Epstein - School Family Community Partnerships

School/Family/Community Partnerships: Caring for the Children We Share
Author(s): Joyce L. Epstein

Source: The Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 76, No. 9 (May, 1995), pp. 701-712
Published by: Phi Delta Kappa International
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20405436 .
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School/Family/Community
Partnerships
Caring
fortheCildren
WeeSare
Ms. Epstein summarizes

the theory,framework,
and guidelines that can
assist schoolsinbuilding
partnerships.
Wy*
- VT
By Joyce L. Epstein
Tn
HE WAY schools care about

children is reflected in theway
schools care about the chil
dren's families. If educators
view children simply as stu
dents, they are likely to see the family as
separate from the school. That is, the fam
ily is expected to do its job and leave the
education of children to the schools. If ed
ucators view students as children, they are
likely to see both the family and the com
munity as partners with the school in chil
dren's education and development. Part
ners recognize their shared interests in
and responsibilities for children, and they
work together to create better programs
and opportunities for students.
There are many reasons for develop
ing school, family, and community part
nerships. They can improve school pro
grams and school climate, provide fami
ly services and support, increase parents'
skills and leadership, connect families with

others in the school and in the community,
and help teachers with their work. How
ever, the main reason to create such part
JOYCE L. EPSTEIN is co-director of the nerships is to help all youngsters succeed
Center on Families, Communities, Schools,
in school and in later life.When parents,
and Children's Learning and co-director of
teachers, students, and others view one
the Schools, Family, and Community Partner
another as partners in education, a caring
ships Program in the Center for Research on
community forms around students and
the Education of Students Placed at Risk,
begins its work.
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. The re
What do successful partnership pro
search reported in this article was supported
grams
look like? How can practices be
by grants from the Ojfice of Educational Re
effectively
designed and implemented?
search and Improvement of the U.S. Depart
inent of Education and the Lilly Endowment. What are the results of better communica
tions, interactions, and exchanges across
However, the perspectives and opinions are
the author's own.
these three important contexts? These
Illiustrationby LorenLong
questions have challenged research and

practice, creating an interdisciplinary field
of inquiry into school, family, and com
munity partnerships with "caring" as a
core concept.
The field has been strengthened by sup
porting federal, state, and local policies.
For example, the Goals 2000 legislation
sets partnerships as a voluntary national
goal forall schools;Title I specifies andman
dates programs and practices of partner
ship in order for schools to qualify for or
maintain funding. Many states and dis
tricts have developed or are preparing
policies to guide schools in creating more
systematic connections with families and
MAY
1995

701
communities.These policies reflect re
child." These phrases embody the theory

to an event or sends the same communi
of "overlapping spheres of influence."
cations to all families) and at an individ
In a partnership, teachers and admin
ual level (e.g., when a parent and a teach
istratorscreatemore family-like schools.
er meet in conference or talk by phone).
A family-like
school recognizes
each
Connections between schools or parents
child's individuality andmakes each child
and community groups, agencies, and ser
feel special and included. Family-like
vices can also be represented and studied
schools welcome all families, not just those
within the model. '
that are easy to reach. In a partnership,
The model of school, family, and com
munity partnerships locates the student at parentscreatemore school-like families.
A school-like family recognizes that each
the center. The inarguable fact is that stu
child is also a student. Families reinforce
dents are the main actors in their educa
the importance of school, homework, and
tion, development, and success in school.
activities that build student skills and feel
School, family, and community partner
ings of success.Communities, including
ships cannot simply produce successful
groups of parents working together, cre
students. Rather, partnership activities may
ate school-like opportunities, events, and
be designed to engage, guide, energize,
programs that reinforce, recognize, and
students to produce their
and motivate
reward students for good progress, crea
own successes. The assumption is that, if
tivity, contributions, and excellence. Com
children feel cared for and encouraged to
munities also create family-like settings,
the
role
of
work
hard
in
student,
they
are
Overlapping Spheres of
services, and events to enable families to
more likely to do their best to learn to read,
Influence: Understanding
better support theirchildren.Communi
write, calculate, and learn other skills and
The Theory
ty-mindedfamiliesand studentshelp their
talents and to remain in school.
Schools make choices. They might
neighborhoods
and other families. The
Interestingly and somewhat ironically,
conduct only a few communications
and
concept of a community
school is re
studies indicate that students are also cru
interactions with families and communi
emerging. It refers to a place where pro
cial for the success of school, family, and
ties, keeping the three spheres of influ
grams and services for students, parents,
community partnerships. Students are of
ence that directly affect student learning
and others are offered before, during, and
ten their parents' main source of infor
and development relatively separate. Or mation about school. In strong partner
after the regular school day.
theymight conduct many high-quality com
Schools and communities
talk about
ship programs, teachers help students un
munications and interactions designed to derstand and conduct traditional commu
programs and services that are "family
bring all three spheres of influence closer
friendly" - meaning that they take into
nications with families (e.g., delivering
together. With frequent interactions be
account the needs and realities of family
memos or report cards) and new commu
tween schools, families, and communities,
life in the 1990s, are feasible to conduct,
nications (e.g., interacting with family
more students are more likely to receive
and are equitable toward all families.
members about homework or participat
common messages
from various people
When all these concepts combine, chil
conferenc
ing in parent/teacher/student
about the importance of school, of work
dren experience learning communities or
es). As we gain more information about
ing hard, of thinking creatively, of help
caring communities.2
the role of students in partnerships, we are
All these terms are consistent with the
ing one another, and of staying in school.
developing amore complete understand
The external model of overlapping
theory of overlapping spheres of influ
ing of how schools, families, and com
ence, but they are not abstract concepts.
spheres of influence recognizes that the munities must work with students to in
three major contexts in which students
You will find them daily in conversations,
crease their chances for success
learn and grow the family, the school,
news stories, and celebrations of many
kinds. In a family-like school, a teacher
and the community - may be drawn to
How Theory
gether or pushed apart. In this model,
might say, "I know when a student is hav
Sounds in Practice
there are some practices that schools, fami
ing a bad day and how to help him along."
A student might slip and call a teacher
lies, and communities conduct separately
In some schools there are still educa
and some that they conduct jointly in or
''mom" or "dad" and then laugh with a
tors who say, "If the family would just do
der to influence children's learning and
its job, we could do our job." And there mixture of embarrassment and glee. In a
development. The internal model of the
school-like family, a parent might say, "I
are still families who say, "I raised this
interaction of the three spheres of influ
child; now it is your job to educate her." make sure my daughter knows that home
ence shows where and how complex and
work comes first."A child might raise his
These words embody the theory of "sep
essential interpersonal relations and pat
hand to speak at the dinner table and then
arate spheres of influence." Other educa
terns of influence occur between individ
joke about acting as if he were still in
tors say, "I cannot do my job without the
school. When communities reach out to stu
uals at home, at school, and in the com
help of my students' families and the sup
dents and their families, youngsters might
munity. These social relationships may be
port of this community." And some par
enactedandstudiedatan institutionallev ents say, "I really need to know what is say, "This program really made my school
search results and the prior successes of
leading educators who have shown that
these goals are attainable.
Underlying these policies and programs
are a theory of how social organizations
connect; a framework of the basic com
ponents of school, family, and communi
ty partnerships for children's learning; a
growing literature on the positive and neg
ative results of these connections for stu
dents, families, and schools; and an under
standing of how to organize good pro
grams. In this article I summarize the the
ory, framework, and guidelines that have
assisted the schools in our research proj
ects in building partnerships
and that
should help any elementary, middle, or
high school to take similar steps.
el (e.g.,when a school invitesall families happening in school in order to helpmy
702
work make sense!"Parents or educators
PHIDELTAKAPPAN

might comment,
"This community
really
supportsits schools."
Once people hear about such concepts
as family-like schools or school-like fam
ilies, they remember positive examples of
schools, teachers, and places in the com
munity thatwere "like a family" to them.
They may remember how a teacher paid
behaviors, and stay in school. The shared

interests and investments of schools, fam
ilies, and communities create the condi
tions of caring that work to "overdeter
mine" the likelihoodof studentsuccess.3

Any practice can be designed and im
plemented well or poorly. And even well
might.
How Partnerships
Work in Practice
level.
*Affluent communitiescurrentlyhave
more positive family involvement, on av
erage, unless schools and teachers in eco
nomically distressed communitieswork

to build positive
partnerships with
their
students'families.
individualattention to them, recognized

their uniqueness, or praised them for real
progress, just as a parent might. Or they
might recall things at home thatwere "just
like school" and supported their work as
a student, or they might remember com
munity activities that made them feel
smart or good about themselves and their
families. They will recall that parents, sib
lings, and other family members engaged
in and enjoyed educational activities and
took pride in the good schoolwork or
homework that they did, just as a teacher
ate practices of partnership at each grade
Just about all

teachers and
administrators
would like to
involve families,
but many do not
know how to go
about it.
in more economically
de
*Schools
pressed communities make more contacts
with families about the problems and dif
ficulties their children are having, unless
they work at developing balanced part
nership programs that include contacts
of stu
about positive accomplishments
dents.
*Single parents, parents who are em
ployed outside the home, parents who live
far from the school, and fathers are less
involved, on average, at the school build
ing, unless the school organizes opportu
nities for families to volunteer at various
times and in various places to support the
school and their children.
Researchers have also drawn the fol
lowing conclusions.
These terms and examples are evi

dence of the potential for schools, fami
lies, and communities to create caring ed
ucational environments. It is possible to
implementedpartnershippracticesmay
have a school that is excellent academi
cally but ignores families. However, that not be useful to all families. In a caring
school community, participants work con
school will build barriers between teach
barriers that
tinually to improve the nature and effects
ers, parents, and children of partnerships. Although the interactions
affect school life and learning. It is possi
of educators, parents, students, and com
ble to have a school that is ineffective aca
will not always be
munity members
demically but involves families in many
smooth or successful, partnership pro
good ways. With its weak academic pro
grams establish a base of respect and trust
gram, that school will shortchange stu
on which to build. Good partnerships with
dents' learning. Neither of these schools
stand questions, conflicts, debates, and dis
exemplifies a caring educational environ
ment that requires academic excellence,
agreements; provide structures and process
es to solve problems; and are maintained
good communications, and productive in
after differences
even strengthened teractions involving school, family, and have been resolved. Without this firm base,
community.
Some children succeed in school with
disagreements and problems that are sure
to arise about schools and students will
out much family involvement or despite
family neglect or distress, particularly if be harder to solve.
the school has excellent academic and sup
port programs. Teachers, relatives outside
What Research Says
of the immediate family, other families,
In surveys and field studies involving
and members of the community can pro
vide important guidance and encourage
teachers, parents, and students at the ele
ment to these students. As support from mentary, middle, and high school levels,
some important patterns relating to part
school, family, and community accumu
nershipshave emerged.4
lates, significantly more students feel se
*Partnerships tend to decline across
cure and cared for, understand the goals
* Just about all families care about

their children, want them to succeed, and
are eager to obtain better information
from schools and communities so as to re
main good partners in their children's ed
ucation.
* Just about all teachers and adminis
trators would like to involve families, but
many do not know how to go about build
ing positive and productive programs and
are consequently fearful about trying. This
creates a "rhetoric rut," in which educa
tors are stuck, expressing support for part
nerships without taking any action.
* Just about all students at all levels elementary, middle, and high school want their families to be more knowl
edgeable partners about schooling and are
willing to take active roles in assisting com
munications between home and school.
However, students need much better in
formation and guidance than most now
receive about how their schools view part
nerships and about how they can conduct
important exchanges with their families
about school activities, homework, and
school decisions.
The research results are important be
cause they indicate that caring communi
ties can be built, on purpose; that they in
clude families thatmight not become in
of education,work toachieve to theirfull the grades, unless schools and teachers volved on their own; and that,by their
potential,buildpositiveattitudesandschool work todevelop and implementappropri own reports,just about all families, stu
MAY 1995

703
dents, and teachers believe that partner

ships are important for helping students
succeed across the grades.
Good programs will look different in
each site, as individual schools tailor their
practices tomeet the needs and interests,
time and talents, ages and grade levels
of students and their families. However,
there are some commonalities across suc

cessful programs at all grade levels. These
include a recognition of the overlapping
spheres of influence on student develop
ment; attention to various types of in
volvement that promote a variety of oppor
tunities for schools, families, and communi
ties towork together; and anAction Team
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for students, for parents, for teaching

practice, and for school climate (see Table
about
3). Thus schools have choices
which practices will help achieve impor
tant goals. The tables provide examples
of practices, challenges for successful im
or
conferences
proved parent/teacher
but also
communications,
school/home
better understanding of families, new ap
proaches to homework, and other con
nections with families and the communi
plementation,redefinitionsforup-to-date
Most of the results noted in Table 3

in at least one re
have been measured
search study and observed as schools con
duct their work. The entries are listed in
positive terms to indicate the results of
well-designed andwell-implemented prac
tices. It should be fully understood, how
ever, that results may be negative if poor
ly designed practices exclude families or
create greater barriers to communication
and exchange. Research is still needed on
the results of specific practices of partner
ship in various schools, at various grade
levels, and for diverse populations of stu
dents, families, and teachers. Itwill be im
portant to confirm, extend, or correct the
information on results listed in Table 3 if
schools are to make purposeful choices
among practices that foster various types
understanding,
and results that have been
documentedand observed.
Charting theCourse
The entries in the tables are illustra
tive. The sample practices displayed in
Table 1 are only a few of hundreds that
may be selected or designed for each type
of involvement. Although all schools may
use the framework of six types as a guide,
each school must chart its own course in
choosing practices to meet the needs of
its families and students.
The challenges shown (Table 2) are
just a few of many that relate to the ex
that is,
amples. There are challenges for every practice of part
problems nership, and they must be resolved in or
der to reach and engage all families in the
best ways. Often, when one challenge is
met, a new one will emerge.
The redefinitions (also in Table 2) re
direct old notions so that involvement is
not viewed solely as or measured only by
"bodies in the building." As examples the
table calls for redefinitions of workshops,
volunteers, homework,
communication,
decision making, and community. By re
defining these familiar terms, it is possi
ble for partnership programs to reach out
in new ways tomany more families.
The selected results (Table 3) should
help correct the widespread mispercep
tion that any practice that involves fami
lies will raise children's achievement test
scores. Instead, in the short term, certain
practices aremore likely than others to in
fluence students' skills and scores, while
other practices are more likely to affect
attitudes and behaviors. Although students
are the main focus of partnerships, the
various types of involvement also pro
mote various kinds of results for parents
and for teachers. For example, the expect
ed results for parents include not only
leadership in decision making, but also
confidence about parenting, productive
curriculum-related interactions with chil
ty.
of involvement.
The tables cannot show the connec
tions that occur when one practice acti
vates several types of involvement simul
taneously. For example, volunteers may
organize and conduct a food bank (Type
3) that allows parents to pay $15 for $30
worth of food for their families (Type 1).
The food may be subsidized by communi
ty agencies (Type 6). The recipients might
then serve as volunteers for the program
or in the community (perpetuating Type
3 and Type 6 activities). Or consider an
other example. An after-school home
work club run by volunteers and the com
munity recreation department combines
Type 3 and Type 6 practices.. Yet it also
serves as aType 1 activity, because the af
ter-school program assists families with the
supervision of their children. This prac
tice may also alter the way homework in
teractions are conducted between students
and parents at home (Type 4). These and
other connections are interesting, and re
search is needed to understand the com
bined effects of such activities.
The tables also simplify the complex
longitudinal influences that produce var
ious results over time. For example, a se
ries of events might play out as follows.
The involvement of families in reading at
students maintain or improve their daily

reading skills and then their reading grades.
With the accumulation over time of good
classroom readingprograms, continued

home support, and increased skills and
confidence in reading, students may sig
nificantly improvetheirreadingachieve
ment test scores. The time between read
ing aloud at home and increased reading
test scores may vary greatly, depending
on the quality and quantity of other read
ing activities in school and out.
Or consider another example. A study
by Seyong Lee, using longitudinal data
and rigorous statistical controls on back-,
ground and prior influences, found im

portantbenefits forhigh school students'
attitudes and grades as a result of contin
uing several typesof family involvement

from themiddle school into the high school.
However, achievement test scoreswere

not greatly affected by partnerships
at the
high school level.Longitudinalstudiesand

practicalexperiences thataremonitored
over time are needed to increase our un
derstanding of the complex patterns of re
sults that can develop from various part
nershipactivities.6
The six types of involvement can guide
the development of a balanced, compre
hensive programof partnerships,includ

ingopportunitiesfor family involvement
at school and at home, with potentially im
portant results for students, parents, and
teachers. The results for students, parents,
and teachers will depend on the particu
lar types of involvement that are imple
mented, as well as on the quality of the
implementation.
Action Teams for School,
Family, and Community
Partnerships
Who will work to create caring school
communities
that are based on the con
cepts of partnership? How will the nec
essary work on all six types of involve
ment get done? Although a principal or
a teacher may be a leader inworking with
some families or with groups in the com
munity, one person cannot create a last
ing,comprehensiveprogramthatinvolves
all families as their children progress
through the grades.
From the hard work of many educators
dren, andmany interactionswith other home leads students to give more atten and families inmany schools,we have
parents and the school.The expected re tion to readingand to be more strongly learnedthat,alongwith clearpolicies and
sults for teachers include not only im motivated to read.This in turnmay help strong support from state and district
MAY 1995

707
leaders and from school principals, anAc

tion Team for School, Family, and Com
munity Partnerships in each school is a
useful structure. The action team guides
the development of a comprehensive pro
gram of partnership, including all six types
of involvement, and the integration of all
family and community connections with
in a single, unified plan and program. The
trials and errors, efforts and insights of
many schools in our projects have helped
to identify five important steps that any
school can take to develop more positive
school/family/communityconnections.7
Step 1: Create an Action
Team
A team approach is an appropriate way

to build partnerships. The Action Team for
School, Family, and Community Partner
ships can be the "action arm" of a school
council, if one exists. The action team takes
responsibility for assessing present prac
tices, organizing options for new partner
ships, implementing selected activities,

evaluating next steps, and continuing to im
prove and coordinate practices for all six
types of involvement. Although themem
bers of the action team lead these activi
ties, they are assisted by other teachers, par
ents, students, administrators, and com
munity members.
The action team should include at least
three teachers from different grade levels,
three parents with children in different
grade levels, and at least one administra
tor. Teams may also include at least one
member from the community at large and,
at the middle and high school levels, at
least two students from different grade lev
els. Others who are central to the school's
work with families may also be included
as members, such as a cafeteria worker, a
school social worker, a counselor, or a
school psychologist.
Such diverse mem
bership ensures that partnership activities
will take into account the various needs, in
terests, and talents of teachers, parents, the
school, and students.
The leader of the action team may be
any member who has the respect of the
other members, as well as good commu
nication skills and an understanding of the
partnership approach. The leader or at least
one member of the action team should al
so serve on the school council, school im
provement team, or other such body, if
one exists.
In addition to group planning,mem
708
bers of the action team elect (or are as

signed to act as) the chair or co-chair of
one of six subcommittees
for each type
of involvement. A team with at least six
members (and perhaps asmany as 12) en
sures that responsibilities
for leadership
can be delegated so that one person is not
overburdened and so that the work of the
action team will continue even if mem
bers move or change schools or positions.
Members may serve renewable terms of
two to three years, with replacement of any
who leave in the interim. Other thoughtful
variations in assignments and activities
may be created by small or large schools
using this process.
In the first phase of our work in 1987,
projects were led by "project directors"
(usually teachers) and were focused on
one type of involvement at a time. Some
schools succeeded
in developing good
partnerships over several years, but oth
ers were thwarted if the project director
moved, if the principal changed, or if the
project grew larger than one person could
handle. Other schools took a team ap
proach in order towork on many types of
teachers at each school; to set up demon

stration programs; and for other partner
ship expenses. In addition, local school/
business partnerships,school discretion

ary funds, and separate fund-raising efforts
targeted to the schools' partnership pro
grams have been used to support the work
of their action teams. At the very least, a
school's action team requires a small sti
pend (at least $1,000 per year for three to
five years, with summer supplements) for
time and materials needed by each sub
committee to plan, implement, and revise
practices of partnership that include all six
typesof involvement.
The action team must also be given
sufficient time and social support to do its
work. This requires explicit support from
the principal and district leaders to allow
time for team members tomeet, plan, and
conduct the activities that are selected for
each type of involvement. Time during
the summer is also valuable and may
be essential for planning new approach
es that will start in the new school year.
involvementsimultaneously.Their efforts Step 3: Identify Starting Points
demonstrated how to structure the pro

gram for the next set of schools in our
work. Starting in 1990, this second set of
schools tested and improved on the struc
ture and work of action teams. Now, all
elementary, middle, and high schools in
our research and development
projects
and in other states and districts that are
applying this work are given assistance in
taking the action team approach.
A modest budget is needed to guide

and support the work and expenses of
each school's action team. Funds for state
coordinators to assist districts and schools
and funds for district coordinators or fa
cilitators to help each school may come
from a number of sources. These include
federal, state, and local programs thatman
date, request, or support family involve
ment, such as Title I, Title II, Title VII,
Goals 2000, and other federal and simi
lar state funding programs. In addition to
paying the state and district coordinators,
funds from these sources may be applied
in creative ways to support staff develop
ment in the area of school, family, and
Most schools have some teachers who

conduct some practices of partnership with
some families some of the time. How can
good practices be organized and extend
ed so that they may be used by all teach
ers, at all grade levels, with all families?
The action team works to improve and
systematize the typically haphazard pat
terns of involvement. It starts by collect
ing information about the school's pres
ent practices of partnership, along with the
views, experiences, and wishes of teach
ers, parents, administrators, and students.
Assessments
of starting points may be
made in a variety of ways, depending on
available resources, time, and talents. For
example, the action team might use for
mal questionnaires8 or telephone inter
views to survey teachers, administrators,
parents, and students (if resources exist to
process, analyze, and report survey data).
Or the action team might organize a pan
el of teachers, parents, and students to
speak at a meeting of the parent/teacher
organization or at some other school meet
ing as away of initiating discussion about
the goals and desired activities for part
nership. Structured discussions may be
conducted through a series of principal's
breakfasts for representative groups of
communitypartnerships;to pay for lead
teachers,parents,students,andothers;ran
Ste
2: Obtain Funds and
Other Support
PHI
DELTA
KAPPAN

Most schools
have some
teachers who
conduct some
practices of
partnership with
some families
some of the time.
cial education, bilingual education) sep

arated from other families?
*Links to goals. How are students far
ing on suchmeasures of academic achieve
ment as report card grades, on measures
of attitudes and attendance, and on other
indicators of success? How might family
and community connections
assist the
school in helping more students reach
higher goals and achieve greater success?
Which practices of school, family, and
community partnerships would directly
connect to particular goals?
Step 4: Develop a
Three-Year Plan
*Sense of community. Which families

are we now reaching, and which are we
not yet reaching? Who are the "hard-to
reach" families? What might be done to
communicate with and engage these fami
lies in their children's education? Are cur
rent partnership practices coordinated to
include all families as a school commu
nity? Or are families whose children re
From the ideas and goals for partner

ships collected from teachers, parents,
and students, the action team can devel
op a three-year outline of the specific
steps that will help the school progress
from its starting point on each type of in
volvement towhere itwants to be in three
years. This plan outlines how each sub
committee will work over three years to
make important, incremental advances to
reach more families each year on each
type of involvement. The three-year out
line also shows how all school/family/
community connections will be integrat
ed into one coherent program of partner
ship that includes activities for the whole
school community, activities tomeet the
special needs of children and families, ac
tivities to link to the district committees
and councils, and activities conducted in
each grade level.
In addition to the three-year outline of
goals for each type of involvement, a de
tailed one-year plan should be developed
for the first year's work. It should include
the specific activities that will be imple
mented, improved, ormaintained for each
type of involvement; a time line of month
ly actions needed for each activity; iden
tification of the subcommittee chair who
will be responsible for each type of in
volvement; identification of the teachers,
parents, students, or others (not necessar
ily action team members) who will assist
with the implementation of each activity;
indicators of how the implementation and
results of each major activity will be as
sessed; and other details of importance to
the action team.
The three-year outline and one-year de
tailed plan are shared with the school coun
ceive special services (e.g., Title I, spe
cil and/orparentorganization,
with all teach
dom sample phone calls may also be used

to collect reactions and ideas, or formal
focus groups may be convened to gather
ideas about school, family, and commu
nity partnerships at the school.
What questions should be addressed?
Regardless of how the information is gath
ered, some areas must be covered in any
informationgathering.
*Present strengths.
Which practicesof
school/family/community partnerships
are now working well for the school as a
whole? For individual grade levels? For
which types of involvement?
*Needed changes. Ideally, how do we
want school, family, and community part
nerships towork at this school three years
from now? Which present practices should
continue, and which should change? To
reach school goals, what new practices
are needed for each of themajor types of
involvement?
*Expectations. What do teachers ex
pect of families? What do families expect
of teachers and other school personnel?
What do students expect their families to
do to help them negotiate school life?
What do students expect their teachers to
do to keep their families informed and in
volved?
ers, and with the parents and students. Even

if the action team makes only one good
step forward each year on each of the six
types of involvement, itwill take 18 steps
forward over three years to develop amore
comprehensiveand coordinatedprogram
of school/family/community
partnerships.
In short, based on the input from the
parents, teachers, students, and others on
the school's starting points and desired
partnerships, the action team will address
these issues.
*Details. What will be done each year,
for three years, to implement a program
on all six types of involvement? What,
in the
specifically, will be accomplished
first year on each type of involvement?
*Responsibilities.
Who will be re
sponsible for developing and implement
ing practices of partnership for each type
of involvement? Will staff development
be needed? How will teachers, adminis
trators, parents, and students be support
ed and recognized for their work?
*Costs. What costs are associated with
the improvement and maintenance of the
planned activities? What sources will pro
vide the needed funds? Will small grants
or other special budgets be needed?
*Evaluation. How will we know how
well the practices have been implement
ed and what their effects are on students,
teachers, and families? What indicators
will we use that are closely linked to the
practices implementedtodeterminetheir
effects?
Step 5: Continue Planning

And Working
The action team should schedule an
annual presentation and celebration of
progress at the school so that all teachers,
families, and students will know about the
work that has been done each year to build
partnerships. Or the district coordinator
for school, family, and community part
nerships might arrange an annual confer
ence for all schools in the district. At the
annual school or district meeting, the ac
tion team presents and displays the high
on each type
lights of accomplishments
of involvement. Problems are discussed
and ideas are shared about improvements,
additions, and continuations for the next
year.
Each year, the action team updates the
school's three-year outline and develops
a detailed one-year plan for the coming
MAY 1995

709
year's work. It is important for educators,

families, students, and the community at
large to be aware of annual progress, of
new plans, and of how they can help.
In short, the action team addresses the
following questions. How can it ensure
that the program of school/family/com
munity partnership will continue to im
prove its structure, processes, and prac
tices in order to increase the number of
families who are partners with the school
in their children's education? What op
portunities will teachers, parents, and stu
dents have to share information on suc
cessful practices and to strengthen and
maintain their efforts?
Characteristicsof Successful
Programs
receive support from their families, and

more will be motivated to work harder.
*Connection to curricular and instruc
tional reform.A programof school/fam

ily/communitypartnershipsthat focuses
on children's learning and development is
an important component of curricular and
instructionalreform.Aspects of partner
ships that aim to help more students suc
ceed in school can be supported by fed
eral, state, and local funds that are target
ed for curricular and instructional reform.
Helping familiesunderstand,
monitor,and
interact with students on homework, for
example, can be a clear and important ex
tension of classroom instruction, as can
volunteer programs that bolster and broad
en student skills, talents, and interests. Im
proving the content and conduct of par
ent/teacher/student
conferencesandgoal
setting activities can be an important step
in curricular reform; family support and
family understanding of child and ado
prepared to work productively with fam

ilies and communities. Courses or class
es are needed in preservice teacher edu
cation and in advanced degree programs
for teachers and administrators
to help
them define their professional work in
terms of partnerships. Today, most edu
cators enter schools without an under
standing of family backgrounds, concepts
of caring, the framework of partnerships,
or the other "basics" I have discussed here.
Thus most principals and district leaders
are not prepared to guide and lead their
staffs in developing
strong school and
classroom practices that inform and in
volve families. And most teachers and ad
ministrators
are not prepared to under
stand, design,
implement, or evaluate
good practices of partnership with the
families of their students. Colleges
and
universities
that prepare educators and
others who work with children and fam
ilies should identify where in their cur
ricula the theory, research, policy, and
practical ideas about partnerships are pre
sented or where in their programs these
can be added.9
Even with improved preservice and ad
vanced coursework, however, each school's
action team will have to tailor itsmenu of
practices to the needs and wishes of the
teachers, families, and students in the
school. The framework and guidelines of
fered in this article can be used by thought
ful educators to organize thiswork, school
by school.
As schools have implemented part

nership programs, their experience has
helped to identify some important prop
erties of successful partnerships.
* Incremental progress. Progress
in
is incremental,
including
partnerships
more families each year inways that ben
efit more students. Like reading or math
programs, assessment programs, sports
programs, or other school investments,
partnership programs take time to devel
op, must be periodically
reviewed, and
should be continuously
improved. The
schools in our projects have shown that
three years is the minimum
time needed
for an action team to complete a number
of activities on each type of involvement
and to establish its work as a productive
and permanent structure in a school.
The development of a partnership is a
process, not a single event. All teachers,
families, students, and community groups
do not engage in all activities on all types
of involvement all at once. Not all activi
ties implemented will succeed with all
families. But with good planning, thought
activi
ful implementation, well-designed
ties, and pointed improvements, more and
more families and teachers can learn to
work with one another on behalf of the
children whose interests they share. Simi
larly, not all students instantly improve
their attitudes or achievements when their
families become involved in their educa
tion. After all, student learning depends
mainly on good curricula and instruction
and on the work completed by students.
pro
However, with a well-implemented
tion team approach to partnerships guides

thework of educators by restructuring "staff
to mean colleagues work
development"
ing together and with parents to develop,
implement, evaluate, and continue to im
prove practices of partnership. This is less
a "dose of inservice education" than it is
an active form of developing staff talents
and capacities. The teachers, administra
tors, and others on the action team be
come the "experts" on this topic for their
school. Their work in this area can be sup
ported by various federal, state, and local
funding programs as a clear investment in
for overall school re
staff development
form. Indeed, the action team approach as
outlined can be applied to any or all im
portant topics on a school improvement
agenda. It need not be restricted to the pur
suit of successful partnerships.
It is important to note that the devel
opment of partnership programs would be
One school in our Baltimore project

named its partnerships the "I Care Pro
gram." It developed an ICare Parent Club
that fostered fellowship and leadership of
families, an I Care Newsletter, and many
other events and activities. Other schools
also gave catchy, positive names to their
programs to indicate to families, students,
teachers, and everyone else in the school
community that there are important rela
tionships and exchanges thatmust be de
veloped in order to assist students.
Interestingly, synonyms for "caring"
match the six types of involvement: Type
1, parenting: supporting, nurturing, and
rearing; Type 2, communicating:
relating,
reviewing, and overseeing; Type 3, vol
and fostering;
unteering:
supervising
Type 4, learning at home: managing, rec
gram of partnership,more studentswill
easier if educatorscame to theirschools
ognizing, andrewarding;
Type 5, decision
710
lescentdevelopment and school curricu

la are necessary elements to assist stu
dents as learners.
The connection of partnerships to cur
riculum and instruction in schools and the
location of leadership for these partner
ship programs in district departments of
curriculum and instruction are important
changes thatmove partnerships from be
ing peripheral public relations activities
about parents to being central programs
about student learning and development.
*Redefiningstaffdevelopment.
The ac
The Core of Caring
PHI
DELTA
KAPPAN

making: contributing, considering,

and
judging; and Type 6, collaborating with
the community: sharing and giving.
all six types of involve
Underlying
ment are two defining synonyms of car
ing: trusting and respecting. Of course,
the varied meanings
are interconnected,
but it is striking that language permits us
to call forth various elements of caring as
sociated with activities for the six types
If all six types of in
of involvement.
volvement are operating well in a school's
program of partnership, then all of these
caring behaviors could be activated to as
sist children's learning and development.
Despite real progress in many states,
districts, and schools over the past few
years, there are still too many schools in
which educators do not understand the
families of their students; inwhich fami
lies do not understand their children's
schools; and inwhich communities do not
understand or assist the schools, families,
or students. There are still toomany states
and districts without the policies, depart
ments, leadership, staff, and fiscal sup
port needed to enable all their schools to
develop good programs of partnership.
Yet relatively small financial investments
that support and assist the work of action
teams could yield significant returns for
all schools, teachers, families, and stu
dents. Educators who have led the way
with trials, errors, and successes provide
evidence that any state, district, or school
can create similar programs. 10
Schools have choices. There are two
common approaches to involving fami

lies in schools and in their children's ed
ucation. One approach emphasizes con
flict and views the school as a battle
ground. The conditions and relationships
in this kind of environment guarantee
power struggles and disharmony. The oth
er approach emphasizes partnership and
views the school as a homeland. The con
ditions and relationships in this kind of
environment
invite power sharing and
mutual respect and allow energies to be
directed toward activities that foster student
learning and development. Even when con
flicts rage, however, peace must be re
stored sooner or later, and the partners in
children's education must work together.
Next Steps: Strengthening

Partnerships
work and thoughtful
Collaborative
give-and-take among researchers, policy
leaders, educators, and parents are respon
sible for the progress that has been made
over the past decade in understanding and
developing school, family, and commu
nity partnerships. Similar collaborations
will be important for future progress in
this and other areas of school reform. To
promote these approaches, I am estab
lishing a national network of Partnership
2000 Schools to help link state, district,
and other leaders who are responsible for
helping their elementary, middle, and high
schools implement programs of school,
family, and community partnerships by
the year 2000. The state and district co

ordinators must be supported for at least
three years by sufficient staff and budgets
to enable them to help increasing numbers
of elementary, middle, and high schools
in their districts to plan, implement, and
maintain comprehensive programs of part
nership.
Partnership-2000 Schools will be aid
ed in putting the recommendations of this
article into practice in ways that are ap
propriate to their locations. Implementation
will include applying the theory of overlap
ping spheres of influence, the framework
of six types of involvement, and the ac
tion team approach. Researchers and staff
members at Johns Hopkins will dissemi
nate information and guidelines, send out
newsletters,
and hold optional annual
workshops to help state and district coor
dinators learn new strategies and share
for leaders at
successful ideas. Activities
the state and district levels will be shared,
as will school-level programs and suc
cessful partnership practices.
The national network of Partnership
2000 Schools will begin its activities in
the fall of 1995 and will continue until
at least the year 2000. The goal is to en
able leaders in all states and districts to
assist all their schools in establishing and
strengthening programs of school/fami
ly/community partnership."
1. Joyce L. Epstein, "Toward a Theory of Family
Teacher Practices and Parent
School Connections:
in Klaus Hurrelmann,
Frederick
Involvement,"
and Frederick Losel, eds., Social Inter
Kaufmann,
vention: Potential and Constraints
(New York: De
Gruyter, 1987), pp. 121-36; idem, "School and Fam
inMarvin Alkin, ed., Encyclope
ily Partnerships,"
6th ed. (New York:
dia of Educational
Research,
Macmillan,
1992), pp. 1139-51; idem, "Theory to
Practice: School and Family Partnerships
Lead to
in
and Student
School
Success,"
Improvement
and Beverly Z. Werber,
eds.,
Cheryl L. Fagnano
School, Family, and Community Interaction: A View
from the Firing Lines (Boulder, Colo.: Westview
Press, 1994), pp. 39-52; and idem, School and Fam
and Improv
Preparing Educators
ily Partnerships:
Press, forth
ing Schools (Boulder, Colo.: Westview
"Of course,
,z
' T
it's wrong. That's why I go to school."
coming).
2. Ron Brandt, "On Parents and Schools: A Con
Lead
versation with Joyce Epstein," Educational
1989, pp. 24-27; Epstein, "Toward
ership, October
a Theory"; Catherine C. Lewis, Eric Schaps, and
Marilyn Watson,
"Beyond the Pendulum: Creating
and Caring Schools," Phi Delta Kap
Challenging
1995, pp. 547-54; and Debra Viadero,
pan, March
to Care," Education Week, 26 October
"Learning
1994, pp. 31-33.
3. A. Wade Boykin,
"Harvesting
ent: African American
Children
Reform,"
inRobert Rossi,
MAY 1995

Culture and Tal

and Educational
ed., Schools and Students
711
at Risk
(New York: Teachers
College
Press,
1994),
pp. 116-39.
4. For references
to studies by many researchers, see

the following
"School
literature reviews: Epstein,
and Family Partnerships";
idem, School and Fami
and idem, "Perspectives

and Pre
ly Partnerships;
and Policy for School, Family,
views on Research
and Community
in Alan Booth and
Partnerships,"
Judith Dunn, eds., Family-School
Links: How Do
Outcomes?
(Hillsdale,
They Affect Educational
N.J.: Erlbaum, forthcoming).
Research
that reports
patterns of involvement across the grades, for fam
ilies with low and high socioeconomic
status, for
one- and two-parent homes, and on schools' pro
includes: Carol Ames, with
grams of partnership
Madhab Khoju and Thomas Watkins,
"Parents and
The Impact of School-to-Home
Commu
nications on Parents' Beliefs and Perceptions," Cen
ter on Families, Communities,
and Chil
Schools,
Schools:
dren's Learning, Center Report

15, Johns Hopkins
Baltimore,
1993; David P. Baker and
University,
"Mothers' Strategies for Chil
David L. Stevenson,
dren's School Achievement:
the Transi
Managing
tion to High School," Sociology
vol.
of Education,
59, 1986, pp. 156-66; Patricia A. Bauch, "Is Parent
Involvement Different
in Private Schools?," Educa
tional Horizons,
vol. 66, 1988, pp. 78-82; Henry J.
and Joyce L. Epstein, "Parent Involvement:
A Study of Teacher Practices," Elementary
School
vol. 83, 1982, pp. 85-102; Reginald M.
Journal,
Becker
Clark, Family Life and School

Poor Black Children
Succeed
Achievement:
Why
or Fail (Chicago:
of Chicago Press, 1983); Susan L. Dau

University
"Parents' Attitudes
and
ber and Joyce L. Epstein,
Practices of Involvement
in Inner-City Elementary
and Middle
inNancy Chavkin, ed., Fam
Schools,"
in a Pluralistic
ilies and Schools
Society (Albany:
State University
of New York Press, 1993), pp. 53
71 ;Sanford M. Dornbusch
and Philip L. Ritter, "Par
ents of High School Students: A Neglected
Re
vol. 66, 1988, pp.
source," Educational
Horizons,
75-77; Jacquelynne S. Eccles, "Family Involvement
in Children's
and Adolescents'
in
Schooling,"
Booth and Dunn, op. cit.; Joyce L. Epstein,
"Par
to Teacher Practices of Parent In
ents' Reactions
School Journal,
vol. 86,
volvement,"
Elementary
idem, "Single Parents and the
1986, pp. 277-94;
Schools: Effects of Marital
Status on Parent and
Teacher
in Maureen
Interactions,"
Hallinan,
ed.,
(New York: Plenum,
Change in Societal Institutions
1990), pp. 91 -121 ;Joyce L. Epstein and Seyong Lee,
"National Patterns of School and Family Connec
tions in theMiddle Grades,"
in Bruce A. Ryan and
Gerald R. Adams,
Con
eds., The Family-School
nection: Theory, Research, and Practice
(Newbury
Annette Lareau,
Park, Calif:
Sage, forthcoming);
Home Advantage:
Social Class and Parental Inter
vention
in Elementary
Education
(Philadelphia:
"Ac
Falmer Press, 1989); and Diane Scott-Jones,
tivities in the Home That Support School Learning
in the Middle Grades,"
in Barry Rutherford,
ed.,
(Columbus,
Creating Family/School
Partnerships
Ohio: National Middle
School Association,
1995),
pp. 161-81.
5. The three tables update earlier versions that were
based on only five types of involvement. For other
re
discussions
of the types, practices,
challenges,
and results, see Epstein,
"School and
definitions,
Lori Connors
Tadros and
Partnerships";
inMarc H.
Joyce L. Epstein, "Parents and Schools,"
Bornstein,
ed., Handbook
(Hillsdale
of Parenting
N.J.: Erlbaum, forthcoming);
Joyce L. Epstein and
Family
712
Lori Connors
Tadros, "School and Family Partner

op. cit.;
ships in theMiddle Grades," in Rutherford,
and idem, "Trust Fund: School, Family, and Com
in High Schools," Center on
munity Partnerships
and Children's
Schools,
24, Johns Hopkins Uni
1994. Schools'
activities with
versity, Baltimore,
are outlined
various types of involvement
in Don
Davies, Patricia Burch, and Vivian Johnson, "A Por
trait of Schools Reaching Out: Report of a Survey
on Practices
and Policies
of Family-Community
Communities,
Center Report
Families,
Learning,
School
munities,
Report
1992.
Center on Families, Com

Collaboration,"
Schools, and Children's Learning, Center
1, Johns Hopkins
Baltimore,
University,
6. Seyong
Students'
Connections
and
Lee, "Family-School
Education:
and Change
of
Continuity
to
Involvement
from the Middle
Grades
Family
Johns Hopkins
High School" (Doctoral dissertation,
of issues con
1994). For a discussion
University,
Out: Family,
and Community
School,
"
for Student Success,
Phi Delta Kap
Partnerships
pan, January 1991, pp. 376-82; idem, "AMore Dis
tant Mirror: Progress Report on a Cross-National
Part
Project to Study Family-School-Community
Reaching
nerships," Equity and Choice, vol. 19, 1993, pp. 41

46; and Don Davies, Ameetha Palanki, and Patricia
D. Palanki, "Getting Started: Action Research
in
Center
Partnerships,"
Schools, and Children's
1993. For an example of an or
for action teams, see Vivian R.
Family-School-Community
on Families, Communities,
Learning, Center Report
versity, Baltimore,
ganizing mechanism
"Parent Centers
in Urban Schools: Four
Johnson,
Case Studies," Center on Families, Communities,
and Children's
Schools,
Learning, Center Report
1994.
23, Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore,
8. Surveys for teachers and parents in the elemen

tary and middle grades and for teachers, parents, and
students in high school, developed
and revised in
see Epstein,
the results of partnerships,
and Previews." For various research
"Perspectives
for students and
reports on results of partnerships
for parents, see Joyce L. Epstein, "Effects on Stu
1993 by Joyce L. Epstein, Karen Clark Salinas, and

Lori Connors Tadros, are available from the Center
on Families, Communities,
Schools, and Children's
Learning at Johns Hopkins University.
dent Achievement
9. Mary Sue Ammon,

"University of California Proj
ect on Teacher Preparation for Parent Involvement,
cerning
Involvement,"
of Teacher
Practices
of Parent
in Steven
ed., Literacy
Silvern,
and School Interac
Community,
Conn.: JAI Press, 1991), pp. 261
Through Family,
tion (Greenwich,
"Effects
76; Joyce L. Epstein and Susan L. Dauber,
on Students of an Interdisciplinary
Program Link
in
ing Social Studies, Art, and Family Volunteers
theMiddle Grades," Journal of Early Adolescence,
vol.
15, 1995, pp. 237-66; Joyce L. Epstein and Jill

to Involve
"Effects of School Practices
in the Middle Grades: Parents' Perspec
of the
tives," paper presented at the annual meeting
Jacobsen,
Families
American
Los Angeles,
Association,
Sociological
1994; Joyce L. Epstein and Seyong Lee, "Effects of
School Practices to Involve Families on Parents and
in the Middle Grades: A View from the
Students
of
Schools," paper presented at the annual meeting
the American
Association,
Miami,
Sociological
and Nancy Berla, A
1993; and Anne T. Henderson
New Generation
The Family Is Criti
of Evidence:
cal to Student Achievement
(Washington, D.C.: Na
tional Committee
for Citizens
in Education,
1994).
7. Lori Connors Tadros and Joyce L. Epstein, "Tak
ing Stock: The Views of Teachers, Parents, and Stu
dents on School, Family, and Community
Partner
ships in High Schools," Center on Families, Com
munities,
Schools, and Children's Learning, Center
Baltimore,
Report 25, Johns Hopkins University,
1994; Epstein and Tadros, "Trust Fund"; Joyce L.
Epstein and Susan L. Dauber, "School Programs and
Teacher
Practices
City Elementary
School Journal,
of Parent
and Middle
Involvement
in Inner
Schools,"
Elementary
vol. 91, 1991, pp. 289-303;
and
Susan C. Herrick,
and Lucretia
Joyce L. Epstein,
Coates, "Effects of Summer Home Learning Pack
ets on Student Achievement
in Language Arts in the
Middle
and School
Grades," School Effectiveness
in press. For other approaches
to the
Improvement,
use of action teams for partnerships,
see Patricia
on
Burch and Ameetha
Palanki, "Action Research
Family-School-Community
Partnerships,"
and Behavioral
Problems,
of Emotional
Journal
vol. 1,
1994, pp. 16-19; Patricia Burch, Ameetha

Palanki,
and Don Davies,
"In Our Hands: A Multi-Site
Par
ent-Teacher Action Research
Project," Center on
Families,
Learning,
versity,
and Children's
Schools,
"Schools
1995; Don Davies,
Communities,
Center Report
Baltimore,
and Initial Follow

Report I: April 1989 Conference
of California,
up," mimeo,
University
Berkeley,
and David L. Williams,
1990; Nancy F. Chavkin
"Critical Issues in Teacher Training for Parent In
vol. 66, 1988,
volvement," Educational
Horizons,
pp. 87-89; and Lisa Hinz, Jessica Clarke, and Joe
Nathan, "A Survey of Parent Involvement Course Of
ferings inMinnesota's
Undergraduate
Preparation
Programs," Center for School Change, Humphrey
Institute of Public Affairs, University
of Minnesota,
in the ed
1992. To correct deficiencies
Minneapolis,
ucation of educators, I have written a course text or
reader based on the theory, frame
supplementary
and approaches described
in this article. See
Epstein, School and Family Partnerships. Other use
ful readings for a university course include Sandra
L. Christenson
and Jane Close Conoley, eds., Home
School Collaboration:
Children's Aca
Enhancing
:
demic Competence
As
(Silver Spring, Md. National
sociation of School Psychologists,
1992); Fagnano
and Werber, op. cit.; Norman Fruchter, Anne Gal
in Parent
letta, and J. Lynne White, New Directions
Involvement
for Edu
(Washington, D.C: Academy
cational Development,
Rioux and
1992); William
in Parent and Fami
Nancy Berla, eds., Innovations
ly Involvement (Princeton Junction, N.J.: Eye on Ed
work,
ucation, 1993); and Susan McAllister

Swap, Devel
to
oping Home-School
Partnerships: From Concepts
Practice
(New York: Teachers College Press, 1993).
10. See, for example, Gary Lloyd, "Research and
Practical Application
for School, Family, and Com
in Booth and Dunn, op cit.;
munity Partnerships,"
Wisconsin
of Public Instruction, Share
Department
sheet: The DPI Family-Community-School
Partner
1994; and the
ship Newsletter,
August/September
in the January
special section on parent involvement
1991 Phi Delta Kappan.
11. For more information about the national network
of Partnership-2000
send the name, posi
Schools,
tion, address, and phone and fax numbers of the con
tact person/coordinator
for partnerships
for your
state or district to Joyce Epstein, Partnership-2000
on Families, Communi
Schools, CRESPAR/Center
ties, Schools, and Children's Learning, Johns Hop
kins University,
3505 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD
21218.
IC
PHI DELTA KAPPAN


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School/Family/Community Partnerships: Caring for the Children We Share

Author(s): Joyce L. Epstein

This content downloaded from 128.95.104.66 on Wed, 3 Apr 2013 17:12:02 PM

Ms. Epstein summarizes

HE WAY schools care about

skills and leadership, connect families with

questions have challenged research and

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communities.These policies reflect re

child." These phrases embody the theory

el (e.g.,when a school invitesall families happening in school in order to helpmy

work make sense!"Parents or educators

This content downloaded from 128.95.104.66 on Wed, 3 Apr 2013 17:12:02 PM

behaviors, and stay in school. The shared

mine" the likelihoodof studentsuccess.3

nomically distressed communitieswork

individualattention to them, recognized

ate practices of partnership at each grade

Just about all

These terms and examples are evi

* Just about all families care about

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dents, and teachers believe that partner

there are some commonalities across suc

for School, Family, and Community Part

Six Types of Involvement;

PHI DELTA KAPPAN

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.... ...... .......

volvement has evolved from many stud

sive programs of school and family part

(see Table 1). Each type presents partic

This content downloaded from 128.95.104.66 on Wed, 3 Apr 2013 17:12:02 PM

This content downloaded from 128.95.104.66 on Wed, 3 Apr 2013 17:12:02 PM

for students, for parents, for teaching

Most of the results noted in Table 3

and results that have been

students maintain or improve their daily

classroom readingprograms, continued

ground and prior influences, found im

uing several typesof family involvement

However, achievement test scoreswere

high school level.Longitudinalstudiesand

hensive programof partnerships,includ

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leaders and from school principals, anAc

A team approach is an appropriate way

ships, implementing selected activities,

In addition to group planning,mem

bers of the action team elect (or are as

teachers at each school; to set up demon

business partnerships,school discretion

involvementsimultaneously.Their efforts Step 3: Identify Starting Points

demonstrated how to structure the pro

A modest budget is needed to guide

Most schools have some teachers who

communitypartnerships;to pay for lead

2: Obtain Funds and

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cial education, bilingual education) sep

*Sense of community. Which families

From the ideas and goals for partner