When looking at large, urban school districts across America, one may observe many common issues that act as limitations for students. However, when taking a closer look at the data, each district and school has unique barriers that impact students and families. This study focuses on Buffalo City School District (BCSD), the second largest school…

The Oakland REACH (REACH), a parent-run education advocacy group embedded in a predominantly Black and Latinx community in Oakland, California, responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by developing programming in response to community needs and found an opportunity to shape practices in schools. REACH's story demonstrates the potential for…

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…

Creative ways of delivering informal science events in community settings are viewed as key to engaging new audiences and participants whom scientists find hard to reach, however, the impact of 'formal' setting events is often overlooked. Here, through a mixed-methods approach, we analyse a large-scale family-focused public engagement event hosted…

The Gallia-Vinton Educational Service Center (ESC) in Ohio, USA, gained some valuable understanding about school and family collaboration through its Treasure Your Family (TYF) program. In partnership with Gallia County Job and Family Services, Gallia County Commissioners, Gallia County Local Schools, and Gallipolis City Schools, the ESC created a…

Collaboration between school staff, families, and community partners is vital for ensuring all students' success, particularly those with disabilities. In this case study, we will discuss a community-university partnership involving a university school psychology graduate program, several local school districts, and a specialized medical facility…

How engaged families are in their children's lives, whether at home or in school, predicts their success in school and in life. The purpose of this study was to explore parent, educator, and community member perspectives of family engagement, preschool through grade 12, to inform state-level policy from an ecological framework. Ten semi-structured…

In 2007, Walter P. Webb Middle School faced a crisis. One evening in January, the superintendent at the time held a meeting at the school in Austin, Texas, to let students, parents, teachers, and community members know that at the end of the academic year, their school would close. Thanks to a new state law focused on accountability, the…

San Francisco's Mission Promise Neighborhood (MPN) is a federally-funded Promise Neighborhood initiative that supports community-based organizations, schools, and other public agencies to work in defined neighborhoods and build integrated supports for children and youth from cradle to college and career. Since 2013, the Gardner Center has…

This article summarizes a project focused on the PROSPER program delivery system as a formal vehicle for addressing substance misuse and abuse in Ohio communities. Promoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) is a nationally recognized, evidence-based program delivery system designed to implement prevention…

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…

Schools and the families they serve are sometimes perceived as deficient and in need of fixing. One response has been the implementation of evidence-based family intervention programmes, which may be highly regulated and prescriptive as a condition of their (often philanthropic) funding. This article seeks to explore and bring to the foreground…

The Fit Family Challenge, a web-based healthy lifestyle program, was developed to motivate families to participate in more physical activity by tracking their behaviors and by providing them with educational materials and community events to attend with their families. This article is an account of the steps taken and the efforts needed to make a…

Many professionals in the early childhood field are inspired by community-driven initiatives that hold great promise for transforming outcomes for the youngest children and their families. However, most collective impact efforts are mobilized in large urban areas, where early childhood professionals and civic leaders take the lead. New Mexico has…

When schools, families, and communities work together, student outcomes are better. This brief focuses on the ways family and community engagement can enhance schools' efforts to improve outcomes for ELLs and highlights specific strategies schools can use to more effectively engage families and communities.