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Our virtual reality tour of a Family Friendly Partnership School combines the concepts of architecture and improvement planning for a sustained program of actions by educators and families. This site was created to illustrate a variety of elements that might be present in your Family Friendly Partnership School. The virtual reality tour of our Family Friendly Partnership School offers: * Suggestions/ideas on how to make your school family-friendly. * Choices of activities that could be part of the school's comprehensive, goal-oriented school, family and community partnership program linked to student success.

"We define family engagement as the collaboration between families and schools that drives student achievement. A strong body of research shows that students do better in school and in life when their parents are engaged in their education.  Teachers are only with children an average 14% of their time, so it is essential that families reinforce messages about learning outside of school."

This Brief highlights federal policies for family engagement; describes examples of policy actions by the state of Massachusetts; and illustrates local policies and practices at the Dr. William W. Henderson Inclusion Elementary School in Dorchester, MA, a SWIFT knowledge development site. To guide SWIFT Center technical assistance on the Family and Community Engagement Domain in participating states and districts, we suggest four ways to weave family engagement policies and practices into the SWIFT framework.

The State Board of Education of Ohio recognizes parents and families as children's first and most important teachers. When parents enroll their children in school, from preschool through high school, the responsibility of education and care is shared with the school and the community. Partnerships among families, schools and communities that are child-centered and family-strengthening can engage, guide and motivate students to be productive citizens in a global society.

"U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced today the upcoming release of the national frameworks for family engagement in which Senior Lecturer Karen Mapp, Ed.M.'93, Ed.D.'99, played an instrumental role developing. In a brief video (see below) played today at the National Family Engagement Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, Duncan thanked Mapp and emphasized the importance of such frameworks."

"Families of children with Angelman Syndrome often experience stress about whether their child's needs are being met at school. Families are concerned about if their child is receiving enough support to develop strong communication skills, can demonstrate their learning effectively, is forming close friendships with other children, and is being prepared for a meaningful adult life. The Education Strategy Seminar will be a place where all people involved in the care and education of a person with AS can learn, reflect on, and discuss the education of your loved one with AS. Whether your son or daughter is a toddler or an adult, he or she is still on a journey of life-long learning and needs your advocacy to continue his or her education. This Seminar will be divided into four sections to teach families strategies to be more effective advocates for their child with Angelman Syndrome, across the lifespan."

"FAMILY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Scholastic FACE brings together research-based programs and strategies that empower families, communities and students in support of teaching and learning."

"Helping Traumatized Children Learn A Report and Policy Agenda: supportive school environments for children traumatized by family violence. Helping Traumatized Children Learn demonstrates how trauma from exposure to family and other forms of violence can help explain many educational difficulties teachers across the Commonwealth face everyday. Such difficulties include the inability of children to focus, understand instructions, form meaningful relationships with peers and teachers, and control their behavior in appropriate ways. The report provides a school-wide flexible framework and a public policy agenda for creating trauma"

A Boston Public School, serving children K1 - Grade 5, and their families. Haley Pilot School Core Values~       Engagement: For every student to be motivated to learn through memorable experiences and connections to community.       Community:  For every student and their family to be understood, respected and engaged.      Equity:  For our instruction to be inclusive yet different based on students' individual strengths and needs.

"You can fill your StoryPress Library with audio books that inspire you in different ways: a collection of family stories, or even an audio diary. Make StoryPress interactive: create guided interviews directed by you, with the spoken anecdotes contributed by a mentor, a friend, or a family member, near or far. "

"Recently, ACT disaggregated its 2014 test results and college retention rates in order to get a closer look at the college aspirations and preparation levels of ACT-takers who reported a family income of less than $36,000 (the poorest 24 percent of test-takers). An astonishing 96 percent of these students reported plans to enroll in college. Despite their aspirations, however, only 11 percent met all four of ACT's college readiness benchmarks, which include English, reading, math, and science. Even more troubling, a whopping 50 percent of low-income students failed to meet a single benchmark."

"Nothing matters more to student learning than teacher quality. Not class size, not poverty, not family background, not even overall school quality. This was the key takeaway from a highly controversial Los Angeles Times analysis of teacher value-added scores for students in the L.A. Unified School District. The significance of this finding can't be understated. Many people still believe either that "these kids can't learn" or that "school can only do so much with kids like this until society fixes their families and communities.""

"Scientific Learning's Fast ForWord Language series included on NCRTI Instructional Intervention Tools Chart Printable Version Email this page September 20,2011 The National Center on Response to Intervention (NCRTI) has added the Fast ForWord® Language series program from Scientific Learning (NASDAQ:SCIL) to its "Instructional Intervention Tools Chart." The NCRTI publishes the Instructional Intervention Tools Chart to help educators and families select instructional intervention programs that best meet their particular needs. Through intensive, individualized interventions, Fast ForWord Language Series helps districts move elementary Tier 3 students, as well as struggling students, English language learners, and those with special needs, toward grade level reading skills-and success in the general classroom. Fast ForWord Language Series is part of the Fast ForWord family of educational products that accelerates learning by applying proven research on how the brain learns. The products can improve student achievement by one to two years in as little as eight to 12 weeks."

"Resilience, Motivation, and Family Relationships Dr. Robert Brooks is one of today's leading speakers on the themes of resilience, motivation, and family relationships. During the past 30 years, Dr. Brooks has presented nationally and internationally to thousands of parents, educators, mental health professionals, and business people with a message based on encouragement, hope, and resilience"

"THE PARENT/TEACHER HOME VISIT PROJECT is an inexpensive and easily replicated model of family engagement that has been proven to end the cycle of blame between families and school staff by building trust and respect, instilling cultural competency and increasing personal and professional capacity for all involved."

"Creighton School District is a small urban community in Arizona with approximately 7,200 students, of whom 85% are Hispanic and 90% qualify for free and reduced-price lunch. Children in the district are tested informally on a weekly basis and then formally every quarter with a district-developed standards-based assessment in the areas of reading and math. To help families better understand the results of these tests, educators in the Creighton School District have reorganized the structure of parent-teacher conferences to accommodate the shift to a more focused discussion around data."

SWIFT is a national center focused on providing academic and behavioral support for all students, including those with the most extensive needs. The mission of the SWIFT Center is to assist districts and their schools to engage in a transformational process in concert with their families and communities to achieve equity and excellence for all students.

"We all know reading is important for a successful future, and we also know kids want to have FUN. TeachersAndFamilies developed TogetheRead's monthly themes to pair reading give you ideas for having fun TOGETHER as you build stronger readers. We've included suggested questions to talk about before, during, and after reading and have given you ideas for free or low-cost family activities for EVERYONE."

"Too Small to Fail worked with the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (ED) on a suite of resources that can help enrich children's early language experiences beginning from birth. There are tip sheets for families, preschool teachers, and infant/toddler teachers and caregivers, as well as a fact sheet that highlights the evidence behind the benefits of being bilingual and embracing children's home languages."

"This is a video of an Academic Parent Teacher Team (APTT) meeting at Stanton Elementary school in Southeast Washington, D.C.. APTT is a family engagement strategy that aims to provide parents the information they need to be effective partners in supporting their childrens' education. The APTT model was developed in the Creighton school district in Phoenix, Arizona by Maria Paredes."