State Policy / Informing Family Engagement Policy / Family Involvement / HFRP

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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.

Through research-based policy briefs and profiles, HFRP highlights state leadership in advancing family engagement anywhere and anytime that children learn.


	How to Grow a Framework: Lessons From California Lorette McWilliams The California Department of Education’s Family Engagement Framework: A Tool for California School Districts is a synthesis of research, best practices, and the state and federal program requirements that include family engagement, intended to guide school districts. Download PDF

	Putting an Equity Lens on Family Engagement in Oregon Anairis Hinojosa and M. Elena Lopez Creating high-quality early childhood systems necessitates a strong focus on family engagement. Check out how Oregon is adopting an equity lens and building a strong foundation to engage families by leveraging federal funds, community leadership, and philanthropic investments. Download PDF

	Engaging Families in Education Matt Weyer, National Conference of State Legislatures Explore the efforts of states that are breaking ground in creating policies regarding family engagement. This policy brief from the National Conference of State Legislatures documents four approaches for engaging families in education: two-generation strategies, capacity-building systemic school practices, technology-supported strategies, and home-visiting services. Download PDF

	A Strong Start for Family Engagement in Massachusetts Nathan Driskell Through its Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge funds, Massachusetts has created strategic partnerships with museums and libraries, public television, family and community programs, community nonprofits, and public transportation to build a robust and growing statewide family engagement system. Download PDF

	Racing to the Top: Maryland's Promising Practices in Family Engagement Nathan Driskell Maryland is embedding a new family engagement definition statewide as a foundation of policy and infrastructure. Through comprehensive partnerships, the state brings to scale family engagement approaches and launches new initiatives. Download PDF

	Ready for Success: Creating Collaborative and Thoughtful Transitions Into Kindergarten Christine Patton, Justina Wang The transition to school is pivotal for children’s school success and the continuous engagement of families in their children’s learning. This brief examines the important elements of high-quality kindergarten transition strategies and offers profiles of promising practices from six states—New Jersey, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Virginia, and California. In these states, local leadership and state policies and initiatives promote a variety of programs and practices to ensure successful transitions into school for children and their families. Download PDF

	Families and Expanded Learning Opportunities: Working Together to Support Children’s Learning Erin Harris, Heidi Rosenberg, Ashley Wallace Families play an important role as the primary bridge across the multiple learning settings where their children learn and grow. How can extended learning programs strategically engage families to help support children’s learning? What policies need to be put in place to support this work? This Harvard Family Research Project brief, developed with the National Conference of State Legislatures, documents key program strategies: developing learner-centered activities with families; coordinating across children’s learning environments; and sharing data with families about children’s progress. Policy recommendations include statewide family engagement councils and task forces, as well as standards that promote best practices for family engagement in expanded learning programs. Download PDF

	Now is the Time: Helping States Prepare Students for Success from the Very Start Jacqueline Jones Jacqueline Jones was the Senior Advisor on Early Learning to the Secretary of Education at the U.S. Department of Education at the time she wrote this article. In it she highlights the Department’s new Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge competitive grant program and the decision to make family engagement an integral part of the grant criteria. Read more

	Family Engagement in Early Childhood: A Resource Guide for Early Learning Challenge Grant Recipients Harvard Family Research Project To support Race to the Top—Early Learning Challenge grant recipients’, HFRP produced this selective list of resources about engaging and supporting families with young children. This list of journal articles, practical guides, webinars, and presentations may also be helpful for any other states, districts, and local programs interested in expanding their family engagement work. Download PDF

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