What does the research say about family and community engagement and its correlation with academic achievement? How can school leaders help teachers implement family engagement strategies that work for diverse groups of students? What can schools to to get started with this important work?

On this episode, we are pleased to welcome Stephany Cuevas as we continue with our series on family and community engagement. Stephany is a doctoral candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research focuses on the relationships mixed-status families and undocumented parents have with systems and structures of higher education; she studies how immigration status and notions of legalization influence and shape families’ perceptions, understandings, and relationships with higher education.

As the host of this episode, I appreciated Stephany bringing in the voices of the many experts she has worked with at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. From Professor Karen Mapp's views on school leadership to Professor Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot's concept of the "ghosts" we all harbor, there is an abundance of high quality information to take from this episode.

Here are some of Stephany's favorite resources on family engagement:

Courses and Books

• Introduction to Family Engagement Course - Free!
• Beyond The Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships
• Powerful Partnerships: A Teacher's Guide to Engaging Families for Student Success

People (Bios)

• Professor Karen Mapp
• Professor Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot
• Professor Roberto Gonzalez

Look for our next episode on family and community engagement to drop on May 23 with Anna Leversee from Enroot Education. 

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