Guidelines for Effective Family Engagement

Research shows family engagement is critical to improving literacy outcomes for students and schools. With the right tools, information, knowledge and support, parents and families can be a powerful, positive influence on their child’s reading development from birth through pre-kindergarten, elementary, middle school, and beyond.

It is up to schools, educators, and community-based partners to provide resources and family engagement opportunities that are easy, explicit, evidenced-based, and effective in support of their child’s literacy development. Parents need to be informed that reading proficiently by third grade is a critical milestone for their child’s future academic success (including high school graduation and college attendance); that learning to read doesn’t happen automatically; and that the skills needed to be a good reader start developing from birth.

While parents can be engaged as effective partners in their child’s learning, it is important to note that parents are not solely responsible for teaching their children to read. Every student deserves access to evidenced-based classroom instruction and academic supports that will help them become proficient readers.