National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) defines family leadership as strategies and services that improve and enhance the leadership skills of parenting adults and that are designed to support families in becoming advocates for themselves, their families, and their communities. This work is accomplished alongside the education and community…

The Faculty of Lifelong Learning at the Institute of Technology Carlow co-created a Level 8 Certificate in Prevention, Partnership and Family Support with Tusla, the national Child and Family Agency. The part time programme was aimed at Child and Family Support Network (CFSN) members in Co. Carlow. The overall approach taken throughout this…

The purpose of this article is to describe an approach that early educators can use to develop meaningful partnerships with families. Specifically, the authors describe their efforts to support teachers in developing home-school connections through a series of Family Projects that strengthened family-child relationships and created opportunities…

Research clearly shows the lasting effects of early developmental experiences on children's later success and well-being; however, the early childhood field struggles to provide consistent high-quality care and education across a fragmented delivery system. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the programs for young children age 0-3. In 2013, the…

The Coalition for Community Schools (Coalition), as an alliance of national, state and local partners that advocate for community schools, wanted to provide support and a space for community school leaders to share their challenges and successes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning March 17, 2020 through the present, the Coalition conducted…

Tamara is a single mother of two children, Isaiah (2 years old) and RaShawn (5 years old). She recently noticed that Isaiah was not developing in the same ways his older brother did when he was Isaiah's age. Unsure of where to go with her concerns about Isaiah's development, Tamara contacted a local University child development center that…

Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC) began as a year-long initiative to support early learning for very young children and families. The program has grown into a self-sustaining, nonprofit, place-based organization committed to improving the lives of children and families in the underresourced neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, MI.…

California's schools are facing increasing complexity when it comes to educating their student populations: the next generation of children is more diverse, more likely to live in low-income families, and are majority dual language learners. Research shows that providing supportive, enriching environments for children to connect with caring adults…

Home visiting is a primary service delivery approach to promote young children's development and support families. Early Intervention professionals are expected to partner with families to create effective learning experiences in the daily context of routine family life. Concerns about early childhood (special) educators' readiness to take on this…

An increasing number of children and youth have mental health disorders. To address this issue, federal and provincial mental health policymakers in Canada have recommended: (a) improving the coordination of services, and (b) increasing the role that schools play in providing supports. One way to operationalize these recommendations is to…

This Information Brief is intended to assist administrators as well as faculty and staff in postsecondary education settings to better understand the value of engaging families of students with disabilities as partners in their students' success. In response to input received during a national online dialogue in 2015, ideas and resources are…

In this three-part article, Molly O'Shaughnessy gives the first principles that break down the myths of poverty and discusses the actual community partnerships that impact the poverty cycle and make Montessori education accessible for all children. Next, Connie Black writes about the education process and outreach programs at the Montessori Center…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate the early intervention experiences of mothers who have a young child at risk for an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). More specifically, the goal was to explore the family centered help giving practices mothers identify and how these practices affect their early intervention experiences. Five…

Libraries across Australia are becoming increasingly involved in the development and implementation of family literacy programs, placing librarians at the centre of this initiative. "Better Beginnings" is a family literacy program developed by the State Library of Western Australian and delivered throughout the state. The program…

This is the final external evaluation report prepared by SRI International for the Rural Math Excel Partnership (RMEP) project, an investing in innovation (i3) development project funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Operated by Virginia Advanced Study Strategies, Inc. (VASS), the RMEP project included six rural school districts (LEAs) in…