Thought Leadership
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Family Engagement Lab works alongside state and local education agencies, school systems, education practitioners, community partners and families to advance equitable learning outcomes.
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Thought Leadership: Family Engagement in School Systems
As experts in engaging families in learning, Family Engagement Lab's thought leadership work is focused on shaping the field's understanding of families' powerful role in supporting student learning; recommending equitable, high-impact, evidence-based solutions that center families' assets; and influencing key stakeholders to take action to implement those solutions.
Principles of Thought Leadership in Engaging Families in Learning
Awareness Building
To support the field’s understanding of the power of school-home partnership to advance equitable educational outcomes. We're shining a spotlight on what we know works in family engagement.
To support the field’s understanding of the power of school-home partnership to advance equitable educational outcomes. We're shining a spotlight on what we know works in family engagement.
Capacity Building
To build the knowledge and skills needed to execute high-impact family engagement solutions. We’re filling in training gaps to ensure educational decision makers, school leaders, and educators are empowered to initiate and sustain effective family engagement efforts.
To build the knowledge and skills needed to execute high-impact family engagement solutions. We’re filling in training gaps to ensure educational decision makers, school leaders, and educators are empowered to initiate and sustain effective family engagement efforts.
Community Building
To promote collaborative efforts to advance family engagement in learning, recognizing that through cooperative efforts we can accelerate our collective impact. We’re looking to partner with like-minded organizations, funders, and investors to boost our collective impact to support students’ academic success via family engagement.
To promote collaborative efforts to advance family engagement in learning, recognizing that through cooperative efforts we can accelerate our collective impact. We’re looking to partner with like-minded organizations, funders, and investors to boost our collective impact to support students’ academic success via family engagement.
Promising Practices in K-12 School Systems
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The Future of Education Podcast: Overcoming Barriers to Help Kids Achieve More
Published February 20, 2024 Vidya Sundaram delves into unlocking the potential of parental engagement. In our journey to support children in achieving more, understanding the specific skills expected of them is crucial. While traditional reports lack detailed insights into skill development, Family Engagement Lab equips parents with the tools to identify and nurture these skills and empower children to reach their full potential academically. Today, Vidya discusses overcoming barriers to help kids achieve more. Listen now. |
A Former Teacher turns Classroom Prowess into Partnerships with Families
Published in EdWeek, February 5, 2024. Explore this educator profile in EdWeek, which highlights Ana Parasella, Director of Family and Community Engagement at Alvin Independent School District in Texas. Ana Parasella has a rare combination of experience teaching in the classroom and a commitment to meaningfully engage families in their child's learning. Read more about Ana's work advancing district-level programs to support literacy and STEM. |
FEL's Partners in the Field
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We’re excited to announce that we’re partnering with BetterLesson, a leading provider of high-quality professional development for schools and districts … We’ll work together to advance equitable academic outcomes through our collective effort. FEL’s co-founder and CEO, Vidya, shared “Our partnership with BetterLesson, centers the critically important yet often overlooked intersection of curriculum, professional learning, and family engagement. Together we offer a powerful opportunity to shift the way that school systems equip and support the most important stakeholders in a student’s learning journey, families and teachers.”
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CA-FEN, the California Family Engagement Network, is a dedicated coalition committed to advancing equitable, culturally responsive, and transformative family engagement practices throughout California's TK-12 and early childhood education settings. CA-FEN’s mission is to foster collaboration, share best practices, influence policy, and foster stakeholder consensus to enhance student outcomes by prioritizing family engagement. Family Engagement Lab is a proud partner and member of CA-FEN. Vidya Sundaram had the opportunity to participate in a panel discussion during CA-FEN's recent convening in December 2023.
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Explore FEL's Thought Leadership Resources
The role of technology in equitable education. The case for tech-enabled family engagement.
Recent works by Vidya Sundaram, co-founder and CEO of Family Engagement Lab.
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EdTech: On how technology will make a positive impact on education
Explore this post for more insights, including 5 things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact. Lessons Learned: Building Equitable Classrooms through Family Engagement
Vidya joins in discussion with Matthew Kennard, CEO of BetterLesson, about the role of family engagement in building equitable classrooms. Listen now! In her own words: Vidya Sundaram brings home, school together
Vidya Sundaram shares more about her journey to leveraging education technology to improve the school-home connection through founding Family Engagement Lab. |
Attendance, student success, and school climate. Surprising connection with family engagement.
Recent works by Elisabeth O'Bryon PhD, co-founder and Chief Impact Officer of Family Engagement Lab.
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How to Partner with Families to Cultivate Growth Mindset
Growth Mindsets are an essential academic skill and predictor of long-term success. Adults play a powerful role in helping students develop a growth mindset, particularly for math. Explore strategies that teachers can use to help families cultivate growth mindsets. Learning-focused parent-teacher communication: a powerful strategy for large school districts
Looking for solutions to improve teacher retention, attendance, and accelerate learning. Elisabeth shares the surprising connection, regular learning-focused parent-teacher communication. Can teachers partners with families for student success?
Teachers are in a unique position to effectively engage families. Yet, opportunities for teacher to learn and practice are limited, only 51% of educator preparation programs offer at least one standalone course in family and community engagement. Explore what it will take to close this gap. FASTalk: Disrupting the daily dialogue about what children learned at school today
What did you learn today? “Nothing” is the response I get most often. The conversation I was hoping to have about learning stopped before it even really started. Elisabeth shares more about disrupting the daily dialogue. Tackling Teacher Retention: A Holistic Approach through Family Engagement and Technology
Elisabeth O'Bryon delves into the challenge of retaining high-quality teachers and offers up an (often underutilized) resource in school communities - families. |
What happens at the intersection of instruction and family engagement?
Recent works by Megan Lorio, Family Engagement Lab's Managing Editor.
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Accelerate literacy development through learning-focused family engagement
Megan Lorio presents the latest information about the Science of Reading and how families can support their child's development, particularly around literacy. Check out the highlights from and download family engagement strategy planning tool. Nurture student success through social and emotional learning
Get the latest insights on how essential home-school partnerships are in each child's social and emotional development. We're excited to announce that we've added new SEL content to our FASTalk library. |
Keep up with the latest research and thought leadership from FEL
Every month our expert team puts together a Learning Series email designed for Teachers, Principals and District Administrators. Every month we include the latest research from the field as well as recommended tips and strategies. Join us as we explore best practices in high-impact learning-focused family engagement.