The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE)—along with Seeds of Partnership and Scholastic, Inc.—hosted the "Capital Region Family Engagement Institute" on October 13 at the Sacramento City Unified School District office. Education leaders and teams from 28 educational programs, primarily from within the Sacramento region, attended the event.
Research has shown that engaging families in the education process can make a meaningful difference in student outcomes. Event participants learned about intentional, evidence-based practices such as linking family engagement activities to learning goals, building trusting and respectful relationships between home and school, and the organizational conditions required for meaningful and sustainable family–school partnerships.
"Family engagement can have a significant impact on attendance, academic achievement, and overall attitude about school."—Dr. Karen Mapp
Speaker Dr. Karen Mapp emphasized during her keynote address that attendance, academic achievement, and overall attitude about school can all be significantly impacted through increased family engagement. As part of her discussion, Dr. Mapp, Senior Lecturer on Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, provided an overview of the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships, which she developed with the U.S. Department of Education.
Scholastic staff also presented two workshops that centered on family-school partnerships and creating welcoming school environments. They shared resources and links to online family and community engagement materials, encouraging districts to support family engagement as an integral part of their educational programs.
The Scholastic, Inc. Family and Community Engagement Program and Seeds of Partnership websites offer additional family engagement information.