Submission
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) has unveiled Family as Partners: Fostering Family Engagement for Healthy and Successful Students, a resource to help school leaders effectively engage families in schools, particularly around school health issues.
“Family engagement is important to a positive school climate, as well as to the development of promising school health policies and practices that benefit all students and prepare them for a healthy and successful future,” said Anne L. Bryant, NSBA’s executive director. “Families as Partners illustrates how school districts can build upon their existing policies and practices and offers guidance on key questions school boards should ask, and processes to take in strengthening family engagement in school health.”
Families as Partners includes an overview of family engagement in schools as well as guidance, strategies and resources for developing and implementing successful family engagement policies and practices. In addition to the publication, NSBA has developed an accompanying online family engagement resource center, which includes family engagement policies and surveys, as well as templates for school districts to adapt and use to better engage families.
The publication reinforces a critical approach school leaders can adopt to improve student achievement and prepare students to be successful in life. Studies have shown a link between health and learning, and, according to the publication, engaging families around school health issues can be an important step for school leaders seeking to increase academic achievement.
See the first edition of the publication here (pdf document)http://www.nsba.org/FamiliesasPartners.