Practice Report

Strategies for Equitable Family Engagement

Catherine Jacques and Alma Villegas
December 2018 | American Institutes for Research

This resource was produced by the American Institutes for Research for the State Support Network, a technical assistance initiative of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Backed by evidence-based strategies, this guide provides approaches to engage diverse families through equitable family engagement practices. The guide is organized around five categories: (1) making a commitment to equitable family engagement, (2) making equitable family engagement “business as usual,” (3) building relationships between staff and families, (4) meaningfully involving and engaging families and trusted community advocates, and (5) engaging outside of the school building. Each strategy is accompanied by recent examples of how district and school leaders used these strategies in their schools.