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How to Have a Better Back-to-School Night

Familiaris Podcast for Catholic School Leaders

Learn more and register: Jumpstart Your Plan for Parent Partnership Back-to-school night sets the tone for the entire year, yet it is often planned in the rush of staff development and the first week of classes. In this solo episode, Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez gives Catholic school leaders three verbs for shaping a beginning-of-year parent night: envision, encourage, and invite. Each one reframes the evening around families as the first educators of their children and draws them into the shared mission of the school. What You’ll Learn: * Why vision language centered on the graduate—rather than a recited mission statement—engages parents in the shared goal for their children * How to spotlight parents as the primary educators of their children instead of opening with logistics and control * Ways to keep the year’s vision or theme visible through calendar reminders, bulletin boards, conference invitations, and annual-fund letters * How the Latin root of “family,” famulus, reframes the school community as a household rooted in mutual service * Practical cues—tone, stories, and repeated invitations—that make families feel genuinely welcomed rather than buried in logistics Chapters: * 00:00: Welcome and the Jumpstart Your Plan for Parent Partnership workshop * 02:25: Verb one—envision: casting a shared vision for students * 04:47: Making the vision tangible throughout the year * 07:06: Verb two—encourage: parents as primary educators * 09:34: Verb three—invite: welcoming families into the community * 11:50: The tone of invitation and a recap of the three verbs * 14:09: Applying the verbs beyond the talk, and closing Learn more and register: Jumpstart Your Plan for Parent Partnership Join the conversation * Leave a comment and subscribe at familiaris.substack.com * Become a paid subscriber at familiaris.substack.com/subscribe Paid subscribers gain access to monthly collaborative office hours. Office hours are hosted on Zoom and are not recorded. Pop in to ask a question, get feedback on what you’re working on with families, hear what other leaders are doing in their schools. Visit familiaris-consulting.com to learn more about consulting, workshops, and speaking engagements God bless! Produced by Saint Kolbe Studios Get full access to Familiaris at familiaris.substack.com/subscribe