FACEHandbook - Handbook on Family and Community Engagement The Handbook on Family and Community Engagement was created with funding and support from the

Handbook on Family and Community Engagement Sam Redding, Marilyn Murphy, & Pam Sheley, Editors

The Handbook on Family and Community Engagement was created with funding and support from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education to the Academic Development Institute and the Center on Innovation & Improvement. The Center on Innovation & Improvement is a national content center supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Award #S283B050057 Academic Development Institute / Center on Innovation & Improvement 121 N. Kickapoo Street Lincoln, IL 62656 The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position of the supporting agencies, and no official endorsement should be inferred. © 2011 Academic Development Institute. All rights reserved. Editing: Stephen Page, Robert Sullivan, & Lori Thomas Design: Michelle Schneider & Pam Sheley

Handbook on Family and Community Engagement Sam Redding, Marilyn Murphy, & Pamela Sheley, Editors

Acknowledgements The editors acknowledge the support and guidance provided us by the U.S. Department of Education, especially Carl Harris, Patricia McKee, Gary Rutkin, Danita Woodley, and Fran Walter, for the creation of this Handbook . The timely and competent editing by Robert Sullivan, Lori Thomas, and Stephen Page resulted in a published version worthy of the expert contributions of the authors. Especially, the editors shower their appreciation on the authors, all scholars of high merit devoted to families, schools, and communities and cheerful in meeting the project’s expectations and deadlines.

iii Foreword For a half-century, we have labored in the light of the Coleman Report’s finding that families and communities strongly affect children’s school success, our work inspired by the belief that these influ - ences are malleable. Improving America’s schools takes different paths in turn, as research and expe - rience reveal promising organizational structures and professional practices. Always, family and community engagement receives a rhetorical bow, even as we have often tackled this work with uncer - tainty, sporadic attention, and sometimes disappointing results. The knowledge, wisdom, and insights of this volume’s contributors reflect the accumulated lessons learned by people who walk different paths in pursuit of a common vision—that all children might benefit from schools, families, and communities united in their behalf. Finding the right chemistry for relationships among school personnel, families, and community members remains a vision not entirely achieved. Our hope is that this Handbook will bring us closer to the realization of that vision.