Toolkit of Resources for Engaging Families and the Community as Partners in Education. Part 1: Building an Understanding of Family and Community Engagement. REL 2016-148

The Toolkit of Resources for Engaging Families and the Community as Partners in Education is a four-part resource that brings together research, promising practices, and useful tools and resources to guide educators in strengthening partnerships with families and community members to support student learning. The toolkit defines family and community engagement as an overarching approach to support family well-being, strong parent-child relationships, and students' ongoing learning and development. The primary audiences for this toolkit are administrators, teachers, teacher leaders, and trainers in diverse schools and districts. Part I is designed to guide educators into building awareness of how their beliefs and assumptions about family and community engagement influence their interactions with families and the community and how knowledge about the demographic characteristics of the families in their schools can inform educators about what might support or hinder family engagement with schools. Appendix A: "Activity and tool selection," is included. [For "Toolkit of Resources for Engaging Families and the Community as Partners in Education: Part 2: Building a Cultural Bridge. REL 2016-151," see ED569111. For Part 3: "Building Trusting Relationships with Families and the Community through Effective Communication. REL 2016-152," see ED569112. For "Part 4: Engaging All in Data Conversations. REL 2016-153," see ED569113.]