Partnerships with Families (2-part series)

Children, families and educator's benefit when they are working together to support children's growth and learning, but building these relationships are not always easy. How can we create reciprocal and respectful relationships with families that not only nurture children, but include families, educators and the curriculum? Join us for this 2-part series to explore challenges and discover strategies to build stronger, effective partnerships with families.

Join us for a 2-part interactive workshop with international speaker and author of From Parents to Partners: Building a Family-Centered Early Childhood Program, Janis Keyser, focusing on building reciprocal and respectful partnerships with families. 

 

Session 1: A Community of Learners and Family-Centered Care 

This session will introduce the idea of a community of learner's, including interactive learning experiences that invite reflective practice, strength-based learning and educator-to-educator sharing. You will discuss the principles of family-centered care and identify challenges that educators are currently experiencing. 

This session will include: 

  • an introduction to the concept of a community of learner's- Who are we, what do we know, what do we want to learn and how a community of learner's functions 
  • the history and context of family/educator relationships from the lens of the family and parents, and the educator 
  • exploring what family-centered care is and who this approach benefits 
  • discovering how to plan for building partnerships with families. 

 

Session 2: Two-Way Communication and Skills for Challenging Conversations 

This final session will focus on examining the structure and important of two-way communication, which is the building block to collaborative partnerships between families, children and educators. You will identify strategies that permute listening, collaboration problem-solving and partnership, and you will get the opportunity to practice implementing these strategies. 

This session will include:

  • exploring different types of communication 
  • discovering the value of two-way conversations 
  • unpacking and breaking down any barriers to two-way conversations 
  • uncovering communication strategies to build two-way, collaborative conversations. 

 

    • $250

    • Date

      Wed 3 June – Wed 10 June
      • Session 1
        3 June 2026
        10:00 AM – 11:30 AM
      • Session 2
        10 June 2026
        10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

    • Location

      Online via Zoom

    • Presented by

      • Janis Keyser
    Register

About the presenters

  • Janis Keyser bio pic
    Janis Keyser

    Janis Keyser worked as an early childhood education faculty member at Cabrillo Community College for 30 years, working with children, families and teachers. Janis was a director and co-designer of Google Children's Centers for 12 years, and she worked as an early learning consultants with WestEd, for over 30 years.

    Janis co-developed the Family Partnerships Initiative, was the director of an infant-toddler demonstration program and authored the All About Children website.

    Janis is an author of From Parent to Partners: Building a Family Centered Early Childhood Program (2017); a co-author of Becoming the Parent You Want to Be: A Sourcebook of Strategies for the First Five Years (1998); contributor to Concepts for Care: 20 essays on Infant/Toddler Development and Learning (2006); and a videographer and director of the video, Changing the World, One Diaper at a Time, a real-life demonstration of responsive caregiving.

    In addition to presenting, consulting and coaching teachers in the US, Janis has worked internationally with teachers and educators in China and New Zealand. Janis is a mother, a grandmother and great grandmother who continuously loves to learn from and with the children in her life.