Strategies for Family Engagement

Principals and teachers report that they value relationships with families, yet they receive little training for engaging families. They also say that they feel underprepared to develop these partnerships. Partners in Education: A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family?School Partnerships, a collaboration between SEDL and the U.S. Department of Education, addresses these challenges. The publication, written by Harvard Graduate School of Education?s Karen L. Mapp, senior lecturer and faculty director of the Education Policy and Management Master?s Program, and Paul J. Kuttner, researcher and educator, presents a framework that focuses on helping both educators and family members develop the necessary skills, knowledge, confidence, and belief systems to develop and sustain home?school relationships.