Understand what the latest research on family engagement means for your school
Understand the difference between random acts of engagement and systemic, integrated family engagement
Explore the infrastructure, roles, and skills required to sustain an effective engagement strategy
Learn how to define and measure outcomes and to evaluate practice
Family engagement plays a critical role in student achievement. While most educators recognize the importance of family engagement, they need opportunities to develop particular skills, knowledge, and mindsets to effectively integrate families into the life of the school.
Family Engagement in Education prepares you to create a school culture that honors and respects the knowledge that families bring to the learning process. With guidance from Harvard faculty and district and community leaders, you’ll explore best practices in family engagement and identify engagement strategies you can use to promote student learning and improve educational outcomes.
Held on Harvard’s Cambridge, Massachusetts campus, this four-day institute convenes educators and school leaders from around the world. Working alongside your colleagues, you’ll analyze research on family engagement and learn how to align family engagement initiatives with standards-based reform. You’ll participate in plenary sessions and small working groups where you can dig deeper into topics relevant to your interests or community. Topics discussed in past institutes include home visits, outreach to fathers, balancing privilege and power, race in family engagement, and finding sustainable funding for family engagement
