Most parents want their children to be successful in school and want to help them succeed (Mapp, 2003). When school personnel initiate practices inviting parents to the school, creating a welcoming environment for them, honoring their contributions, and connecting them to the school community, practices cultivate and sustain respectful, caring,…

This ethnographic study explores the crucial role of family engagement in educational systems and the impact a human-centered design team has on students' success at an elementary school. The research addresses the historical impact of racism and colonization on student outcomes alongside the ongoing challenge of narrowing the opportunity gap.…

The Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center (OhSFEC) is implementing a comprehensive, scalable approach to enact state policy for family and school engagement at local levels. Joyce Epstein and Barbara Boone report how OhSFEC's research-based design, implementation, and evaluation of a leadership ladder has enabled state leaders to support…

Researchers Martha Abele Mac Iver, Joyce Epstein, and Steven Sheldon summarize the outcomes of their four-year partnership with an urban district aimed at improving the ways schools engage families during the critical transition to high school. They describe how schools put into practice the strategies learned in ongoing professional development,…

The qualitative case study reported on here was commissioned and funded by the Western Cape Government (WCG) in partnership with the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) to inquire into attributes of well performing after-school programmes (ASPs) within the Western Cape provincei of South Africa. The research question of the study was: What…

This article explores an action-oriented research study designed to provide better understanding of ways to leverage school and community partnership through family engagement, focusing on the development and enactment of an approach to nurture family-school partnerships. Specifically, in partnership with seven school districts, a team of…

Family engagement is crucial to academic achievement. However, family engagement practices in schools are inequitable and do not reach Families of Color. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed both further inequities in education and an undoubtedly critical need to partner with all families for student success. This improvement science initiative was…

The William Penn Foundation launched Philadelphia's Informal Learning Initiative (ILI) to support the development of literacy-rich programming for families with children aged 3 to 9. The initiative was designed as a network of partnerships in which a cultural organization--usually a museum--paired with one or more, community-based organizations…

Significant declines in outdoor activity and engagement with the natural environment are growing concerns with negative impacts on well-being. We pilot-tested an intervention encouraging outdoor activity among adult mentor and child mentee pairs and families, in partnership with Milwaukee's Urban Ecology Center. The study used a mixed methods…

One of the key purposes of public education is to prepare young people to reach their full potential as independent adults and engaged citizens. This transition to adulthood may be especially challenging for youth with disabilities. Students enrolled in special education often need additional supports and coordinated planning to prepare for…

Public libraries are ideal contexts for supporting child development and family involvement (Families and Work Institute, 2015; IMLS, 2013). Families with children often attend public libraries to participate in educational programming and experiences, yet university-based developmental scientists who study how people develop and adapt across the…

This case study focuses on one district's process of continuous improvement in family engagement. The improvement effort addresses the point at which family engagement tends to decline precipitously and students are particularly vulnerable--the transition into high school. In this article we analyze the implementation of a continuous improvement…

Based on the success of the Welcome to Kindergarten™ initiative, The Learning Partnership (TLP), a national advocacy organization for public education, initiated a pilot project called Family and Community Engagement Strategy (FACES), in the three Ontario communities of Cornwall, Durham and Sudbury. The overall goal of the FACES Project, funded by…

In the first learning community session since last summer's programs, foundation staff at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving in Connecticut invite providers to share their news. "What worked? What challenges did you see?" Seasoned providers highlight field trips taken, books introduced, newsletters crafted by youth and shared with…

Although research suggests various effective interventions to curb obesity, there remains a gap between current evidence and sustainable practice in schools and communities. School settings present a logical platform for this work, since children spend much of their time in school. This article describes the Building Healthy Schools Program, a…