve the unity, for example, how our children are going to be talking to their grandparents, how are the children going to be talking to another person in your family -- so that increased family unity helps children to strongly identify with their families and their culture.

And, in many families, it's the only way that children will be able to communicate with some of their family members. And, this is something that the research is telling us, but in reality, really, this is -- it's something that when you see -- having my own children not being fluent in French and being fluent Haitian Creole, for example, I've been in some terror for me when I'm in presence of families who are trying to communicate with them. But fortunately, I was persistent enough to make sure that they understand and they could understand very -- give you some little pieces of the French that they have gathered in the Creole.

So, I think Brandi -- there Amy’s saying that we want to start with some of the things that we have heard from the field, for example, when we go to the research, recently we have been having conversation with our colleagues from the Region I, and Lori, for example, who is one of our ECAs in Region I, has been kind enough to share this with us. She was -- when we were talking -- when we were doing a webinar with Region I, and she basically said, ‘Thank you so much for sharing the research in how home language increases family unity.’ This is so important.

And, you know, we – actually, I just shared with you the importance of that unity, of that, that being able to really be with others and speak their language when they are not able to speak yours. So, that's a good gift. And, Brandi, do you want to stop me or you want me to continue?

Brandi: Let’s do that. Well, Dr. Richard, yeah, I think -- I mean, one of the things that we're most excited about in this conversation is the connection that we can make back to the Parent, Family, Community Engagement Framework, and we know so many of you have not only embraced it and made it your own, but you’ve built all your systems and services around it -- as the theory of change that it is.

And, we're going to really today offer a mash-up, if you will, of how  the Framework really is connected to the work in the DLLPA, and, as a bonus, we have a whole new resource that you actually may have discovered out there on the ECLKC already. But we're going to showcase for you the connection that each of these has together, so as you are doing the DLLPA or if you still are looking to do that, we have some strategies and some ideas for you to consider.

Now, one of those things Dr. Richard mentioned on the last slide, we really want to thank our colleagues from Region I -- and this is up in the New England area. As she mentioned Lori’s quote a little bit ago about the importance of the research, you're going to be seeing some quotes from our colleagues in Region I and a part of a cohort that they've created to really think about and talk together about dual language, and specifically the part that I love is that it's an Academy model and it's over time. And so, you're going to see a little bit from those guys as we go through today. And, as we're sitting here, I thought it was really important to go back to a question that Gabriella asked us earlier, which is: Is that DLLPA you guys are talking about required for all of us grantee types? So, I think that's an important question.

And, as we transition into the real meat of this conversation, thinking about how these pieces anchor into the framework and how we have the new document that you see on the right hand side:  ‘Partnering with families of children who are dual language learners’ -- the answer really is, Gabriella, the DLLPA is a tool that assists Head Start programs to really assess your own systems and services, and we're going to show you how that breaks out. But in service of the full and effective participation of the language learners -- this dialogue is really about the implementation of all of that. It's not required because it starts there, but guess what, it's an effective strategy. It includes the Head Start performance standards. It's a really great resource, I think, for folks to consider. And, I think as we go through this part, you'll find so many -- we'll just call them ‘nuggets of value.’ You tell us what you think as we go along. And, Dr. Richard, anything that you would add here?

Dr. Richard: No. Actually, I am excited to see how we're going to be -- we're going to be unveiling how can we use a PFCE Framework in support of those DLLPA conversations that we're having around how to support the families and the children who are dual language learners. Okay.

Brandi: Let's start with -- I saw that it's hard to see the information on the screen, so Ms. Mary, let me -- also, one of the other folks that we should thank on the line is the one and only Nina Zumpalova, who is our technological goddess -- that's what we call her. She actually is going to have up to the side for you all of these resources that you see on the screen, with a web link -- so that you can go off and have one of your very own. Oh, see, look at that magic! Did everybody notice? Now, off to the side we have the third pod down, it says ‘Web links.’ And, actually, in the order in which you see them on the screen -- we have the PFCE Framework; we have the DLLPA User’s Guide, which takes you to all of the resources and citations connected to that.

And then, finally, the new document from PFCE that you see on the right-hand side of your screen. Now, I want to warn you – if you click those web links -- if you click, say, the PFCE Framework and then you hit the button that says ‘Browse to’, you will be taken away from this screen and you will go over to the ECLKC to find that and download it if you’d like. But feel free to do that because we want to make sure that you have those, if you'd like to snatch them while we're talking about them. Feel free.

So, G, I think what we need to do is really walk folks a little bit through the Framework. You know, it's something we know, love, live, and have [inaudible],  many of you, but for the purpose of this conversation, what we really want to lift up is this pink column.

Now, if you guys have heard us talk before, you know how we tell the story of the Framework. We start with the end in mind, which means we look over at that purple column and we say, ‘Whoa!' To get to beyond the purple column, which we really see as school-readiness -- we have to have really strong child outcomes; to have the strong child outcomes, we have to have solid family outcomes.

Here's where we come in, everybody. To have growth for both families and children, we have a responsibility to have high-quality services. That's what the pink column represents to us. And, to support those high-quality services, we have to have incredibly strong systems, which is the yellow column for us -- so it’s Program Foundations. None of those things can happen without the two arrows at the top -- special attention to not only the positive goal-oriented relationship piece of the arrow, but certainly in honor -- and in honor of not only this conversation, but the importance of the reverence of the second part of the arrow is critical, not only to the goal-oriented relationships piece but certainly the work that we do alongside each other in our families, in our community.

The arrow that says 'Equity, inclusiveness, culture, and linguistic responsiveness.' The short story is if this, then that. If we have strong systems and high-quality services, family, and children will grow, but only if we operate within the context of those positive goal-oriented relationships and honoring and lifting up equity, inclusiveness, culture, and language. How's that for effect, Review G? So, in that vein – (crosstalk) It might be a world record. I don't know. So, G, what we're going to do is actually stand in the pink column today. We really want to think through those high-quality services and how you think about the findings or you're wondering from the DLLPA, or if you're thinking about how to really put that to work for you -- the Dual Language Learners Program Assessment -- we're going to show you a couple of ways to really make some connections and have some strategies to consider.

Dr Richard: Definitely, Brandi. This is really good! So, what we, you know, what we have just said, remember, we're going to be using the program impact area -- so we're going to be looking at how do we create program environment, that enhanced partnership with families of children who are dual language learners. We're going to also look at how do we ensure that the partnership that we develop with those families, support really those families in ways that they are -- where they’re culture-aware,  where they feel valued, they feel like, you know, that this is really making some strides for them and their children.

We're going to also look at how do we partner with families to promote teaching and learning practices in support of dual language learners. And, since, you know, also we're going to be looking at the community partnership, how do we create and sustain those partnerships that support children who are dual language learners and their families. And, finally, as you can see, the 5th element in that program impact area is talking about Access and Continuity.

So, we want to know how do we promote program access and community -- and continuity, I'm sorry, to support dual language learners and their families. So, we’re going to take a tour of -- first, we're going to look at the program environment. And, one of the things that we would like to bring to your attention as we're doing that, you're going to see us going from taking a piece of the assessment that is part of the Dual Language Learners Program Assessment tool itself.

So, really, we are looking at some of those questions that you want to pose yourself as you are looking -- as you are taking this assessment. For example, one of the questions for program environment would be: Do we help our families feel welcome by greeting them in their home languages and displaying images and items from their home cultures? But I like to bring -- I like to bring the attention also when  we're talking about in program environment, and I think, Brandi, I'm going to go there because I think -- while I have it fresh in my mind, this is what I would love to share. 

For example, myself from being of a different culture, speaking another language -- it doesn't mean that I need to basically see my picture of my Caribbean families, my Caribbean counterparts, in the program. But even when you have music -- if you play music that is Caribbean music, immediately I feel welcome. I feel like you don't -- I feel like there is a special attention given to me, so I would like us to be thinking about that. How many of us when, you know, we put music, for example, that are like, you know, working, that are giving value to another person's culture. And so, if you look at this assessment, and I would like you to be thinking about that yourself now, how do you do that, what is that -- and you can give yourself from 1 to 5, this is what -- and there is an N/A if you don't do it at all.

So, this is how this assessment is arranged in the Dual Language Program Assessment tool. But I would like to stretch a little bit, Brandi, and also asking you now -- and you know, we would love to get your – you know, the opportunity for us to share with us, like, you know, if you were creating an environment that enhanced partnership with families of children who are dual language learners, what other qualities help make your program environment responsive to the unique strengths and needs of children who are dual language learners?

And, I would love for you to take this opportunity to share with us what are some of the qualities, what are the things could you say that could make me, as a dual language learner and my family feel that I'm welcome? I like what you’re saying, Brandi. Yeah, that’s what we said, I think. Oh, come on. I love you so much.

Brandi: Yeah. It really ... [inaudible] I like Laney's comment to include books of multiple languages and ones that represent other cultures. Now, I have to tell you guys this is the secret -- ha ha -- twisty mustache moment -- You're going to learn so much from each other right now.

This is so exciting. We were able to test some of these thoughts out with another group from Region I, as we mentioned before, so you'll be seeing some of their thoughts too. But, the richness of this conversation really comes from all the incredible things that you're doing now, that you're thinking about, that you're enhancing, you know, and adding on to the incredible work that you're already doing. But I love that sentiment of that the environment is so much more than what we physically see or the physical plant, if you will. It's about what you feel. And, this applies in so many ways.

And, G, I love that you brought in music. I love -- we had folks talking to us a little bit about not only as you guys are saying here -- Oh gosh, Mary says a celebration of cuisines from countries, food, potluck, have each family describe their cuisine -- how it helps and connects to their culture. April is also adding here that we sent home information in both English and the home language to our families. These are ways that we can create this space so that without ever having said a word that our families know that they are welcome and respected and valued in all of the ways that we work so hard to make sure. Athena says displaying native flags. G, I'm so afraid I've missed something. What else are you finding that I didn't get to say out loud?

Dr. Richard: This is -- basically, I'm looking at Claudia just saying ‘Just a smile, and you don't know what a smile can really transmit.’ Oh, Suzanne is giving us a big one. But, let me -- you know, eye contact, body language, can speak  so loud. Yes. There are some signs, there are some things that you do that are going to make me warm if I'm from another culture. So – and -- look at what Janice says. Brown. Ask parents to bring things and artifacts within their culture. Yes. All those things can enrich our environment by them -- but let me go to Suzanne now. It is according to her, a full commitment to supporting home language and a program not only to classroom support and literature, but in all communication with the families - bilingual staff when possible.

But use whatever tools of information are available for communication with families. Also, partnering with families who have authentic cultural artifacts in the classroom. Yes. You know, sometimes the child will see something that they can recognize and the families will see something that they can recognize are always feeling welcome when we are trying to get them in a program environment where they feel that they are valued and they matter. Okay, now we’re…

Brandi: And, Dr. Richard, I think… well, I know what ... we’re getting so excited, we’re talking together -- which we always do, and when we have those big feelings of ‘Whoa, look what's happening!’. G, I'm noticing too that folks are asking each other questions about things, like Tonya says, ‘Can you guys share resources about where you get  books in other languages that may be more difficult to find?’

So, if you guys have hotspots, that you know where you've had luck and success finding languages that, as Tonya says, are a little more difficult to find, please feel free to share. That’s part of the reason why we want to bring you guys together as our community across the country.

And then, Leah also says: ‘What tools do you guys have that help translate into different languages?’ And, I know many of you have told us over the years what you found to be helpful, things that – also, side note -- it's important here -- you've also learned a lot of lessons. So, if you learned a lesson and you want to help your colleagues from across the country avoid some hard-learned lessons, feel free to put those in the chat too. We want to not only lift up what's working but what to avoid. That's always a good thing in terms of supporting each other. G, gosh, what else do you see?

Dr. Richard: Oh, I see that there’s something that Suzanne said something, ‘Having lived overseas for a number of years, having written materials in my own language was wonderful. You don't know how it’s warming my heart when I could get somewhere and I found just one or a couple sentences in French or a book that is in French or music that is French -- you don't know how that makes  me feel.’ That is really good! That really makes families really feel good. Then you see hosting a family dinner -- That’s where you, Brandi, with  different food. Okay, that's good. Do you have [inaudible] Okay.

So, actually, if that's okay with you guys, we're going to move a little further to share actually some of the voices from the field -- something that we have heard, people have shared with us.  For example, Lori Conrad from Region I, and Region I has, you know -- as you know, this is more than six, you know, we have about six states, Brandi. I don't want to make a mockery of myself, but I know we have Massachusetts, we have -- what else -- we have -- oh my God, I can't believe that I'm stuck.

Brandi: Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire ...

Dr. Richard: Yes, is Connecticut one?

Brandi: No.

Dr. Richard: Am I missing ...?  Okay. All right, guys. This is six states, and actually, Brandi and I, we cannot remember all of them, but I know you know where they are if you want to know the region. But Lori was sharing with us, for example, a program environment, a teacher asks families what song they sing with their children to get their children to sleep. Many songs in many different languages. Imagine that teacher encouraging parents to give their, to share what song they sing to their children when they are sleeping, and that teacher even, or everybody is able  to sing the song when those children are going to sleep or going to take a nap -- this is something that’s enhancing program environment beyond measure as far as I'm concerned. And listening to ... so, Brandi, I am going to go -- okay, now, Jennifer -- Thank you, Jennifer, for telling us -- Jennifer said this is Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island,  New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Yay! Thank you very much!  This is what you think are the ...

Brandi: Well, we certainly want to [inaudible] our colleagues in Region I. And, so many of you have taught us over time incredible gifts that we continue to bring out to the other folks across the country that we get to speak with. And, I wanted to make sure that you guys -- also, G, I know you're about to transition us to Family Partnerships here, but what I wanted to lift up just in case you want to do this too, this is actually a really great exercise. You can see the DLLPA sort of in the background there.

This green stripe across the front of the Framework is actually what we pulled from the DLLPA in service of matching up how we think about family partnerships, as you can see here, the second element in the pink column of the Framework, which, as you guys know, we described as those high-quality services. So, when you get into the DLLPA, you're going to see this question and you're going to be able to write where you think your program is on this piece around integration of culturally and linguistically responsive strategies, as you partner with your families.

Now, to us, obviously, the word partner and partner lives here, and that's the connection that’s -- this is really how we think about not only through the Family Partnership Agreement process but our long-term partnership with our families. How do we make sure that those strategies are integrated throughout our longitudinal relationship and partnership with our families? So, anyway, I wanted to make sure that you guys sort of saw how we arranged this slide. So, as you get into not only the DLLPA and you think about the elements and ultimately the strategies that you're going to get from our newest resource, you’ll see how it all connects.

Dr. Richard: All right. Okay. So, we're going to be - we're going to be going to the Family Partnership right now. And, as you can see, and thank you, Brandi, for being, for giving a quick synopsis of how we're doing it and the opportunity that you guys also have to do it, to do the same. So, when you look at Family Partnership, for example, when you look at integration, are you integrating culturally and linguistically responsive strategies when partnering with our families? Which means that the input that the families are giving you, are you mindful of the fact that something that the families are telling you in order to partner with them in a way that is going to support not only them but their children?

And, I am going to be giving your question again to stimulate the conversation that we have about what can you do as program  staff -- what can you do as program, but not by yourself -- when you're talking about family partnership, you're talking about two partners that -- when you're talking about what can you do as program staff with the family to enhance language learning.

So, it's like another family is going to be participating in this. So, what can you do? What can program and families do to enhance language learning? What can you both do together?  What do you think you can do together? So, I see we have multiple families, multiple people typing, so --

Brandi: And, Dr. Richard, as folks are typing, Connie asks an important question about the last slide and what the numbers represent. Connie, if you go into the Dual Language Learner Program Assessment, you'll see that there are multiple items with which you can assess your programmatic practice. Now, today, we're only staying in Section 9 of the DLLPA - 9 -- I mean, families -- and this is the focus on family and community engagement.

So, what you're seeing here is the representation of an item that’s explicitly extracted from the DLLPA. We've matched it up with one of the elements in the pink column that when you get into that document and if you need it, it's to your left in the ‘web links’ pod, you'll see how you get the chance to really think together as a team about where you are in the ranking here.

And then, if you're at a place where you'd like to have enhancements, then you can talk together about some of the questions, as Dr. Richard is walking us through, like, that can prompt thinking or solution or confirmation of ‘Yes, we are doing a really good job there already.’ So, hopefully, that's helpful.

Dr. Richard: Okay. Brandi, I know I'm mindful of the time, but I would love to take -- I'm glad that I'm having so many nice interactions that we're having around this question. But I wanted to move along a little bit on, so we can get a chance to look at the others -- This is, for example, one lesson from the field, and this from one of our participants, Danielle. She shared that this is how they have been making -- what they have done. We made a class book in my classroom every year where we ask families about why they choose their child's name. We wrote those stories down for children to read and explore -- many cultural stories are represented. And, it also celebrated the important choice the family made when naming their child. Families love sharing the stories and they love being asked.

So, in fact, this is a point -- this is just around the name, but sometimes -- I remember when I was directing a program where we had done something like asking the families to send us a recipe, like, you know,  the families -- and we did a multicultural recipe book. So, you imagine those families are sharing their recipe, and they can share within their home language and we could put that and make a good recipe book for everyone. So, those are the kinds of things that we can do in Family Partnership and really supporting them to feel like they are culturally valued.

And, now, we're going to be -- as you know, we're going to be moving to the teaching and learning, which is the third element in our program impact areas. And, as we said, again, we're always going to extract, we're going to go and extract a little bit of what we are looking at, you know, program doing in support of those families when they are focusing on the teaching and learning elements.

So, are you working with your families who adopt a long-term commitment to supporting their child's home language development? And, you know, the question would be then: How do you do this work? This is -- if you say -- 'Yes, I'm under one, I'm under two. I'm at this level. I'm just starting or I'm just doing it', but is there -- what are you doing?

So, I would like to take this opportunity then to move you to a question that could help us focus a little bit more on this. So, what can our program leaders ... what can we do to ensure that the commitment to partnering with families in language teaching and learning is embedded in all aspects of a program? What do we do? You know, we know that families are teachers and families are also learners, but we ourself also are teachers and we are learners. So, what can we do to ensure that this commitment to partner with the families is embedded in all aspects of our program around the way they're going to teach and learn another language or like, you know, they are part of -- if they are dual language learners?

So, take a moment to think about this for a second, and we're going to give you a quick second to do that. And, give us some of your feedback. Brandi, have you seen anything in the chat that we need to [inaudible] I think?

Brandi: I'm seeing so much sharing, and this is part of one of the thousands of reasons I love our community. All of these resources.

Dr. Richard: [Inaudible] Brandi, I’m just going to quote Suzanne.

Brandi: Oh, go ahead.

Dr. Richard: I'm just going to quote Suzanne who said we use Google Translate. I didn't want to say that loud, but this is something that sometimes we use a lot,  and I see my children using it when they are  talking to another person and they don't know -- and they  translate and they give the person the phone and say, 'Okay, why don't you ...? Just to see what I'm saying, and they've used it. This is interesting, that sometimes the translation, I can say, on Google Translate is a little bit, like, sometimes they're a little bit awkward when you look, specifically when I'm looking at Haitian Creole, but, you know, hey, this is the best sometimes that we do have, and thank you,  Suzanne, for sharing that with us. It isn't perfect, but it's a good place to start. Yes, with most of the languages. Yes, I would say the same thing. So -- and that can be a back and forth, like, the family can type it in and you're typing, and here we go; you are sharing some of your knowledge with each other. Okay. [inaudible]

Brandi: Yeah. Dr. Richard, we're getting all kinds of really exciting feedback of our friends and colleagues. Khalifa mentions partnering with parent centers to support parent engagement and immigrant parent leadership development. Suzanne comes back with communicating to our families about the program value and support for home languages and cultures -- translations of the homework. Olivia says offer classes to parents to help to understand child development and also parenting classes that is culturally understanding.

Actually, Olivia, one of the things that comes to mind based on your comment is about our new require -- well, I shouldn't say new -- but it feels new still, even two years almost into the performance standards. But the requirement around parenting curricula -- we've had so many of you thinking meaningfully about how to integrate parenting curriculum that is connected to culture and language as part of the response to this in terms of the teaching and learning that happens with, not only within the  context of the parent and the family member who's the first and forever teacher, but how we can support that in cross and context. What did I miss, G?

Dr. Richard: Nothing. And, I am -- and we are going again, because I wanted to share the -- I want to just share some of the field -- some -- Jan, again -- and we are really grateful to our colleagues and friends in Region I for letting us use some of their quotes. Jan, thanks! As [inaudible] said, that we started recording parents reading a story in their home language to their child, so it could be shared at school. Imagine how this could be -- this would make a child and a family feel that, you know, 'Hey, around there, there are opportunities to teach and also to learn from others.'

I am going to go really quickly and really fast on Community Partnership. The Community Partnership, again, we're going to be looking at the DLLPA program assessment tool, and we're going to look at how do we improve collaboration with our local school district to develop school readiness goals that address the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse children who are dual language learners.

You know, although those things are looking at the community -- the partnership that we have with school and in our families, so mostly the children that have been with us speaking another language, they can get to the public school with the same ability to continue speaking that language. And, how do we develop a collaboration with our school district to develop some of those school readiness goals that could address the needs of those specific families and children?

But I would like to take the opportunity again to look at the question with you and thinking how can you as program  staff and partners -- and how can program and staff partner with community leaders, members, and families, to support the strength and needs of families of dual language learners. How do you think you can do something like this in the community? What are some of those ideas that you can share with us there, that we see a strong leaning for you to be working with your community partners to support those families and their children?  Okay. I think I'll [inaudible] -- Okay, I'm going to give you -- [reading to herself] I lead the cultural studies area for my  elementary school in [inaudible]

Oh my goodness! Okay. Brandi, you need to take -- you need to take -- you need to give me a little booster here because I can see so many good things coming out. We collaborate with the local library, bilingual librarian -- oh my ...  you know ... community leaders ... [inaudible] is a good resource about the impact of supporting home language. Okay. All right. Guys, this is too many thoughts to really, like you know, but all of those are great, great, great ideas that we are sharing together.

Brandi: Oh, Dr. Richard, I think that  Susan's comment here is really important, and I'm going to go directly to the last sentence she wrote, which is 'Many still assume that English  immersion is best.' And, we have -- I love how we still think about Head Start as the nation's laboratory because we have so much to offer. So, when we're thinking about community, I really hope that we're in a place of thinking about not only what we can gain from our community partners and our community colleagues, but also what we can offer as experts in early childhood field and experts in family engagement.

Can I get a [inaudible] moment y'all? This is what we're so good at! Right? I mean, I just hope that we're continuing to hold ourselves up as the experts that we are. And, Susan, your point just really leans into that because we know and understand the benefits of bilingualism and multilingualism and standing in the space of honoring families and their wishes as we get to partner beside them as their littlest ones grow. It's the best job in the world. Don't y'all agree?  Let me get a high five and everybody in the chat! We have the best job.

The other thing that I want to say, G, here is that so many things that are woven in here in terms of priorities for all of us, the connection to the receiving school, the transition that's so critical as we think about children are going to kindergarten, and how it takes on a -- thanks, Latoya!  She's giving me a high five -- how it takes on a critical importance, even more so for families of children that are dual language learners because they're starting over in effect again.

And, as we all support our families as they go off to kindergarten and into the receiving school, this is just another major opportunity for us to really connect with each other, walk alongside our families, make sure that we're all on the same page. And, that's really a gift, not only to our families and to the receiving school, but right back to us.

Like, we all benefit, right?  And so, G, I know that there's a quote here from our friends in Region I, and many of you have given us lots of incredible gifts in the chat as well, but check this out -- Theresa from Region I told us that their program organized a community conversation in which parents and other community providers attended, which is really exciting because we're bringing folks together in service of this conversation that's so critical. And, any time that we can do that I think it’s a win.

Dr. Richard: I cannot, Brandi, I have to say this -- because Kimberly said something very important. She said, 'I was 10 years old when I first came to the United States and I learned English after three months of being here,’ so that means like in a day where she plunged into it. So, that's another way to give credence to the fact that, hey, sometimes we can learn English. I -- this is really good. Okay. Yay for bilingual brains! Okay, Brandi. All right. [Inaudible]

Brandi: That's not original, G. That was a credit to Leah. That is not original. I was just second to that emotion.

Dr. Richard: I was not going to go there, girlfriend. I was going to let you enjoy the time. Okay. Now, last but not least, we're going to be looking at the Access and Continuity. So, you know, we know that when it comes to Access and Continuity, we are looking at our, if -- how do we identify -- how do we recruit and enroll eligible children and pregnant women from among all cultural and language groups within our service area?

So, in fact, that intentionality, those efforts that we make to really go ahead and go recruit and enroll those families that are probably just coming to our communities -- they may be refugee families, they may be families that are not at all, as this is their first time hearing the English language, whatever -- what are we doing despite the fact, and I want to say that despite the fact that we may not have all those staff ready to support those many languages that are coming at us, so what all -- how can you identify, how can you recruit and enroll them?

So, I want to just take a minute, again, to go to a question -- 'What steps are programs taking,  then, to strengthen access and continuity efforts for  families of dual language learners?' Are you going to those -- when the new community -- when a new community comes to your service area, are you making an effort to go to  them and enroll them and recruit them and make sure that you make them value and understand all those things that they need to know about how to get into your program.

Sometimes it may be overwhelming for a family who just came to the United States, and coming here and finding out 'Oh my God, I have to do all this, and I don't know all those paperwork and everything that I have to fill out'. So, how do you -- what kind of effort do you make to include that they can access and continue and the services are continuous or continued all over from one side to another? What are you doing?

So, those are the kinds of things that we want you to be thinking about as it comes to access and continuity and support for dual language learners and their families. I want you to see how the Manchester Preschool Center have shared with us what they have done. He said, for example, they have partnered with the Districts Bilingual Liaison to support transitions from Head Start to Kindergarten for parents and children. You know, like, and there are other examples that we have learned about, like, even when I think, you know, Brandi, they call them 'Bilingual coaches,' like, you know, which -- we call volunteer the community -- language coaches, yeah? volunteer from the community. They went ahead and would volunteer from the community.

Brandi, I'm going to stop here for my tour of the framework -- how we can use the framework in support of what we do. And, I don't know, Brandi, if we can just, you know -- probably how can we go real quick to the resources that we have. And, I'd like you to do that.

Brandi: Of course. Thank you, Dr. Richard.  Gosh, guys, I can't get over how time this fast flies -- how fast this time flies when we get to spend it with you. What you see represented on the screen before you are the resources that we've alluded to today, and Mario picked this up before we even said it, but the other suite of resources that we think could potentially be useful for you in these efforts around support of families of children with the language learners are our relationship-based competencies. 

You guys know that second competency really is anchored in being self-aware and culturally and linguistically responsive. And, I want to offer another quick surprise for you guys. Based on what we've learned from you today and what we'll continue to learn in these conversations, we're really hoping to come up with, like, one page tip sheet that highlights each of those five elements that we just walked through super quickly from the pink column of the framework, so that you have those to consider as you're doing your good hard work, so that many of the tips, tricks, strategies, ideas, that you offered today could be collapsed into tip-sheets that actually are bite-sized and hopefully easy to pick up and run with and use.

So, stay tuned for those and see if they can be useful for you as you do your work and your programs. So, let's go back to -- so, Dr. Richard, our boss, who's on the line, says to us a lot, where we last left our super heroes, our review of this. We left off with going through the five  elements from the pink column of the Framework. We got to think together, and I'm just going to click back one more slide -- about how the framework -- the PFCE Framework -- and the elements in what we consider the high-quality service column are connected to not only the work that you are looking at in the Dual Language Learner Program Assessment, but certainly how you can look to one of our newest resources to find some guiding questions that really stimulate, as it did today, the conversation around, gosh, what are we already doing?

What are some things that we could enhance? What can we celebrate? And, what sorts of things have we learned today from our colleagues around the country, in the chat -- so that we can really think meaningfully and intentionally about our services to families of children with the language learners.

So, Dr. Richard, one of the ways that we have been thinking about that at the National Center on Parent, Family, Community Engagement is, as I alluded, Mario mentioned this very early on, I kind of teased him that perhaps he got a sneak peek at our PowerPoint because we have a new suite of resources. And, I say 'new' in that the relationship-based competencies have been out for a long time. I mean, so many of you guys have seen them and you know them and you use them, but the newness that is so exciting is that we've been able to break down the relationship-based competencies by role.

So, not only do we have one that you see kind of in the center bottom that's an overview for everybody who has the privilege to work alongside families, but we have different ones for teachers and family childcare providers, for home visitors, which our home visitor colleagues have been so excited about, and for family folks -- family experts, family service workers -- you guys call each other different things all around the country.

So, let me just check in. How many of you have actually seen and/or used the relationship-based  competencies? The new suite. Da da da, the new suite! Oh gosh! Whoa, look at y'all showing off. Oh, you haven't. So, Angela, we'll bring over some links for you too so that you guys can see the new stuff, because the truth is, when we originally were working with the Office of Head Start and they were guiding our development of the RBCs that were done about, what, six, seven years ago, we had that internal conversation -- 'Gosh, do we have a set of relationship-based competencies that are really for everybody -- or could we really lean into the space of specific roles?’ because, obviously, each of us has different opportunities to be with families.

So, a center-based teacher has a different set of opportunities than perhaps a home visitor or being the family service worker who may get to be with families in a different space or a different kind of way. So, these are individually catered to those roles and the opportunities that exist within our programming for folks to get alongside families. I'm going to pause there for just a second, Dr. Richard, because I'm hearing an echo. Tell me a little bit, G, about what we see on this next slide, and specifically for those of you, so a lot of you have seen these, but many of you haven't, so let's just start at the beginning. What in the world is an RBC and how is it defined?

Dr. Richard: All right. I was looking at some of the charts that were shared with us, Brandi, and I was looking at Angela sharing that this has helped professional development, and Aurora actually saying that she's already using performance evaluation for home visitors. But let's look at really what -- so all those things are great, great, great, wonderful ideas, and this is some of -- there are so many ways that we can use the RBCs, but look at the definition of it. It's a set of knowledge -- the knowledge is what I know; the skills is what I  can do; the individual practices is what actually I'm doing; and all the characteristics including attributes, behavior, actions, that are necessary to be effective in one's family engagement work.

So, usually, I like to say when I'm looking at the relationship-based  competency, I'm saying if somebody had the knowledge, somebody had all the knowledge in the book, would that person still be looked at being like having all they need to really engage with families? Sometimes, yes, you may have the knowledge, but you don't practice, you don't have the skills that are needed. So, you know, this is giving us an opportunity to look at the skills that people need to be demonstrating to see that I do truly have -- I truly can engage families.

And the individual practice is the things that I continuously do, the things that are inherent to the work that I do, and that people can really, giving me the confidence that, yes, I know how to engage families. So, not only I'm looking at my behaviors, but my actions also in effective engagement work. So, I wanted to just look at, as you can see,  we look at it as not only should I know some,  should I have the knowledge, but I need to practice, I need to continue gathering some of the things that I need to demonstrate my skills, the things that I can do. And, the individual practice is the thing that I actually do.

So, this is how I build my own capacity, that I build this -- that I build my opportunities, my competence to work with families. So, let's look at, as I was saying, those keys terminologies. What is knowledge? Knowledge is what professionals need to know, but when you combine  knowledge plus skills, which is what professionals need to be able to do, so, once you put those combinations together and you actually add also practices which include some key example of what they actually do, you have the recipe now,  you've got the knowledge plus skills and practices, are the recipe for professional practice, which is a combination of the knowledge, skills, and individual practice that are measurable or observable, and describe what a person needs to know and how to do the work successfully.

This is where the competencies that I love them myself on knowing, like, I usually give that as a teaser. I usually tell people, 'If you had a doctor who had so many years  of experience -- so many years of experience, and was graduated from one of the top shelf, would you be like -- if that doctor had a behavior where they sometimes forget to identify the limb that they're going to be operating on, would you be comfortable if you knew that?' So, a lot of people say, 'Oh, you know what, I don't go with the person that has the most knowledge -- that has -- I can have -- I can put the knowledge of the doctor, the skills of a doctor, but if the doctor had probably so many years of experience but didn't have the behavior, so many years of experience and had all the knowledge, but they’re both comparable, which one would I go with? I would go probably with the one that has a behavior and the attitude to show me that they were paying attention to the limb that they were going to operate on.'

So, this is some kind of ways for us to really understand that it is a combination of all those things that really clearly describe the relationship-based competencies. Brandi: You know, Dr. Richard, these are all very important because I want you guys to  put a special pin in these -- I call these the tiers, because we have 10 competencies, and I noticed Kara said that as a home visitor, she uses these every day, which is so exciting because I have to say it gives us the overarching, as G mentioned here, the knowledge, what skills we need, and then the practices which are really concrete.

And, it is super supportive and helpful in how we're thinking about our own professional development trajectories, like, as professionals in the field. So, one of the things that I wanted to just kind of put a pin in here is, we have the two competencies and we're going to showcase one on this webinar, as we alluded to earlier, about self-awareness and cultural and linguistic responsive practice. But each of the 10 competencies, of which that is one, is divided into these three tiers. And, you know, Dr. Richard alluded to how they stack on each other in terms of building our own capacity as professionals. What we say is the three of these things added together, these three tiers, equal the professional practice, which is something that we've been invested in for a super long time, like the professionalization of the field.

And, what this looks like, and, oh, by the way, like, it also leans into the space of what we know is required for teachers and home visitors around coaching. We know that -- and a lot of folks are thinking about how to use a coaching model with family service workers. And, although it's not required for family workers, it is an effective professional development approach. So, it's this really exciting opportunity to -- well, G, I'll  just say it again -- you know, mash up what we've been thinking about today with the Dual Language Learner Program Assessment, how you guys are feeling that you are doing within your program.

But once you have that programmatic view, this allows you to zoom in one more layer to each other as individuals. The cool thing about the relationship-based competencies is we have the document, as I mentioned earlier, that we call 'The overview.' And, this actually is a sample of what that looks like in language.

So, let's look at this. That second competency, as we have mentioned, is Self-Aware and Culturally Responsive Relationships. And, if you go all the way to the third column, you'll see that that very first bullet is a sample of knowledge -- as you can see here -- 'Understands that each family has  unique strengths and resilience.' The second bullet actually represents the skills, that we can reflect on our own beliefs, values, experiences, ethics, and biases, to enhance our own self-awareness.

And then, third, as you might have guessed, this is a practice example, which is the most concrete, where we engage in relationships that are responsive to other cultures, languages, and values. Those three things together culminate in what you see in the second column, which is the overarching professional practice that is the respect and responsiveness to cultures, language, values, and family structures, of each family. What we do in the classroom in terms of individualization isn't so different than what we get to do for their grown-up counterpart.

And, certainly, as we know, not only from the Framework and the positive goal-oriented relationship arrow and the equity arrow, the practice that we've been doing over 50 years now -- this is one of the most important and critical ways to build relationships and partnerships with families.

So, I'm going to pause there for just a second, G, to see if there's anything that I missed here, and then we want to show you guys a very specific set of knowledge, skills, and practices for family service workers and unpack that a little bit. But I'm going to pause.

Oh, I'm seeing some activity too, Dr. Richard. I don't know if you were on mute, but I'm going to cover you in case that was the case. There are some really important questions around the cultural boxes. We've seen throughout this conversation you guys are having questions and you're excited and you're interested. I cannot scroll back up fast enough to figure out who brought it up first, but I see that many of you are saying, 'Hey, I want to know more.'

So, if you're the person who brought up the cultural box and that's something that you do in your programs, put your name back in here and tell us a little bit about -- and, Heather, I felt the same thing because, Elma, earlier you asked about the purple boxes [Inaudible] Oh, G's back. Come on in.

Dr. Richard: Thank you. [Inaudible] Heather, I hope, like, this is what I was trying to figure out too because that's what I took the liberty and the risk to tell you, 'I don't know.' Is it a purple box? Is it the box that we – some programs have received, or most programs have received cultural box. But I want to make sure that we are coming to grasp what exactly we're thinking about. Is there something that we missed or something that you may -- 'Yes, we saw on the vlog.' Oh, okay. So, people watch ... Okay.

Brandi: Oh, Elma, you probably just got Ms. Jennifer very excited. If you saw the vlog on the OHS DTL resource box for DLL Celebration week, you saw Ms. Jennifer highlighted on there with Dr. Bergeron. That's it. Jennifer, did you want to say anything about that? That's exciting!

Jennifer: Yes, actually I do. Thank you for letting me get into the conversation. You know, I was thinking about the cultural box, so I made that connection with the DLR Celebration Week box. So, those boxes were sent out as a celebration of the dual language learners for the Office of Head Start and the Regional Offices as well. But one of the things that it might be helpful for you all to know is that a lot of those materials that were included in the DLL celebration box are upload in the ECLKC,  and many of them are also posted on the child care website and the resources are very, very helpful in terms of looking at foundational resources, resources that support coordinated approaches, and then there are specific resources for learning environments, and so on.

So, we will look for the link that you can see directly to those resources in the child care website, and I will share that with you. And, with the vlog, you know, there was a great celebration. We have a really great effort across the nation to really celebrate dual language learners in distress and the benefits of being a dual language learner child and family as well.

So, I think that now it's more clear about the dual language learners box. So, let us think a little bit more about it, and then we'll definitely post the website line for you where you can have access electronically to all of those resources.  Thank you!

Dr. Richard: Brandi, is there anything…

Brandi: Yes, ma'am.

Dr. Richard: ... you would like to say about competency number 2? Do we have a little time to let  our friends here to take a little peep at it or do something with it?

Brandi: Yeah, I think a peep here is absolutely necessary, and what you guys see on the screen represented is a real-life example from the relationship-based competencies, specifically for family service workers, and those three tiers that we were talking about. Now, obviously, we said that we are just looking at one of the 10 competencies here, and what we have is -- you can see these and you are looking at them -- but the knowledge, skills, and practices, how they come together for this second competency -- With the knowledge, it's about understanding how families' cultures influence caregiving practices and shape their family life along with their child's early development.

The skills: How we show respect for the contributions of home languages.  And, Ms. Jennifer, nobody can say it as well as her in terms of the benefits of the bilingualism, multilingualism, and how cultures are used to create those shared understandings. And then, certainly, in our practices part, we're really providing not only the recruitment, intake, orientation, but materials in general to families that are welcoming and responsive to different cultures and languages.

And, a lot of this, I have to tell you guys, as we've been unpacking this with folks across the country in a lot of different ways, we've learned that this is just really good confirmation for the stuff that we're doing at a very high-level, positive way within the Head Start programming piece. So, Dr. Richard, you were moving us along to this question which is: Based on your role, how might you guys use the knowledge, skills, and practices, to support information? Now, here's the catch, specifically, that came up for you in use of the DLLPA.

So, if you discovered maybe a place you'd like to enhance the program, is there a way that you could use the RBCs to support your trajectory based on where you want to enhance? So, we'll pause here for a second and see what you think. I see that you guys are still excited about the cultural boxes piece. I think we do have -- I think it was Abby who said -- I think we do have two parallel conversations happening. We do have the Dual Language Learners Celebration Week box that was distributed by the Office of Head Start and our colleagues from DTL and we are going to go off and try to find those.

I think, Kimberly, you asked if we could maybe put it in the web link -- somebody asked – apologies if that's not the proper person. So, we'll see if we can go off and do that for you guys now. And, there was a program that brought this up early on in terms of the cultural boxes piece and that they had one for, I believe, five different languages. So, we'll see if we can’t bring that back to the forefront as well so that you guys, since you're so excited about it, will have the lead about where you can find some more information.

I know earlier, I saw some folks mentioning that they used the RBCs to enhance job descriptions. We've also heard that a lot of people across the country are using these to even make connections to community partners in the way of, like, looking to see about how services for and beside families are really consistent across community entities. We have -- a part of this -- there are these assessments that come along with each of the role-specific relationship-based competencies.

And, not only is it for, for instance, like the family worker themselves, but the family worker’s supervisor. So, you get the chance to really not only think about, for instance, how as a family worker you might be able to check off things that you're really proud of, that you're really strong in, and then you have the opportunity to really look at how you can enhance your own individual professional development trajectory. Same with supervisors -- some folks use these for reflective practice and supervision.

So, depending on what you're thinking about and how it connects to the Dual Language Learner Program Assessment, I think you could pull all kinds of neat stuff to think about here -- even for coaching with teachers, the Practices part of that really can be anchored in, like, practice-based coaching. The words were chosen on purpose. Or, you know, synchronously, consistency for you guys who are doing all of that incredible work out there.

So, just some idea bubbles in case that those are helpful as you're wondering where you might go next. Oh, yes. How could I forget Aurora's example of the performance evaluation for home visitors? Yes. This is another big one that we've seen and heard. Another quick tip, I think, for the relationship-based competencies -- there are lots of them -- there are 10 -- and it can feel overwhelming.

So, what we have been, sort of, helping folks think about is how to take shortcuts. So, for instance, if you know in your program that you're thinking about, like, for program goals, pieces around, let's say, family well-being, there's actually a competency that speaks to that, or if you know that the focus for culture, language, equity, and even here, self-awareness is where your program is driving as a priority, you can go straight to this competency. So, that way, it doesn't feel so overwhelming. And -- Oh, Kara, hey! You're back! 'You build, use the competencies to build and strengthen relationships with families. Use them to help families recognize their strengths and what they want to work on.'

It's incredible how you guys have found ways that we thought you might use these, and then you continually surprise us with new and different ways that we didn't even predict. So, we're so grateful that you find them useful. Dr. Richard, what else are we forgetting? Even 90 minutes went by way too fast! What in the world? Poor Dr. Richard, she's been having some issues with her phone. I can't hear.

Dr. Richard: No, I'm okay. I'm okay.

Brandi: Oh, there she goes.

Dr. Richard: I was just talking -- it was on mute. That's not good. Okay. No, I think I appreciate the fact that you let our audience know that those competencies are written in for several roles also -- like, they are -- like, you will find -- like, if I'm a teacher, I can go to their competencies, that I see some of those practices that may be particular to my role as a teacher or for my role as a home visitor, and also as a family service staff. So, this is really wonderful to see that we could highlight them based on our own role. But, you know, they support us building relationship with the families in our different roles.

So, I think, Brandi, we probably don't have a lot of time, but I don't know if we had the chance to -- if this is the time for us to -- we did highlight the  resources, did we -- so everybody has a chance to see those are the tool. Thank you! I think, Brandi, do we have some departing words from you or anybody on the phone, like, wants to say bye, but, you know, I really appreciated your participation in this webinar. Thank you so much! And, keep up the great work with children of families who are dual language learners.

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