Community-District Teams communicate that families serve as their children’s first teachers. Members of the Team advocate for schools and communities to actively work together to address academic, social, and cultural needs of their students and families. Community-District Teams partner with families, schools/district, and the community to provide opportunties, services, and information to children and families district-wide.

Download Pathway Two: Family, School, and Community Partnerships from the Ready Schools Toolkit, Part 2.

Download Appendix C, Resources for Family, School, and Community Partnerships.

Selected Family, School, and Community Partnerships Resources:

WEBSITES

Connecting Families and Schools to Help Our Children Succeed: http://www2.ed.gov/PressReleases/02-1994/parent.html

A list of concrete actions that parents, schools, and communities can take to help all children learn.

Grow a Child: http://growachild.org/index.htm

Supports a collaborative effort between a number of North Carolina community agencies. Created to help families find local community resources and other simple ideas to turn good parents into extraordinary parents.

The SEDL National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools: http://www.sedl.org/connections/

Links people with research-based information to connect schools, families, and communities. Includes resources, webinars, annotated bibliography database, policy briefs, and handouts.

Working Together: School-Family-Community Partnerships: http://www.cesdp.nmhu.edu/toolkit/index.asp

Specific tools and resources around family and community involvement around six specific themes: improving communication; promoting positive parenting; enhancing student learning; increasing volunteerism; supporting decision-making and advocacy; and collaborating with the community.

ARTICLES & REPORTS

Minority Parents and Community Engagement: Best Practices and Policy Recommendations for Closing the Gap in Student Achievement: http://www.maldef.org/assets/pdf/MCO_MALDEF%20Report_final.pdf

The programs discussed in this report are in California, but the solid advice is applicable for anyone wanting to improve parent and community engagement.

DOCUMENTS

Survey on Family and School Partnerships

This survey is completed by a school employee for a school to assess the nature of family, school,  and community partnerships. It was shared by the Down East Partnership for Children.