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.
From the Director's Desk
An introduction to the issue on Strategic Communications by HFRP's Founder & Director, Heather B. Weiss, Ed.D.
Pitching Policy Change
Marielle Bohan-Baker, from Harvard Family Research Project, presents some of the challenges voiced by communications experts in interviews about the use and evaluation of mass media initiatives.
Coming of Age in the Information Age
Jacqueline Dugery of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change offers some innovative ways to build on organizational learning to engage in strategic communications campaigns.
Engaging the Media as Partners in Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Sarah Brown, Director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, describes the unique way in which the Campaign has enlisted the support of “unusual suspects” in its efforts to improve child well-being and reduce child poverty.
Strategic Communications
The Winter 2001 issue focuses on the increasing importance of strategic communications in nonprofits, examining how to best create, produce, and evaluate communications strategies. The issue features communications campaigns and their evaluations, a conversation with a top communications professional, and information and resources for designing and evaluating strategic communications initiatives.
KIDS COUNT Self-Assessment: Bridging Evaluation With Strategic Communication of Data on Children & Families
Deborah Morgan of KIDS COUNT describes how the initiative used an integrated self-assessment evaluation design to incorporate strategic communications into its long-term vision to improve child well-being.
From the Director's Desk
An introduction to the first issue on Out-of-School Time by HFRP's Founder & Director, Heather B. Weiss, Ed.D.
Investing in Those Who Invest in our Youth
Linda Lausell Bryant, Director of Training at Partnership for After School Education, describes their New York City-based coalition committed to quality after school programs.
Evaluations to Watch
HFRP provides a quick run-down of 12 current out-of-school time program evaluations.
New & Noteworthy
The New & Noteworthy section features an annotated list of papers, organizations, initiatives, and other resources related to the issue's theme of Out-of-School Time.
Out-of-School Time Issue #1
The Fall 2000 issue, the first of a series of two dedicated to the field of out-of-school time and after school, addresses the challenges and possibilities for evaluating after school programs in the new era of accountability. The issue includes an interview with National Institute on Out-of-School Time founder Michelle Seligson, articles relating on-the-ground experiences with evaluation, and our new column, “Ask the Expert.”
Building the After School Field: A Conversation With Evaluators, Policymakers, and Practitioners
Karen Horsch and Kathleen Hart of HFRP summarize HFRP's conversations with after school evaluators, researchers, and stakeholders to map the out-of-school time field.
Reflections on Access and Equity Implications for After School Program Evaluations
Laurie Olsen, Executive Director California Tomorrow, highlights the importance of addressing issues of access and equity in the evaluation of after school programs.
Strengthening Local Evaluation Capacity in Rural Communities
Using a participatory/empowerment evaluation approach with Save the Children, Linda Morrell and Kenneth Terao from the Aguirre Group offer reflections and lessons learned from their experience.
Interview With Michelle Seligson
HFRP asked Michelle Seligson, founder of the National Institute on Out-of-School Time, about the history of the out-of-school time field, the challenges it currently faces, and the role evaluation and research play.
Ask the Expert
Karen Walker, director of community studies at Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), reveals what evaluation approaches can be used to understand the connection between academic outcomes and program activities.
Teacher Preparation
This premier issue of FINE Forum represents the first step in a bold new initiative to strengthen teacher preparation in family and community engagement in education.
Free. Available online only.
Resolving Issues at Johnson Elementary School
The director of a Parent Resource Center is concerned to hear that a number of parents are boycotting the program because they think the parent coordinator used her school connections to place her son in a gifted science class. How can the director and principal ease the tension?
Free. Available online only.
Home-School Communication—What's All the Commotion?
This workshop, developed by Margaret Caspe for Harvard Family Research Project, helps teachers understand different approaches to home-school communication and how these shape relationships with families. Concepts are taken from a research study of first and second grade teachers in three sites.
Free. Available online only.
Family-School Partnerships for Students' Reading Success
Written by Sandy Christenson for the Minnesota Reading Excellence Act training sessions, the two modules in this workshop focus on home-school strategies to enhance students' reading success.
Free. Available online only.
Preparation for Building Partnerships With Families: A Survey of Teachers, Teacher Educators, and School Administrators
This study examined the extent to which Kentucky's teachers are prepared to work with families in the roles which they play in the education of their children. These roles include being teachers, supporters, advocates, and decision-makers. The research questions addressed the pre-service preparation by institutions of higher education, staff development activities of local school districts, and gaps in preservice and practicing teacher levels.
Free. Available online only.
Federal Funding in Out-of School Time With Accountability Requirements and Evaluations
These Web documents were produced by HFRP as part of its initial efforts to “map” the out-of-school time field, and detail federal funding streams for out-of-school time programs and related programming alongside their accountability requirements and evaluations. A summary section offers a narrative description of each funding stream. Funding streams are classified as major or minor depending on the amount of money they make available for out-of-school time efforts.
Free. Available online only.
Organizations in Out-of-School Time: An Introduction
The out-of-school time field has grown rapidly over the past decade, with a constant influx of new voices and approaches. This publication is a summary, but far from a complete review, of organizations active in out-of-school time, grouped by topical area.
Free. Available online only.