Getting to Know Families and their Children
Building trusting, productive relationships with families and their children
begins with getting to know their needs and goals. Inviting families to share
what is important to them will help you and your staff create proactive,
respectful, and responsive connections with families, and pave the way for
transparency and inclusive decision making throughout the year.
Early childhood best practices are also trauma-informed practices. As an
early childhood educator you are well positioned to provide the responsive,
caring, and predictable environments and relationships that research has
proven can mitigate stress and trauma. By administering a “Beginning of
Questionnaire for Families'' you are centering family, community, and social-
emotional wellness at the start of school. Incorporating what you learn from
this questionnaire into your everyday practices can lessen stressors for staff,
families, and children, and will lend to a strong foundation for academic
success.
Promising Practices for Administering a “Beginning of Year Questionnaire for Families”
❏ Develop a “Beginning of Year Questionnaire for Families” that captures families’ preferences, needs, and
goals they have for their child in your program (see a Sample Questionnaire on the next page).
❏ Set aside time over the summer or at the beginning of the school year for families to fill out the
Questionnaire during individual meetings with a teacher or a family worker.
❏ Ensure staff use the Questionnaire as the basis for conversations with families, rather than an interview. To
partner with families in this conversation, consider the following:
❏ Share the rationale for collecting this information from families
❏ Collect the information in a sensitive and respectful manner
❏ Respect families who do not want to answer all of the questions
❏ Plan to provide accommodations for families who cannot complete the Questionnaire in English.
Translations of the Sample Questionnaire are available on the Building Family-Community Relationships
Infohub page, under Additional Resources.