Educator and Student Support

Family and Community Engagement

Neighborhood public schools belong to their communities. The strength and vitality of any community is, in part, dependent upon the strength of its schools. And the reverse is true.

Effective community engagement builds partnerships based on respect and a shared goal of academic success for every child. It depends on the meaningful integration of community members and parents into the decision-making processes of schools.

IDRA’s model for family leadership involves building strong family-educator partnerships to improve schools and raise students’ academic achievement.

Education CAFE

The successful IDRA Education CAFE model illustrates how to conduct authentic family engagement and support family leadership in education. This video presents key elements and information for schools and community organizations that are interested in carrying it out locally.

Family Engagement Toolkit

Few people question the value of parents being involved in schools. But many school leaders labor with traditional strategies that have little meaning or success. Families can be their children’s strongest advocates for promoting quality neighborhood schools and to ensure excellent academic instruction – where children are safe, happy, learning and engaged. This IDRA Family Engagement – Online Web-based Technical Assistance Toolkit is designed to provide educators tools for embracing what, for many, is a new vision for engaging with families and community members.