Five actions for school and district leaders to improve family engagement with young learners¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The report recommends that leaders (1) collect and regularly review family engagement data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, home language, disability status, and income; (2) provide supports and clearer communication about academic expectations; (3) reduce barriers by continuing flexible scheduling, virtual meeting spaces, home visits, and text messaging, plus child care and transportation help; (4) make engagement and curriculum incorporate "the language, culture, history, and lived experiences of all students"; and (5) provide educators with professional development, onboarding, evaluation integration, and data systems. It grounds these in its survey findings and existing research.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• School and district leaders conduct needs surveys and act on family feedback, not merely collect data

Constraints¶

• The report notes that context matters, though core components like trust, linking engagement to student learning, and cultural responsiveness should guide efforts

Target Learners¶

• first and second grade students and their families

Target Learning Goals¶

• strengthening family-school collaboration to support early academic learning and well-being

Claims¶

Related Strategies¶

• Examine data across subgroups and account for diversity within subgroup categories before interpreting score differences
• Advocate for state-level actions integrating score reports into trusted-voice family engagement
• Disaggregate engagement and performance data by subgroup and regularly evaluate and adjust support plans
• Monitor and publicly report chronic absence data early, disaggregated by student group

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Morgan, I., Gillispie, C., & Waller, A. (2024). Supporting Young Learners Through Family Engagement: Engaging First. EdTrust. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED658182