5 Strategies to Unlock the Power of Family Engagement
A family engagement strategy equals positive outcomes for students—and better support for school faculty and staff. This article provides five strategies to get families more interested and involved.
Author: Dawn Bridges
Publication Date: February 2024
Publisher: National Association of Elementary School Principals
A Comparison of Program Development at Elementary, Middle, and High Schools in the National Network of Partnership Schools
Based on survey data collected from 375 elementary, middle, and high schools in the National Network of Partnership Schools, this paper identifies differences and similarities in the development and quality of schools’ programs of school, family, and community partnership.
Authors: Mavis Sanders and Beth Simon
Publisher: School Community Journal
A Step-By-Step Approach for Educators to Create Family Engagement Opportunities for Kinship Caregivers and Grandfamilies in Schools
This step-by-step resource is designed to support educators to create family engagement opportunities for kinship caregivers and grandfamilies in schools. It guides the reader through a five-step process to increase the engagement of kinship caregivers and grandfamilies: understand their unique needs, recognize the difference between family involvement and family engagement, make a plan for family engagement, implement the plan, and engage in reflection and adaptation.
Publication Date: January 2025
Publisher: Institute of Education Sciences
Embracing a New Normal: Toward a More Liberatory Approach to Family Engagement
This report explores the dynamics and barriers that stand in the way of effective family-school partnerships and outlines how to reach a more liberatory, solidarity-driven, and family engagement practice that supports educational excellence for all children.
Authors: Karen L. Mapp and Eyal Bergman
Publication Date: June 2021
Publisher: Carnegie Corporation of New York
Encircle Families
Collaboration between families and professionals results in the best possible outcomes for children with disabilities. Encircle Families is an Arizona nonprofit organization that provides free training and information to parents to help them understand their rights, roles, and responsibilities in their child’s health care and education. Training for pre-service and in-service professionals in education is available to improve collaboration between families and providers and achieve better results for children.
Publication Date: 2025
Publisher: Encircle Families
Family Engagement: Collaborating with Families of Students with Disabilities
This module addresses the importance of engaging the families of students with disabilities in their child’s education. It highlights some of the key factors that affect these families and outlines some practical ways to build relationships and create opportunities for involvement.
Publication Date: 2022
Publisher: IRIS Center Vanderbilt University
Parent and Family Engagement under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as Amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act
This guidance is divided into five major sections. The first deals with general issues related to parent and family engagement, the second addresses the parent and family engagement responsibilities of State educational agencies (SEAs), the third describes responsibilities of local educational agencies (LEAs), the fourth describes the responsibilities of schools, and the fifth describes the responsibilities of LEAs and schools to build parents’ capacity for becoming involved in improving their child’s academic achievement.
Publication Date: Updated January 2025
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Parental Rights Handbook Public School Districts
State law requires the Arizona Department of Education to develop and post a statutory handbook of parental rights outlining the rights of parents of children in school districts and charter schools. This document contains the required statutes.
Publication Date: Updated August 2023
Publisher: Arizona Department of Education
Research in Brief: Engaging and Empowering Diverse and Underserved Families in Schools
This brief, requested by the Arizona Department of Education, presents a narrative synthesis and is based on a partial review of the relevant literature on strategies for engaging and, more recently, empowering families to support their children’s learning and development. The brief also reviews and summarizes lessons learned from this research, and offers recommendations for how local education agencies can engage and empower families.
Authors: Eric Ambroso, Lenay Dunn, and Pam Fox
Publication Date: September 2021
Publisher: Institute of Education Sciences