US Dept. of Ed. Unveils New Framework for Family-School Partnership

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced the release of the Department's new framework for family and community engagement during the opening plenary of IEL's National Family and Community Engagement Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. Developed with the assistance of IEL board member and Harvard Professor Dr. Karen Mapp, the Dual Capacity Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships is designed to spark a focus on developing adult capacity, whether through pre- and in-service professional development for educators; academies, workshops, seminars, and workplace training for families; or as an integrated part of parent-teacher partnership activities.

The Dual Capacity Building Framework addresses the challenges facing many states, districts and schools attempting to develop and maintain better partnerships and positive relationships with families. The Framework is not a detailed road-map or prescriptive remedy. Rather, it provides a way to think about and organize what is to be done from a variety of entry points on the road towards effective family-school partnerships that support student achievement and school improvement.

The National Family and Community Engagement Conference (#fceconf14) grows out of IEL's District Leaders Network on Family and Community Engagement —network members provided comments on an earlier version of the Framework. The National FCE Conference has brought together 500 participants from over 250 national, state and local family and community engagement initiatives in the U.S. A key goal of the conference is to enhance the dual capacity of educators and families to work together and expand the use of evidence-based practices in the field.

Join Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on a special session of PT Chat Tuesday, April 8th from 9 to 10 pm eastern. Parent-Teacher Chat - #PTChat - is a live, twitter-based "conversation" involving parents, students and educators around the world working together to share ideas & best practices on family and community engagement. As a guest moderator on PT Chat, Sec. Duncan (@arneduncan) will discuss the new framework and how it will be implemented and supported at the Department.