Guidance for Family, School, and Community Partnerships
June 2014
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Acknowledgments
The content of this guidance was adapted from the National Network of Partnership for School,
Dr. Joyce Epstein., and Stephen Sheldon, Johns Hopkins University.
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Contents
Overview ................................................................................................................................ 4
Partnerships – Why are they important? ................................................................................. 5
Six Types of Involvement .................................................................................................... 6
Review of Modules ................................................................................................................. 6
Where do I start? .................................................................................................................... 7
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Overview
Parents are their children’s first educators. With the current financial constraints on schools and
the growing concern about the achievement gap, schools are recognizing that they need a
family, school and community partnership. Educators, families and community stakeholders
agree that family engagement is vital to student success and benefits everyone involved:
Educators:
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Increased respect for families’ strengths and levels of involvement.
Increased level of trust to engage with all families.
Increased understanding of families.
Increased satisfaction and enjoyment of work.
Enrichment of students’ experiences by partnering with community
resources.
Parents:
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Increased awareness of student progress and challenges.
Deeper appreciation for educators and deeper trust for educators.
Stronger relationship with schools and educators.
Increased confidence in their ability to guide their student(s).
Greater sense of community and partnership with schools.
Students:
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Better grades and improved test scores.
Improved attendance rates.
Increased graduation rates.
Improved behavior at school and at home.
Increased social and transition skills.
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Partnerships – Why are they important?
This guidance was adapted from the National Network of Partnership Schools and the PTA
National Standards for Family, School, and Community Partnership. The standards were
developed to ensure schools had high-quality family engagement strategies and programs.
These guidelines must be met to qualify for and maintain federal funding.
If we want to increase student success and improve the school climate, we must have a strong
research-based program. This guidance is a practical tool for all schools to begin, deepen, or
strengthen their work in family engagement.
Schools and districts are now tasked with developing effective, relevant, and sustainable
programs that are based on best practices in the field of family engagement. “Epstein’s (1987,
1995) theory of overlapping spheres of influence, for example, identifies schools, families and
communities as major institutions that socialize and educate children”. Each of these institutions
has a vested interest in children and greater results can be achieved when they work together.
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Dr. Joyce Epstein’s research has identified six types of involvement that are keys to
implementing a family, school and community partnership plan.
Six Types of Involvement
Each type of involvement has particular challenges that must be overcome, requires redefining
some basic principles of involvement, and leads to different results for students, families, and
teachers.
A school must choose the practices that will help achieve its goals and meet the unique needs
of its students and families.
Type 1 – Parenting: Help families with parenting and child-rearing skills, understanding child
and adolescent development, and setting home conditions that support children at every age
and grade level. Help schools understand families.
Type 2 – Communicating: Communicate with families about school programs and student
progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications.
Type 3 – Volunteering: Improve recruitment, training, work, and schedules to involve families
as volunteers at the school or in other locations to support students and school programs.
Type 4 – Learning at Home: Involve families with their children in learning activities at home,
including homework and other curriculum-linked activities and decisions.
Type 5 – Including families as participants in school decisions, governance, and advocacy.
Type 6 – Collaborating with the Community: Coordinate resources and services from the
community for families, students and schools, and provide services to the community.
Review of Modules
The Toolkit includes eight modules to guide schools in developing effective family, school, and
community partnerships. It is crucial that you review Module One – Development of Family,
School, and Community Partnership. This module is intended to be your guide to creating a
program that is embedded in the school curriculum and based on current research and best
practices.
Each module contains the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
A needs assessment: A self-assessment for schools to identify their
strengths and areas of improvement.
Current research on the module topic.
A toolkit of links, webinars, PowerPoints, handouts and activities that
pertain to the module. Each module includes an action plan template and
handout on aligning the six types of involvement to that particular module.
Policies and procedures (if applicable).
Module One: Development of Family, School, and Community Partnership
This module is the bases for all modules and focuses on developing systems and strategies in
family engagement
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Module Two: School Choice
This module provides the characteristics of high performing schools to assist schools and
families with enhancing and choosing the best school for their student.
Module Three: P-12 System and Benchmarks
This module outlines standards and benchmarks; the types of assessments typically used in
Minnesota for measuring them and what levels of competency are needed at each grade level
to stay on a college and career ready track
Module Four: Postsecondary Success
This module outlines key steps that students, parents and teachers can take from early
childhood through high school to help ensure success of students once they leave the Pre K- 12
grade school system.
Module Five: Cultural Diversity and Parent Voices
This section focuses on understanding the “voices” of parents. It highlights their aspirations,
their expectations, their desires for their own children, and their goals for high achievement by
their students.
Module Six: Engaging Families
Research indicates that educators, who build relationships with families and apply the six types
of involvement as core standards and practices in their family engagement efforts, achieve
results in student achievement.
Module Seven: Afterschool Programs and Community Partnerships
The collaboration together between communities and schools often provides youth and families
with resources, information, strategies, and services that schools alone are unable to provide.
Module Eight: Best Practices for Families
Parent and schools must be willing to partner to provide support towards a shared outcome of
student achievement and success.
Where do I start?
Start in the Toolkit section of Module 1. The PowerPoint training Developing Family, School and
Community Partnerships will teach you to intentionally implement family and community
engagement at a school and is based on work of the National Network of Partnership Schools
(NNPS).
The Developing Family, School and Community Partnerships can be used for a full or half-day
training. Read notes on the training slides.
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