Systemic FSCP for Districts

Introduction: A Research-Based Approach to District-Level
Family, School, and Community Partnerships

District leaders who balance a top-down, ground-up approach to FSCP are likely to see transformative family engagement initiatives at both the district and school levels. District support of school administrators helps foster buy-in for FSCP, leading to welcoming school environments, collaboration with community-based organizations, allocation of funds for FSCP activities, and parent and teacher leadership for FSCP activities (Sanders, 2014). Such an integrated system of support ensures that FSCP efforts are systemic, structured, and sustainable.

Align Program and Policy: Integrate your district’s FSCP initiatives with district policies, requirements, and procedures.

• Example: Ensure that the district policy on partnerships refers to district level leadership activities and to direct assistance to help all schools develop their partnership programs with goal-oriented action plans. 

• Challenge: Identifying resources (time, staff, funding) to support FSCP policy implementation.

Create Awareness: Actively promote your district’s FSCP initiatives to all key stakeholders, including administrators, teachers, families, and community groups.

• Example: Conduct presentations about the district’s goals for its partnership program to the school board, parent advisory council, and/or other key leadership groups. 

• Challenge: Securing time in various meetings to share FSCP goals.

Guide Learning and Program Development: Organize and conduct professional development activities to assist schools in developing effective and efficient FSCP initiatives for student learning.

• Example: Organize a clear process for the district facilitator (e.g., the Family Partnership Contact) to provide feedback and support for each school’s program.

• Challenge: Incorporating FSCP into school staff’s PD calendar.

Share Knowledge: Foster ongoing communication through the district to build knowledge about research-based and sustainable FSCP strategies linked to student learning.

• Example: Disseminate a weekly or monthly newsletter that shares important information, upcoming events, and specific school highlights connected with the district’s partnership program, and encourage schools to share with their community.

• Challenge: Communicating about FSCP in a way that’s not a burden on you or school staff but that keeps FSCP as a proactive school improvement strategy.

Celebrate Milestones: Recognize school and district successes in partnership goals and practices and disseminate the success widely.

• Example: Send letters to principals thanking them for their support for partnerships.

• Challenge: Taking the time to celebrate.

Document Progress and Evaluate Outcomes: Collect information to document activities and to assess progress in meeting district FSCP goals, and assist each school to document and evaluate progress in implementing their Unified Improvement Plans.

• Example: Establish a quarterly or monthly recordkeeping system for the district facilitator(s) to document visits to schools and technical assistance that is provided or requested.

• Challenge: Determining how to best measure FSCP outcomes.