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www.HFRP.org

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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WORKING WITH TEACHERS AND FAMILIES DEVELOPMENT PERIODS
COMPLEMENTARY LEARNING CONNECTIONS

A Model for Statewide Parent Involvement Leadership in Colorado

Tina House of the Colorado Parent Involvement Network for Education discusses a collaborative approach to providing statewide leadership for family engagement.

Tina House (May 2009) Research Report

A Strong Start for Family Engagement in Massachusetts

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.

Nathan Driskell (December 11, 2014) Research Report

An Aligned Family Involvement System in Kansas

Jane Groff from the Kansas Parent Information Resource Center talks about how the endorsement of statewide family involvement standards by the Kansas State Board of Education has resulted in the development of a common vision for family involvement across state education systems and agencies.

Jane Groff (May 2009) Research Report

Beyond Random Acts: Family, School, and Community Engagement as an Integral Part of Education Reform

This paper, authored by Harvard Family Research Project, served as the foundation for panelists’ discussions at the National Policy Forum for Family, School, and Community Engagement. Beyond Random Acts provides a research-based framing of family engagement; examines the policy levers that can drive change in promoting systemic family, school, and community engagement; and focuses on data systems as a powerful tool to engage families for twenty-first century student learning.  Because education reform will succeed only when all students are prepared for the demands of the twenty-first century, the paper also examines the role of families in transforming low-performing schools.

Heather Weiss , M. Elena Lopez, and Heidi Rosenberg (December 2010) Research Report

Breaking New Ground: Data Systems Transform Family Engagement in Education

HFRP and the National PTA® have teamed up for the second issue in our series of ground-breaking policy briefs. Breaking New Ground cites six case studies from across the country that reveal innovative efforts by early childhood programs and school districts to use student data systems to improve family engagement. Each profile illustrates a segment of a data pathway beginning in early childhood and continuing through students' academic careers. The brief also includes a set of policy recommendations to help support the current trends in education that focus on twenty-first century learning and the vital role of technology.

Heather B. Weiss , M. Elena Lopez, & Deborah R. Stark (January 2011) Research Report

Bringing Families to the Table: Recommendations and Next Steps from the National Policy Forum for Family, School, and Community Engagement

One year after the National Policy Forum on Family, School, and Community Engagement, this report looks back at the major themes of the Forum discussions and offers a set of recommendations for driving family engagement in education as we move forward.

Heather B. Weiss , Elena Lopez & Heidi Rosenberg (November 2011) Research Report

Building Bridges to Success

In 2010, Silicon Valley Community Foundation started a bold and innovative initiative designed to ensure success by third grade for all children in San Mateo County, California. It focuses on ready children, ready families, ready schools, and ready communities

Michelle Sioson Hyman (March 19, 2015) Research Report

Building the Future of Family Involvement

This double issue of The Evaluation Exchange examines the current state of and future directions for the family involvement field in research, policy, and practice. Featuring innovative initiatives, new evaluation approaches and findings, and interviews with field leaders, the issue is designed to spark conversation about where the field is today and where it needs to go in the future.

Evaluation Exchange Issue

Changing the Conversation About Home Visiting: Scaling Up With Quality

The purpose of this paper is to determine what the evidence and conventional wisdom say about scaling up home visiting as one of the best ways to support parents and promote early childhood development. To answer this question, we examined the available research evidence, interviewed leaders from six of the national home visiting models, and interviewed researchers who have studied home visiting. The area of interest for guiding future research, practice, and policy is whether home visiting can be delivered at broad scale and with the quality necessary to attain demonstrable, positive outcomes for young children and their parents.

Heather Weiss , Lisa Klein (May 2007) Research Report

Commentary from Harvard Family Research Project on the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund

HFRP submitted recommendations to the National Register Notice regarding the i3 fund’s proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria. The recommendation included an endorsement of the comments submitted by the National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group, a collaborative of leaders in the family engagement field including HFRP’s Heather Weiss, and emphasized the need to direct development and validation grant funding toward promising family and community engagement initiatives, isolate and recognize the added value of parental involvement in interventions, and take a nuanced view of effect size when selecting innovations for funding.

Harvard Family Research Project (January 19, 2010) Research Report

Commentary from Harvard Family Research Project on the Race to the Top Fund

Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) submitted recommendations to the National Register Notice regarding the Race to the Top Fund’s proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria. HFRP both endorsed the comments submitted by the National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group, a collaborative of leaders in the family engagement field including HFRP’s Heather Weiss, and asserted that a priority criterion for awarding Race to the Top dollars should focus on the quality and depth of family engagement, especially to achieve the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's goal of turning around struggling schools.

Harvard Family Research Project (August 25, 2009) Research Report

Commentary from the National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group on the Extending the Grant Period for the Parental Information and Resource Centers

The National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group, a collaborative of leaders in the family engagement field including Harvard Family Research Project’s Heather Weiss, submitted recommendations for the U.S. Department of Education's proposal to extend the grant period for the National Parental Information and Resource Centers (PIRC) program. This extension period would allow the centers to operate through fiscal year 2012. The Working Group recommended that the extension place an emphasis on data collection, research, best practices, and program outcomes that will assist in the development of a strengthened PIRC program.

National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group (February 2011) Research Report

Commentary from the National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group on the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund

The National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group, a collaborative of leaders in the family engagement field including Harvard Family Research Project’s (HFRP) Heather Weiss, submitted recommendations for the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund’s proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria.The National Working Group’s recommendations provide a framework for the integration of family involvement into how potential recipients of i3 funds are assessed and selected, as well as how initiatives are evaluated.

National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group (January 19, 2010) Research Report

Commentary from the National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group on the Promise Neighborhoods Program

The Working Group submitted recommendations to the National Register Notice regarding the Promise Neighborhoods program's proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria.

National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group (April 2011) Research Report

Commentary from the National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group on the Race to the Top Fund

The National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group, a collaborative of leaders in the family engagement field including Harvard Family Research Project’s (HFRP) Heather Weiss, submitted recommendations for the Race to the Top Fund’s proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria. The recommendations provide a framework for elevating and integrating family involvement into how the Race to the Top Funds are disseminated, governed, and evaluated for effectiveness.

National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group (August 25, 2009) Research Report

Design Thinking: Catalyzing Family Engagement to Support Student Learning

Design Thinking cultivates fertile ground for promoting deep understanding and action-oriented partnerships between families and educators to support student learning. Discover five steps that enable families and educators to create meaningful strategies for family engagement.

Allison Rowland (April 2016) Research Report

Driving Towards Family-Centered Policies and Practices: Parent Partnerships as Key Components of Student Success

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.

Jenny Ocón (May 2011) Research Report

Early Childhood Reform in Seven Communities: Front-Line Practice, Agency Management, and Public Policy

This report examines local examples of successful implementation of reforms. It provides useful information to early childhood practitioners who work directly with children and families, managers who direct early childhood agencies and programs, and policymakers who make decisions about program designs and funding strategies.

Tom Schultz , M. Elena Lopez, Mona Hochberg (1996) Research Report

Family Engagement as a Systemic, Sustained, and Integrated Strategy to Promote Student Achievement

This paper offers an expanded definition of family engagement based on research about children’s learning and the relationships among families, schools, and communities in support of such learning. The topics presented in this paper were originally introduced as commentaries in the August 2009, November 2009, and April 2010 issues of the F.I.N.E. Newsletter.

Harvard Family Research Project (April 2010) Research Report

Family Engagement in Anywhere, Anytime Learning

Explore the world of anywhere, anytime learning with us! Read how researchers and practitioners are helping to close the opportunity gap by creating innovative spaces, developing strategic collaborations to ensure children’s success, and engaging families and children as partners in meaningful learning experiences, both in and out of school.

M. Elena Lopez, Margaret Caspe (June 9, 2014) Research Report

Family Engagement in Public Libraries Is Valued, but There Is Work to Be Done

Ever wonder what libraries around the country are doing to engage families? Learn the answer to this question and others through HFRP and PLA’s national survey of family engagement in public libraries—– the results of which are presented here.

Harvard Family Research Project (August 16, 2016) Research Report

Family Engagement Policy Resources

We've added a section to our website to inform stakeholders of our policy-related work in family engagement. This work seeks to promote the broader definition of family engagement that stresses shared responsibility and cross-context learning within a cradle-to-career approach to education. Visit our new policy page for more details, including our  comments in the Federal Register regarding the U.S. Department of Education’s $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund competitive grants program.

Harvard Family Research Project (November 2009) Research Report

Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education

This research brief synthesizes the latest research that demonstrates how family involvement contributes to young children's learning and development. The brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective involvement—specifically, the research studies that link family involvement in early childhood to outcomes and programs that have been evaluated to show what works.

Heather B. Weiss , Margaret Caspe and M. Elena Lopez (Spring 2006) Research Report

Family Involvement in Elementary School Children's Education

This research brief synthesizes the latest research that demonstrates how family involvement contributes to elementary-school-age children's learning and development. The brief summarizes the latest evidence base on effective involvement—specifically, the research studies that link family involvement during the elementary school years to outcomes and programs that have been evaluated to show what works.

Margaret Caspe , M. Elena Lopez, Cassandra Wolos (Winter 2006/2007) Research Report

Family Involvement News: April 2014

We are committed to keeping you up to date on family engagement news. The resources in this section highlight the latest tools and discussions from HFRP and review recent findings in the areas of family engagement policy, strategies, and research, along with family engagement and digital learning.

Harvard Family Research Project (April 24, 2014) Research Report

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