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The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.

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Dear FINE Members,

In this FINE Newsletter, we highlight the importance of strong leadership in the field of family, school, and community engagement (FSCE). This field has benefited from the scholarship and insights of a number of influential leaders over the past decades: Don Davies, Concha Delgado-Gaitan, Joyce Epstein, Anne Henderson, Kathy Hoover-Dempsey, Karen Mapp, Ollie Moles, Helen Raikes, Sam Redding, and Harvard Family Research Project’s Heather Weiss and M. Elena Lopez, to name a few. These experts have been committed to helping to bridge the research–policy–practice divide by translating FSCE scholarship into understandable and actionable resources and tools to guide families, schools, and communities toward a shared responsibility for student success.

In this issue, we look ahead to profile a number of emerging leaders in the field whose vision will help advance FSCE efforts in the years to come. We are excited to share these field builders’ thoughts on how FSCE can become systemic, integrated, and sustainable as we forge ahead with education reform initiatives that seek to effectively prepare students for college and career. In future issues of the FINE Newsletter, we will continue to highlight other leaders whose work promotes new ways of thinking about FSCE.

This issue’s commentary is authored by Mishaela Durán, the Interim Executive Director of the National PTA, whose personal narrative illustrates how schools, parents, and communities can work together to overcome hardships and help children obtain the education they deserve.

In Voices from the Field, we feature six emerging leaders working in policy, research, non-profits, districts, community organizing, and philanthropy, who offer their own detailed visions for FSCE and discuss the steps they’re taking to help advance those visions through their work. Their visions highlight the need to empower parents to become informed advocates and partners in student learning, to help educators embed family engagement as a core element of teaching strategies, and to meaningfully integrate research-based FSCE into federal, state, and local policies and programs.

In addition to this collection of diverse voices, we highlight our new issue brief, Teaching the Teachers: Preparing Educators to Engage Families for Student Achievement, produced in partnership with the National PTA. This brief examines how teacher education programs can create the foundation for meaningful and effective family engagement.

We invite your feedback on the topics we explore in this FINE Newsletter, and encourage you to pass on this issue to interested friends and colleagues. We've made it even easier to share FINE content with your social networks: Find the "share" button on the left of every page and send interesting articles via email or through other platforms such as Facebook or Twitter.


Guest Commentary

Coming Full Circle: Drawing on Personal Experiences to Create a Vision for System-wide Change

Mishaela Duran
Mishaela Durán, Interim Executive Director of the National Parent Teacher Association, sets the stage for this special issue about the emerging leaders in our field by getting at the heart of why family and community and engagement is so important in education: it gives students the opportunity to succeed.


Voices From the Field

In this issue's Voices from the Field, we feature six emerging leaders working in policy, research, non-profits, districts, community organizing, and philanthropy, who offer their own detailed visions for FSCE and discuss the steps they’re taking to help advance those visions through their work.

The Power of Community Organizing: Creating Parent Advocates to Work Toward Educational Change
Zakiyah Ansari
Zakiyah Ansari, a parent and community organizer with the Coalition for Educational Justice (CEJ) in New York City, shares how CEJ empowers parents and community members to advocate for education reform at the local, state, and federal levels.

Re-thinking Family Engagement: Moving Beyond the Program Model Toward Systemic Engagement that Promotes Student Learning
Anna Hinton
Anna Hinton, Director of Parental Options and Information in the Office of Innovation and Improvement at the U.S. Department of Education, shares her vision for transforming family engagement at the federal, state, and local levels.

Drawing on Parents’ Strengths: The Role of Districts and Schools in Empowering Families to be Effective Partners
Trise Moore Trise Moore, Family Partnership Advocate for Federal Way Public Schools Washington state, discusses her work in the district’s Family Partnership Office to promote strong partnerships among parents and district- and school-level staff.

Driving Towards Family-Centered Policies and Practices: Parent Partnerships as Key Components of Student Success
Jenny Ocon Jenny Ocón, Executive Director of Parent Services Project (PSP) in San Rafael, California, describes how her work with PSP supports family engagement at schools and in the community.

Making the Case for Family–School–Community Partnerships: Linking Partnerships with Student Achievement
Steve Sheldon
Steve Sheldon, Research Scientist with the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University and Director of Research with the National Network of Partnership Schools, addresses the need for a stronger evidence base to support the role of school–family–community partnerships in education reform.

Philanthropy for Innovation: Promoting Family Engagement through Strategic Funding and Program Development
Helen Westmoreland
Helen Westmoreland, Director of Program Quality for the Flamboyan Foundation—a private family foundation focused on improving educational outcomes for children in Washington, DC and Puerto Rico—discusses how foundations and funders can support the development of effective family engagement practices in all schools.


Resources & Research From Harvard Family Research Project

Teaching the Teachers: Preparing Educators to Engage Families for Student Achievement

Teaching the Teachers publication cover
The latest in our series of issue briefs co-authored with the National PTA, this brief examines how teacher education can create the foundation for meaningful and effective family engagement, and highlights promising strategies from five innovative teacher preparation programs.


Family Involvement News

May 2011 News

Father and daughter reading together We at Harvard Family Research Project are committed to keeping you up to date on what's new in family involvement.  View our list of links to current reports, articles, resources, and events in the family involvement field. 


Contact Us

If you experience a problem reading this newsletter or have questions and comments concerning our work, we would love to hear from you. Please send an email to fine@gse.harvard.edu.

Enjoy!

The FINE Team at Harvard Family Research Project

© 2016 Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College
Published by Harvard Family Research Project