Background: The COVID-19 pandemic triggered nationwide school closures in March 2020, putting millions of children in the United States who depended on subsidized school meals at risk of hunger. In response, the US Department of Agriculture activated the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program to provide…

Families of youth with disabilities often access services to promote youth's transitions to adulthood. Such services can be oriented toward the youth or family. Using descriptive statistics and regression modeling of survey and administrative data, we explored patterns of service use and the association between outcomes for 9,013 U.S. youth with…

The early childhood period has lasting effects on physical and mental health. Most U.S. families rely on daily non-parental care for children under five, highlighting the importance of integrating family preferences with educator practices through reciprocal family engagement (RFE). Systems change initiatives are promising to promote RFE due to…

A nurturing, caring school environment is essential for school improvement and student motivation. In this book, Douglas Reeves and Robert Eaker bring the importance of a caring environment to the forefront of school transformation efforts. They identify who is responsible for shaping school communities, what qualities are vital for them to…

Background: In 2024, Irish people rejected their government's proposed Constitutional changes relating to the definition of a family, and the interface between state and family with reference to the provision of care. Using data from a Carer's Study, this paper reflects on the defeated Care Amendment with reference to current and historic social…

United States homeschooling participation increased dramatically during the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Education scholars theorized that homeschool participation would recede along with pandemic disruptions. This study examines whether that theory proved true. I use longitudinal annual state-reported homeschool participation counts…

Interest in science is critical for science learning. The family plays a major role in supporting the development of children's interest in science by eliciting and fostering interest and engagement with science content and practice. This study characterizes triggers for interest in science in everyday family life and measures the duration of…

This problem-based learning project delves into the perceptions of school leaders regarding the challenges and strategies involved in fostering equitable family engagement within the school setting. Acknowledging the historical inequities in engagement practices, particularly affecting marginalized groups, the research team aimed to address the…

This problem-based learning project delves into the perceptions of school leaders regarding the challenges and strategies involved in fostering equitable family engagement within the school setting. Acknowledging the historical inequities in engagement practices, particularly affecting marginalized groups, the research team aimed to address the…

This problem-based learning project delves into the perceptions of school leaders regarding the challenges and strategies involved in fostering equitable family engagement within the school setting. Acknowledging the historical inequities in engagement practices, particularly affecting marginalized groups, the research team aimed to address the…

Many low-income working parents rely on subsidized child care. The Illinois Child Care Assistance Program supports qualifying families in working or attending school, many of whom may be unable to afford market-rate child care. Examining parents' income and employment patterns can guide policymakers to optimally structure subsidized child care to…

Purpose: This study examines the perspectives of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) professionals on the impact of participation in a professional learning community (PLC) focused on delivering AAC services to bilingual children. Specifically, it investigates the professionals' perceptions on (a) their professional development, (b)…

A discourse of poverty can influence teachers' perceptions towards and ways of supporting parents' engagement in their children's learning. In 2021, Goodall invited us to examine the discourse surrounding a "culture of poverty" and seek ways to engage with parents so that we might dismantle systemic inequities. This study explored four…

Drawing from a qualitative approach and through individual "pláticas" (processes of co-constructing knowledge through dialogue) as a linguistic and cultural framework, this work explored informal contextual factors valued by Spanish-speaking Latina mothers of children, three to five years of age and enrolled in a nonprofit California…

As community schools grow in numbers, this article argues that the model needs to be interrogated in order to address the power imbalances that exist between non-dominant families and schools. This paper draws on a citywide study of parent interviews as well as public documents and interviews with key community school leaders in Baltimore to…