Frameworks and Standards

Standards and frameworks for parent-school-community partnerships serve to guide educators and community agencies as well as empower parents as we all work together to support children’s academic success.

PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships: The PTA’s developed national standards as a basis for the process for building successful family-school partnerships. The standards have three main components: 1) raising awareness about the power of family and community involvement; 2) taking action to cultivate involvement through specific programs and practices, and 3) celebrating success as your school sees increased involvement and its impact.

Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships: Karen Mapp and Paul Kuttner developed a research-based, Dual-Capacity Building Framework that guides schools in creating effective family-school partnerships by integrating capacity-building opportunities into school and community policies, programs, and practices for both educators and family members. The Framework supports a sustained partnership-building process that is collaborative, culturally responsive and respectful, asset-based, and connected to student learning and development.

Framework of Six Types of Involvement: Joyce Epstein developed the Framework of Six Types of Involvement based on research suggesting that the school-family-community partnerships that have the greatest positive influence on a student’s social, emotional, cognitive, and educational development recognize that school, family, and community influence do not operate independently of one another, but are mutually reinforcing—or mutually undermining. Epstein emphasizes six essential dimensions of youth, family, and community engagement and partnership in schools: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community.

Head Start/Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC) developed a research-based Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework that guides programs implementing the Head Start Program Performance Standards for parent, family, and community engagement. The Framework supports Head Start programs to strive for positive and goal-oriented relationships that are attentive to equity, inclusiveness, and are culturally and linguistically responsive.

National Family Support Network: The Strengthening Families Framework and Approach was developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) in 2005. It is recognized as a foundational framework that builds on five protective factors that research has shown increase family stability, enhance child development, and reduce child abuse and neglect. The Framework is based upon the nationally adopted Standards of Quality for Family Strengthening & Support which were designed to be used by all stakeholders as a tool for planning, providing, and assessing quality practice. As described by CSSP, the standards have created a common language across different kinds of Family Strengthening and Family Support programs.