It is clear that family support for students' education is important, but it is also an aspect of educators' work that can be frustrating when repeated efforts to engage families do not seem to pay off in high levels of engagement. In this article, the author takes a few steps back and looks at some important topics related to family involvement.…

A Maine elementary principal discovered that a family game night, complete with food and door prizes, helps build a sense of community by giving parents an opportunity to interact informally with school staff and students. It is particularly effective with previously uninvolved parents. (MLH)

Because of accelerating social change, conventional parent involvement efforts aimed at the traditional family have proven ineffective. This article discusses three basic approaches to involve parents: direct involvement in school management and choice; participation in special parenting training programs; and participation in family resource and…

Even Start Family Literacy Program is a three-part program serving thousands of children from birth to age seven. The federal program supplies parents with the training to be their child's first teacher; allows them to gain needed literacy skills and complete their own formal education; and provides a preschool for young children. Children gain at…

In 1987, Yale University's Edward Zigler introduced the School of the 21st Century (21C), a model designed to enable schools to provide family support and child care services for children from infancy to age 12. Criticized as unfeasible, the decade-old program is now operating in 500 schools in 17 states and has helped redefine the family/school…

A recent ethnographic study that interviewed 11 elementary principals provides examples of how principals with limited resources can build relationships with low-income parents. Effective principals set goals, expand services to children and families, provide parenting education, negotiate and celebrate cultural differences, build strong…

Schools in Los Angeles County, Chattanooga, Boston, and San Diego have established family centers offering space (a room, bus, or neighborhood apartment) where family members can meet with parent leaders and school staff to plan and implement programs and partnerships. Varied purposes, activities, funding, and staffing are discussed. (MLH)

A Tucson, Arizona elementary school is one of 45 development sites for the Toyota Families in Schools Program, which brings in parents to learn alongside their children and in their own classrooms for 4 hours daily. Parents also receive vocational instruction aligned with local job opportunities. (MLH)

Only 10% of schools have achieved genuine partnerships with their families and communities. This article summarizes decades of research demonstrating the importance of risk-taking principals, teacher engagement, diverse involvement opportunities, outside facilitators, family-welcoming strategies, learning at home, effective school-home…

School social workers use a systems approach to address social forces interfering with schools' ability to teach fundamental skills. School social workers analyze current programs; propose new ones; assess individual, family, and community problems; provide alternative intervention strategies; refer students to community services; and attempt to…

CoZi, an acronym combining the names of child psychiatrist James Comer and developmental child psychologist Edward Zigler, is a reform initiative to ensure children's success through various systems working together: the family, the school, child care, and the health system. Integrating services fundamentally changes the school's mission and the…

To enlist the whole community in educating children, educators must expand their vision of family and community involvement, build new kinds of "doors" and "windows," and develop new mindsets about families, communities, and schools. Effective partnership practices are developmental, responsive, and student-centered. Some…