Educator Toolkit for Family Engagement
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Our Educator Toolkit for Family Engagement is designed for anyone who engages in educating children or promoting family engagement. Whether you work in a school building, a district office, a community organization, or serve on a committee that supports the education of children, there are resources in this toolkit to support and inspire you.
Resources are organized by topic, indicated on the tabs below. Each resource has a color code indicating which staff level it most applies to.
Classroom Level
teachers, paras, etc.
Building Level
principals, staff trainers, etc.
District Level
district-wide decision makers
Frameworks
Current, research-based frameworks on effective family engagement models.
REAL Family Engagement (by Flamboyan Foundation)
Family engagement framework focused on relationships, experiences, academic partnerships, leadership.
Family Engagement Model to Support Schools (by Minnesota Department of Education)
This framework model applies research-based guiding concepts for effective family engagement.
Dualcapacity.org
Presents the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships (Version 2)
Embracing a New Normal: Toward a More Liberatory Approach to Family Engagement (by Karen Mapp)
Equity focused family engagement framework and resources (Carnegie Corporation-commissioned report, June 2021).
Strengthening Partnerships: A Framework for Prenatal through Young Adulthood Family Engagement in Massachusetts (by Massachusetts SFEC)
Applicable to school systems in other U.S. states.
Reframing Family, School, and Community Engagement-A communications toolkit (by The FrameWorks Institute and NAFSCE)
Resources to change the public narrative around family, school, and community engagement.
Strategy
Research-based strategies and action plans for implementing a family engagement framework/plan.
Equity in Family Engagement TOOLKIT (by NCFL Family Learning Community Network)
Strategies that promote equity, inclusion, and family voice in family engagement.
Be Reflective: Engagement Mindset & Impact (by Boston Public Schools).
Series of reflection/discussion tools to assess individual and school mindset on engagement. Includes strategies to implement for growth.
Enhancing Family-School Collaboration with Diverse Families
This brief informs school leaders how to improve their collaboration with diverse families.
Family Engagement Action Plan process and template (by Minnesota Department of Education)
Action plan providing starting point for school leaders who want to strengthen their family engagement efforts.
Family Engagement Digital Playbook (by Kentucky Collaborative for Families and School-The Prichard Committee)
Interactive playbook/action plan with: grab and go templates, online training, and more. Relevant to schools in the U.S.
Collaborating to transform and improve education systems: a playbook for family-school engagement. (by Brookings Institute)
Complete action plan/playbook that provides evidence-based strategies and hands-on tools to improve family engagement. Applicable for school system leaders, teacher organizations, community partners.
Planning for Family Engagement in the Charter School Life Cycle: A Toolkit for School Leaders (by National Charter School Resource Center)
Applicable to any school. This report details how family engagement strategies can influence the core work of charter schools.
Strategy Finder to improve family engagement and transform education systems (by Brookings Institute)
This interactive database features more than 60 actionable strategies to use for family engagement.
The School Leader Tool: Building Your School Wide Approach to Family Engagement (by Flamboyan Foundation).
Outcomes-focused approach for family engagement and rubric.
Partnering with Families for Middle School Transition
This brief provides strategies for educators serving students in grades 4 - 7 on how to partner with families to support the transition to middle school.
National Standards for Family-School Partnerships (updated 2021 by National PTA)
Webpage with multiple resources for implementing latest PTA national standards.
Communication
Resources to enhance family-school and teacher-family communication.
Ongoing Communication Reflection Tool (by Flamboyan)
This downloadable spreadsheet allows educators to enter student information and log ongoing communication with families. Reflection questions and action plan.
Building Effective Family-School Partnerships (by PACER Center)
Document which provides best practices in family-school communication.
Talking Points
Free communication and translation app for teachers to build capacity in families in under-resourced, multilingual communities.
Family Engagement Digital Playbook-Communications section (by Kentucky Collaborative for Families and School-The Prichard Committee)
Multiple resources to enhance family-school and family-teacher communication.
FASTalk
FASTalk is a family engagement text messaging tool with built-in translation into 100+ languages.
Relationships
Resources for building positive family-school and/or teacher-family relationships.
Beginning of the Year Relationship Building Toolkit (by Flamboyan Foundation)
Actionable steps and checklists for administrators (and teachers) applicable to back to school.
Educators Matter Too! (from PACER Center)
Articles and resources for building positive relationships with families. Special focus on partnering with culturally diverse families.
Working with Culturally Diverse Families (from PACER Center)
On demand, recorded workshops for educators on topic of building relationships with diverse families.
Academic Partnering Companion Guide for School Leaders (by Flamboyan Foundation).
Companion guide checklist for supporting teachers in their REAL family engagement partnerships.
Academic Partnering Toolkit for Teachers (by Flamboyan Foundation)
Best practices, tips, and tools for teachers to maximize academic partnering.
Professional Development
Ready to use Items for personal or group professional development.
Family Engagement Assessment Tool (by Flamboyan Foundation).
Online assessment tool that helps educators understand where their own family engagement practice is strong and gives them actionable resources for targeted improvement.
Professional Learning Hub (by Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center)
Hub of online courses, upcoming live webinars, communities of practice, research briefs, and more.
Teacher training modules for working with diverse families (by PACER Center).
Multiple recorded professional development workshops in slideshow format.
KY Family and School Partnership 101 Training Module (by The Prichard Committee)
Series of free professional learning modules in video format which use the Dual Capacity framework of family engagement.
Grab & Go
These items are quick and easy to use right away.
Ongoing Communication Reflection Tool (by Flamboyan)
This downloadable spreadsheet allows educators to enter student information and log ongoing communication with families. Reflection questions and action plan.
Measurement Tool: How Should I assess my school's family and community engagement practices? (by Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center)
Tool for school leaders to access what they are doing well and what needs to be improved.
Ask About My Selfie (by Kentucky Collaborative for Families and School-The Prichard Committee)
Classroom project for students to share with families.
Script for family-student wellness check-in (by Flamboyan Foundation)
Can be used during in-school or distance learning.
Parent-Teacher Conference Tip Card (by MNSFEC/PACER Center)
Conference tips that enhance family engagement. Can be downloaded or ordered.
Self-care for Educators Video Series (by South Dakota SFEC)
Multiple 5-7 minute videos that present actionable steps in topics of self-care.
Achieve the Plan Game (by PACER Center)
A fun game to foster staff conversations about family engagement. Free, downloadable, 15 minute game play.
Positive Interactions with Diverse Families (by PACER Center)
Applicable to regular ed and special ed.
Resources teachers can give to families from diverse cultures (by PACER Center)
Hands-on, translated items teachers can use with families from diverse cultures to foster family engagement.
Resource Finder
Use these items to search and filter for the precise family engagement resources you want to find.
NAFSCE Searchable Resource Library (from National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement).
Searchable library of over 700 resources compiled by NAFSCE.
List of research articles on family engagement (from National Center for Families Learning-NCFL)
Searchable articles by NCFL and other authors/publishers.
Ohio's Whole Child Framework (by Ohio Dept of Education)
Interactive toolkit with hundreds of resources.
We acknowledge the Minnesota educators who gave valuable input during this toolkit’s development.