Schools Engaging Families
Fall 2025
Engaging Students Together Summit - September 18 & 19
The Ohio Statewide Family Engagement Center invites you to experience two powerful days of learning sessions, covering important issues for family engagement in STEM learning, student attendance, career development, AI, and more. Join
REGISTER for the sixth annual Leadership Summit, Engaging Students together, September 18 and 19, 2025.
One Hour = Enhanced Student Achievement
The PaTTAN Schools Engaging Families Webinar Series is here!
One-hour professional development, six times this school year, with customizable strategies to improve your family and community engagement and bolster students' success. Follow the series of six sessions or catch topics that interest you most or fit into your busy schedule.
The first webinar is October 14, 4 p.m. SAVE THE DATE!
RMU Trees Network Special Education Conference
Click here for FREE registration!
Quick Ways to Create Meaningful Connections to Start the Year Off Right!
Take a look at these two impactful resources by Ari Gerzon-Kessler to help you create a positive family-school relationship from Day One!
A Back-to-School Guide for Connections with Families
Eight practical strategies to build strong family partnerships this school year
7 Ways to Promote Positive Communication with Families.
Ari is a speaker, trainer, and coach, working with schools and districts committed to forging stronger school-family partnerships. He is the author of On The SAME TEAM: Bringing Educators & Underrepresented Families Together, which won the Gold Medal from the Independent Publishers Book Awards for best education book of 2024. Ari is the founder of Same Team Consulting and also leads the Family Partnerships department for the Boulder Valley School District (CO).
Let's Talk About Including Families with Disabilities in School Events and Programs
Want to learn how to be more intentional and proactive about including families with disabilities in school events and programs? Watch Amanda Campbell and Lissa Zukoff, members of National PTA’s Diversity, Inclusion and Outreach Committee, provide you with best practices to engage families with disabilities in this video from The Center for Family Engagement.
Universal Design for Family Engagement
The Massachusetts Statewide Family Engagement Center (MASFEC) is pleased to unveil a new resource on family engagement, developed in partnership with Katie Novak, internationally recognized educational consultant and author of Let Them Thrive. The new resource, Universal Design for Family Engagement, uses UDL and applies it to Family Engagement--a perfect match! Click the image to read more!
Back-to-School Communication Toolkit
Check out what Patricia Weinzapfel has to say about the "back to school vibe" in her amazing School-Home Communication Back-to-School Toolkit she created to help educators start the year off right!
What is it about back-to-school time? Everything feels so fresh. A chance for a clean slate. There’s no one associated with education who doesn’t feel a sense of excitement and hope.
“This year is going to go well!” You know what? Families feel it, too!
That's why back-to-school time is the PERFECT time to give your school-home communications a fresh look and a fresh start.
Adapted from Patricia Weinzapfel's, Patricia's Pointers
Put Your Phone Away
When we are having conversations with families, we want to honor their time and expertise by giving them our full attention.
If your phone is out and visible on your desk, it can send a message that, at any moment, the conversation might be interrupted by a text or call. That can make parents and caregivers feel that they are not a priority and that their conversation is not important. So, if possible, make sure you put your phone away before you sit down to talk with families.
If you must have it out, for example, if you’re waiting on an important text or phone call, please explain, “I’m so sorry I must keep my phone here. I’m waiting to make sure the bus routes go smoothly, but you’re important, and I intend to focus on our conversation.”
The same applies to your school walkie-talkie. Give your parents and caregivers your full attention.
The Corner CAFE Podcast: Colonial IU 20 and Parent Support T.E.A.M
Dr. Chris Wolfel, Executive Director of the Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 and Nikki Huggan, Co-lead of Parent Support T.E.A.M. (Together, Educating, Advocating Moms, Dads, and Families) and Vice President of Families to the MAX join The Corner CAFE Podcast to discuss the creation of the Parent Support T.E.A.M. They share how the program began, how it evolved, and the impact it’s had on both educators and families. They also provide honest reflections and practical advice on navigating tough moments to rebuild trust between families and school staff.