Student, Family, and Community Engagement
What is the Student, Family, and Community Engagement Strand?
Across New England, educators are increasingly aware that meaningful family and community engagement is vital to student achievement and that educators must effectively engage stakeholders to develop more equitable schools. But what does authentic engagement entail? How can educators make the shift from event-based, often-siloed strategies to deeper, more powerful approaches to engagement? And how can communities and educators come together to challenge inequities and affect lasting change for youth?
To explore these questions and more, the School Redesign in Action conference incorporates a strand of presentations and workshops that will increase participants’ capacity to foster authentic student, family, and community engagement; establish meaningful relationships with marginalized groups in schools and/or communities; and strengthen partnerships and systems to improve outcomes for all students.
Who is it for?
To reach its transformative potential, school-community engagement requires the commitment and passion of not only district personnel, but also students, parents, and community members. Recognizing this, we have carefully selected presentations for the student, family, and community engagement strand that will be relevant and beneficial to all conference participants, regardless of their role in school and community. All conference participants are welcome and encouraged to take advantage of this important strand!
Financial Assistance Program for Family and Community Leaders
As part of the New England Secondary School Consortium’s commitment to improving equity, access, and diversity, we are offering a limited number of reduced-price registrations to community-based nonprofit organizations and parent or community leaders who either support youth or work in partnership with their local schools*. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate financial need and articulate how they anticipate the conference will benefit their work, organization, schools, and/or community.
Applications for financial assistance are due no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 1, 2020. All applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and applicants will be notified as soon as their application is either approved or declined. A committee will review all applications for alignment with the mission, values, and goals of the New England Secondary School Consortium. Reduced-price registrations will be offered until available funds are expended—financial assistance is not guaranteed for all applicants.
For more information, please contact Becky Vance: rvance@greatschoolspartnership.org.
*NOTE: This program is intended for individuals and community-based nonprofit organizations that would experience financial difficulty paying full-price registration—please take this intent into consideration before applying. The program is not intended for district or school administrators, educators, or staff.
Student, Family, and Community Engagement Sessions
Check back in December to explore the Student, Family, and Community Engagement sessions at this year’s conference.