Six Slices of Family Engagement

The Definition of Parent and Family Engagement

A systemic approach to education from birth to young adulthood and consists of the following:

First, family engagement is a shared responsibility in which schools and other community agencies and organizations are committed to reaching out to engage families in meaningful ways and in which families are committed to actively supporting their children’s learning and development.

Second, family engagement is continuous across a child’s life and entails enduring commitment but changing parent roles as children mature into young adulthood.

Third, effective family engagement cuts across and reinforces learning in the multiple settings where children learn— at home, in prekindergarten programs, in school, in after school programs, in faith-based institutions, and in the community.

Source: National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement

The Six Slices of Family Engagement

Project Appleseed aligns with the PTA's National Standards for Family-School Partnerships, working to provide training and resources to school leaders, families, and communities to improve family-school partnerships. The National Standards for Family-School Partnerships are a set of guidelines created by the PTA to help improve the partnership between schools, parents, and other organizations to support student success. The Standards are based on the foundational research on the Six Types developed by Dr. Joyce L. Epstein at Johns Hopkins University. upon which Project Appleseed's Six Slices of Parent Involvement were adopted in 1995.

Project Appleseed's Six Slices of Family Engagement

Research has shown that high-impact family engagement is critical for student success, and these standards aim to provide a framework for effective parent engagement in schools. The standards have been used by various organizations, including PTAs, schools, districts, and the U.S. Department of Education, for accountability and support for strong parental involvement.

The National Standards for Family-School Partnerships are intended for a wide range of users, including:

Education leaders at the school, district, and state level looking to improve and monitor family-school partnerships
PTA/PTO and other family and community leaders seeking to advocate for stronger partnerships at their schools
Families, educators, and youth interested in identifying and promoting effective family-school partnerships
Researchers studying the effects and implementation of family-school partnerships
Policymakers and private funders looking to invest in community-building through family-school partnerships.

Slice 1. Welcome All Families

The school treats families as valued partners in their child’s education and facilitates a sense of belonging in the school community.

Goal 1. Build a Community of Belonging: When families engage with the school and PTA/PTO, do they feel respected, understood and connected to the school community?

School & Parent Group Indicators:

Learn about families and foster respectful attitudes
Provide time, training, and resources for relationship-building
Facilitate opportunities for restoration and connection, especially with historically marginalized families and students
Use culturally and linguistically responsive engagement practices
Invite families to contribute to the school community

Goal 2. Create an Inclusive Environment: Do the school’s and PTA/PTO's efforts encourage engagement with and among the diversity of families in the community?

School & Parent Group Indicators:

Encourage school staff to see engaging all families as part of their responsibilities
Create an accessible, family-friendly campus and/or virtual school
Track family engagement data and regularly examine it to identify gaps in access
Learn about and remove barriers for families to participate fully

Slice 2. Communicate Effectively

The school supports staff to engage in proactive, timely, and two-way communication so that all families can easily understand and contribute to their child’s educational experience.

Goal 1. Exchange Information Between School and Families: Are families able to receive and share information in culturally and linguistically sustaining ways?

School & Parent Group Indicators:

Learn about and meet families’ communication preferences
Address access by providing interpretation, translation, and/or accommodations
Coordinate information-sharing across communication outlets
Gather family input and report back with how input was used
Foster transparency and enable families to follow-up
Co-create engagement plans for times of crisis

Goal 2. Facilitate Parent-Teacher Communication:

Does the school and PTA/PTO promote communication between families and teachers?

School & Parent Group Indicators

Co-develop communication expectations with families and staff
Provide time, training and resources for parent-teacher communication
Solicit teacher and family feedback on how communication is going and what could be improved

Step Up Family Engagement with Professional Development

2-hr Virtual Toolbox Training

Teacher Home Visit Training

One-Day Traveling Workshop

Slice 3. Support Student Success

The school builds the capacity of families and educators to continuously collaborate to support students’ academic, social and emotional learning.

Goal 1. Team-Up For Student Success: Are families, students and educators on the same page about how students are progressing?

School & Parent Group Indicators

Support educators to partner with families and students to set social, emotional, and academic goals
Provide an understandable and accurate picture of student progress, using multiple measures (classwork, rubrics, observations, assessments, etc.)
Ensure accessible, regular, two-way communication about student learning and well being

Goal 2. Support Learning by Engaging Families: Are families valued partners in their children’s learning at home and at school?

School & Parent Group Indicators

Get to know students and families and their strengths
Invite families to contribute to classroom learning
Provide families guidance and activities to support social, emotional and academic learning at home
Promote learning and enrichment outside of school
Help families and students plan for the future

Slice 4. Speak Up for Every Child

The school affirms family and student expertise and advocacy so that all students are treated fairly and have access to relationships and opportunities that will support their success.

Goal 1. Navigate the School System: Are families knowledgeable and able to raise questions or concerns about their child’s educational experience?

School & Parent Group Indicators

Build school staffs’ skills to build trust and problem-solve with students and families
Make it easy to understand how the school and district operate
Comply with families’ rights under federal and state laws
Connect families to resources that address their questions or concerns
Make school staff and families aware of conflict resolution processes and apply them fairly

Goal 2. Address inequitable outcomes and access. Does the school and PTA/PTO remove barriers for families to be advocates for and with students’—particularly those who are most marginalized?

School & Parent Group Indicators

Encourage community and leadership among historically under-represented groups
Share understandable, disaggregated data on school progress and practices
Recognize and work to eliminate bias in family engagement practices and policies

Slice 5. Share Power

The school partners with families in decisions that affect children and families and together—and as a team, inform, influence and create policies, practices and programs.

Goal 1. Strengthen the Family’s Voice in Shared Decision Making: Are families partners in making decisions that affect their children at school and in the community?

School & Parent Group Indicators

Transparently and accessibly communicate about decision-making processes Ì Build shared knowledge about decisions that affect children
Give families and students voice in decisions that affect children
Identify and remedy power imbalances
Track data and fill gaps for representative input and power in decisions

Goal 2. Build Families’ Connections: Do families have a strong, broad-based organization that offers regular opportunities to develop relationships and raise concerns with school leaders, public officials, and business and community leaders?

School & Parent Group Indicators

Connect families to local officials
Foster student and family leadership and civic engagement
Support the development of an effective family/parent organization that represents all families

Slice 6. Collaborating with the Community

The school collaborates with community organizations and members to connect students, families and staff to expanded learning opportunities, community services and civic participation.

Goal 1. Build a Strong Foundation for Community Partnerships: Does the school and PTA/PTO have a plan for when and how to engage community partners?

School & Parent Group Indicators:

Map community needs and assets
Align partnerships to school improvement planning
Work with partners to clarify roles and responsibilities

Goal 2. Connect the School with Community Partners: Do family and school leaders work closely with community organizations, businesses, and institutions of higher education?

School & Parent Group Indicators:

Understand issues affecting the community and contribute to community-wide solutions
Address student and family basic needs through community resources
Build staffs’ cultural competence through community partnerships
Act as a hub of community life

Here are some resources for each of the Six Slices of Family Engagement, based on Joyce Epstein's model. These are just a few resources that can help parents and schools collaborate effectively. It's important to find the resources that best meet the specific needs of your school and community: