Families & the Community Video

‘A Welcoming Place’: Family Engagement Strategies for Schools (Video)

By Libby Stanford & Jaclyn Borowski — May 02, 2024 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Education Week Staff Writer Libby Stanford spent the past four months talking to parents, superintendents, principals, teachers, and researchers about what it takes to build positive relationships between families and schools. Such relationships are key to helping students do well.

Ultimately, they said, it comes down to developing trust.

Here, Stanford shares key strategies schools can adopt to make sure their family engagement practices are effective at building long-lasting, trusting relationships with families.

Dive Deeper

This story is part of a special reporting project on family engagement.
The Future of Parent Engagement: Parents and caregivers are paying more attention to their children’s education than ever. Here’s what that means for schools.
A New Community School Model: Family and community engagement is central to the success of Stevenson Elementary School in Southfield, Mich. See how the transformation started.
“Add-on” or Core Skill? Researchers agree family engagement is effective, but few colleges actually teach it.
Bridging the Gap: A home visit program is helping parents and teachers build more trusting relationships in Denver.
A New Generation of Apps: Tech platforms are changing the way teachers communicate with families. How can schools use them effectively?
5 Strategies: Schools don’t need an influx of money and resources to have effective family engagement. Find out how. (Here’s a downloadable guide.)

Related Tags:

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Teaching Students to Use Artificial Intelligence Ethically
Ready to embrace AI in your classroom? Join our master class to learn how to use AI as a tool for learning, not a replacement.
Content provided by Solution Tree

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Families & the Community How Schools Can Involve English Learners' Parents in Their Kids' Learning
Parents want their children to succeed academically, but not all know how to support them, according to experts.
4 min read
Latina mother and son meeting with school teacher.
E+
Families & the Community From Our Research Center What Educators Have to Say About Parents Texting and Calling Their Kids During School
Teachers, principals, and district leaders are increasingly frustrated by parents who do not respect student cellphone restrictions.
1 min read
Photograph of a hand holding a cellphone showing text messages from "mom" with "Did you remember to take your lunch today?" and "Don't forget you have music lessons after school." The background is a blurred open book.
Kathy Everett for Education Week
Families & the Community Opinion The 3 Secrets to Better Parent-Teacher Communication
Teachers and parents rarely receive guidance on how to effectively communicate. Here’s what two experienced educators recommend.
Adam Berger & Don Berger
4 min read
Line drawing of town landscape including a school, a child, and a parent.
Fumiko Inoue/iStock
Families & the Community School Attendance Suffers as Parent Attitudes Shift
Parents are more relaxed about attendance than before the pandemic, district leaders said.
4 min read
One person walking down stairs in motion effect photography inside building.
iStock / Getty Images Plus