Building Community Partnership in Support of Family Engagement: Ten Tips From the Family Engagement Impact Project

How can communities ensure young children are prepared to succeed in school? According to the Heising-Simons Foundation, one way is to align early childhood programs, school districts, and community organizations in engaging families and teachers to support children’s learning.

To bring this vision to practice, the foundation initiated the Family Engagement Impact Project. The project enhanced the capacity of communities, professionals, and parents to engage in children’s learning and improve educational outcomes for low-income immigrant children from birth through age 8. Funds were awarded to strengthen public-private partnerships, coordinate and integrate family engagement efforts across organizations, and leverage existing community resources. The project had three phases: planning, implementation, and sustainability. Mathematica Policy Research evaluated the implementation phase.

Drawing from the study, this tip sheet highlights 10 strategies for community partnerships seeking to coordinate a family engagement initiative in support of children’s learning.