May 2008
 New
Evaluation Exchange Issue on Family Involvement
This double issue of The Evaluation Exchange examines the current state
of and future directions for the family involvement field in research, policy,
and practice. Featuring innovative initiatives, new evaluation approaches and
findings, and interviews with field leaders, the issue is designed to spark
conversation about where the field is today and where it needs to go in the
future. Subscribe to The Evaluation Exchange
for free.
March 2008
FINE March
Announcement: Evaluation Exchange Sneak Preview
This month's FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) announcement shares
a sneak peek at the upcoming Evaluation Exchange double issue on family
involvement, as well as new complementary learning and out-of-school time resources
from HFRP. The announcement also includes links to such resources as articles,
research reports, websites, and tool kits. We also include information about
upcoming events and a program opportunity. Join
FINE to receive its monthly announcements by email.
HFRP Associate Director
Tapped to Testify at House Hearing
Priscilla Little, associate director of the Harvard Family Research Project,
testified at the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee
Hearing, “After School Programs: How the Bush Administration's Budget Impacts
Children and Families” for the United States House of Representatives Committee
on Education and Labor on March 11. To be notified when more resources like
this one become available, sign up for our e-news email.
February 2008
After
School in the 21st Century
The latest Issues and Opportunities in Out-of-School Time Evaluation
research brief research brief draws on seminal research and evaluation studies
to address two primary questions: (a) Does participation in after school programs
make a difference, and, if so (b) what conditions appear to be necessary to
achieve positive results? The brief concludes with a set of questions to spur
conversation about the evolving role of after school in efforts to expand time
and opportunities for children and youth in the 21st century. To be notified
of future updates to the OST section of our website, sign
up for our out-of-school time updates email.
“Family
Valued”
The current issue of Ed. Magazine, the magazine of the Harvard Graduate
School of Education, features HFRP founder and director Heather Weiss. In an
article about increasing family engagement in schools, Weiss talks about the
evidence base supporting family involvement at all levels of schooling. To be
notified when more resources like this one become available, sign
up for our e-news email.
January 2008
FINE January
Announcement: Member Survey Results
This month's FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) announcement shares
results from the FINE Member Survey, along with a preview of what's ahead for
FINE in the new year. The announcement also includes links to such resources
as articles, research reports, and a book. We also include information about
upcoming events and a funding opportunity. Join
FINE to receive its monthly announcements by email.
December 2007
For
Principals and Superintendents: Promoting Family Involvement
This article looks at the role of family involvement during the middle and high
school years, emphasizing implications and recommendations for principals and
superintendents. It reviews the evidence about the importance of family involvement
during adolescence, investigates the challenges surrounding family involvement
in middle and high school, and offers practical suggestions for principals and
superintendents to support family involvement in their schools. The article
was originally published in the National Association of Secondary School Principals'
Principals' Research Review. To be notified when more resources like
this one become available, sign up for our e-news email.
November 2007
Case
Study of the First Year of Sports4Kids
Harvard Family Research Project recently completed a case study evaluation of
Sports4Kids, a school-based program that that provides opportunities for physical
activity and safe, meaningful play at elementary schools. This study examined
one program site in Boston, to provide data to test whether Sports4Kids was
implemented as planned and achieved its intended outcomes. Data were collected
through a variety of instruments, including observations, interviews, and surveys
and from a variety of sources, including from teachers, the principal, students,
and the program site coordinator. To be notified when more resources like this
one become available, sign up for our e-news email.
October 2007
FINE October
Announcement: FINE Member Survey and More Family Involvement Resources
This month's FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) announcement solicits
FINE members' feedback in an online member survey. In addition, this announcement
includes a variety of family involvement resources, including articles and research
reports about antipoverty policies, school violence, service-learning, school
choice, and supplementary education services. We also include links to a tool
kit and information about upcoming conferences. Join
FINE to receive its monthly announcements by email.
September 2007
FINE September
Announcement: Looking Ahead at Family Involvement
This month's FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) welcomes FINE members
back from summer vacation with a look ahead at the future of FINE and the family
involvement field as a whole. We share a sneak preview of upcoming events
and resources and also offer you links to existing HFRP resources, including
a bilingual storybook about family involvement in education, a research brief
about family involvement in adolescents' education, and a new Research Update
that uses data from HFRP's Out-of-School Time Database. The announcement also
includes links to policy reports, articles, tool kits, conferences, and books.
Join FINE to receive its monthly announcements
by email.
August 2007
Out-of-School
Time Database Resources
For years, HFRP's OST Program Research and Evaluation Database and Bibliography
have provided accessible and timely information about research and evaluations
involving OST programs and initiatives. The searchable database includes narrative
profiles of OST evaluations and research studies and is designed to help researchers,
evaluators, practitioners, and policymakers learn about and improve OST research
and evaluation.We have added 7 new profiles and updated 3 profiles of a total
of 13 reports to our database. To be notified of future updates to the OST section
of our website, sign up for our out-of-school time
updates email.
New
Out-of-School Time Research Update
HFRP's database has a wealth of information, but we understand that readers
may not have time to sort through it all. Our series of Research Updates
culls key insights from each update to the database, thus enabling you to quickly
get up to speed on the latest in the growing field of OST research and evaluation.This
second Research Update highlights innovations and developments in the
out-of-school time field and looks at the important benefits out-of-school time
programs can provide to youth, their families, and their communities. To be
notified of future updates to the OST section of our website, sign
up for our out-of-school time updates email.
June 2007
Don't
Miss It! Upcoming Conference on Complementary Learning
Harvard Family Research Project announces its second professional development
institute at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) on building complementary
learning. Designed to give a variety of stakeholders strategies for tackling
the achievement gap and fostering learning for all children, the institute explores
how schools, families, out-of-school time programs, and other organizations
and agencies can forge connections to build systems of support for children
and youth. For more information or to register, call the office for Programs
in Professional Education at HGSE at 1-800-545-1849 or visit the link above.
To be notified about more events like this one, sign
up for our e-news email.
Help
Us Learn More About Complementary Learning!
Harvard Family Research Project is leading the national conversation about complementary
learning—the idea that schools can't do it alone and that children
need access to a network of supports for learning and development. As part of
our ongoing efforts to track and document complementary learning initiatives,
we invite you to share examples from your communities and elsewhere. To be notified
about more opportunities like this one, sign up for
our e-news email.
Family
Involvement in Middle and High School Students' Education
We are pleased to announce the third and final research brief in our
series Family Involvement Makes a Difference. This series provides evidence
of family involvement's importance for children of all age levels, as well as
direct recommendations for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. Our
new brief, Family Involvement in Middle and High School Students' Education,
reviews research on why and how family involvement matters for adolescents'
learning and socio-emotional development. It highlights how you can use this
research to promote effective policies and practices. Join
FINE and receive its monthly announcements by email.
Tomasito's
Mother Comes to School/La mamá de Tomasito visita la escuela
This online bilingual storybook about family involvement at school includes
a children’s story, along with an informational guide for adult family
members and discussion questions. The story draws from the real experiences
of one Latino boy and his family who are acculturating to the U.S. The storybook
is designed to engage children, inform and inspire their families, and help
educators build connections with families, all while supporting literacy. To
be notified when more resources like this one become available, sign
up for our e-news email.
FINE June
Announcement: ELL and Latino Family Involvement Resources
This month's FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) announcement showcases
new resources for engaging English Language Learner (ELL) families in their
children's education, including our original research-inspired bilingual storybook
about family involvement, Tomasito's Mother Comes to School/La mamá
de Tomasito visita la escuela. We also share additional resources on the
Family Involvement Storybook Corner about engaging Latino families in their
children's learning and a new Research Digest that uses data from a national
study to investigate the importance of family involvement in Latino infants'
development. Join FINE to receive its
monthly announcements by email.
May 2007
Changing
the Conversation About Home Visiting: Scaling Up With Quality
This paper looks at what the evidence and conventional wisdom say about scaling
up home visiting as one of the best ways to support parents and promote early
childhood development. The paper's authors examine the available research evidence,
interview leaders from six of the national home visiting models, and interview
researchers who have studied home visiting. To be notified when more resources
like this one become available, sign up for our e-news
email.
FINE May
Announcement: Policy Resources
This month's FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) announcement focuses
on family involvement policy resources at both the district and federal level.
In addition to a case study of a district that has taken on this work, in this
announcement you will also find a variety of federal level policy resources
intended to inform the reauthorization of No Child Left Behind. The announcement
also includes a list of emerging ideas from HFRP's 2007 American Education Research
Association conference symposium on what the current evaluation evidence base
reveals about family involvement and how this knowledge can inform policy and
practice in the future. Join FINE to receive
its monthly announcements by email.
A
Decade of Urban School Reform
HFRP staff members Abby R. Weiss and Helen Westmoreland describe the
evolution of Boston Public Schools' family and community engagement efforts
in a chapter of the recently released book, A Decade of Urban School Reform:
Persistence and Progress in the Boston Public Schools, published by the
Harvard Education Press. The authors describe how collective community action
contributed to a critical reframing of the district's approach to family and
community engagement over a 10-year period. Join
FINE and receive its monthly announcements by email.
Out-of-School
Time Database Resources
For years, HFRP's OST Program Research and Evaluation Database and Bibliography
have provided accessible and timely information about research and evaluations
involving OST programs and initiatives. The searchable database includes narrative
profiles of OST evaluations and research studies and is designed to help researchers,
evaluators, practitioners, and policymakers learn about and improve OST research
and evaluation.We have added 10 new profiles of 15 reports to our database,
and we have updated one existing profile. To be notified of future updates to
the OST section of our website, sign up for our out-of-school
time updates email.
New
Out-of-School Time Series: Research Updates
HFRP's database has a wealth of information, but we understand that readers
may not have time to sort through it all. So, we have created a new series of
Research Updates, which cull key insights from each update to the database,
enabling you to quickly get up to speed on the latest in the increasingly sophisticated,
growing field of OST research and evaluation.This first Research Update
highlights strategies for assessing program quality as well as key outcomes
and features of programs that promote positive outcomes, synthesizing findings
from the profiles of 15 research and evaluation reports added to the database
in December 2006. To be notified of future updates to the OST section of our
website, sign up for our out-of-school time updates
email.
April 2007
FINE April
Announcement: Family Involvement Storybook Corner
This month, FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) announces new Family
Involvement Storybook Corner resources, which focus on connecting with Latino
families and preventing the summer literacy slide. In addition, the announcement
includes information about other family involvement resources, including reports,
articles, books, conferences, and professional development opportunities. Join
FINE to receive its monthly announcements by email.
Key Findings:
What Predicts Participation in OST?
This Fact Sheet summarizes findings and implications from HFRP's recently completed
Study of Predictors of Participation in OST Activities. With funding from the
W.T. Grant Foundation, we examined the child, family, school, and neighborhood
predictors of children's participation in OST activities, paying special attention
to disadvantaged youth. The Fact Sheet highlights key findings for OST practitioners
and policymakers as they work to address issues of access and equity, document
service gaps, and target resources accordingly. To be notified of future updates
to the OST section of our website, sign up for our
out-of-school time updates email.
Demographic
Differences in OST Participation
We are also pleased to share a related resource—a 2-page Research Summary
synthesizing findings from two HFRP publications that examine demographic differences
in children's OST participation. This summary, which contains a subset of findings
contained in the Fact Sheet, presents key findings on differences in multiple
dimensions of participation in a range of OST activities and among youth from
varying family income levels and racial and ethnic groups. To be notified of
future updates to the OST section of our website, sign
up for our out-of-school time updates email.
March 2007
FINE March
Announcement: Bibliographies, PIRCs, and More
This month's FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) announcement tells
you about Harvard Family Research Project's role in a new effort to support
and build evidence for family involvement practice and policy at the federal
level as technical assistance providers to the Parental Information and Resource
Centers (PIRC) program. We also announce new and updated bibliographies of family
involvement research. In addition, the announcement includes links to reports,
tool kits, articles, conferences, and a new issue of The Evaluation Exchange.
Join FINE to receive its monthly announcements
by email.
New Evaluation Exchange
Issue on Advocacy and Policy Change
Advocacy that influences or informs public policy has the potential to achieve
large-scale results for individuals, families, and communities. Consequently,
there is much interest in understanding how to make advocacy and policy change
efforts more effective. While previously relegated as “too hard to measure,”
advocacy evaluation has become a burgeoning field. This 32-page issue of The
Evaluation Exchange helps to build this new field by defining the developments
that are shaping it and showing how enterprising evaluators, nonprofits, and
funders are tackling the advocacy evaluation challenge. Subscribe
to The Evaluation Exchange for free.
February 2007
FINE February
Announcement: Family Involvement in Elementary School
This month FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) announces the second
its series of evidence-based research briefs about family involvement in education,
as well as a new article about family engagement in after school programs. In
addition, the announcement includes links to policy reports, tool kits, articles,
conferences, and parent advocacy and empowerment resources. Join
FINE to receive its monthly announcements by email.
Family
Involvement in Elementary School Children's Education
We are pleased to announce the second research brief in our series Family
Involvement Makes a Difference. This series provides evidence of family
involvement's importance for children of all age levels, as well as direct recommendations
for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. Our new brief, Family Involvement
in Elementary School Children's Education, reviews research on why and how
family involvement matters for elementary school children's learning and socio-emotional
development. It highlights how you can use this research to promote effective
policies and practices. Join FINE and
receive its monthly announcements by email.
Staff Update
Harvard Family Research Project's Holly Kreider and her family have relocated
back home to Northern California. We will miss her but appreciate all of the
work and the contributions she has made to HFRP over the years.
January 2007
FINE January
Announcement: School Transition Study and More
This month FINE (Family Involvement Network of Educators) shares two new research
digests based on Harvard Family Research Project's longstanding work with the
School Transition Study. The announcement also links to the full reports on
which these digests were based and to more resources about the School Transition
Study. In addition, the announcement includes information about other family
involvement resources, including reports, articles, books, conferences, and
professional development opportunities. Join
FINE to receive its monthly announcements by email.
Usable Knowledge
for Learning, Teaching, and Policy
Read more about our ideas about how family involvement can support school achievement
and how education leaders can promote family involvement on Usable Knowledge,
a new website from the Harvard Graduate School of Educations (HGSE). The website
provides summaries of research conducted by HGSE faculty that can inform educational
practice and policy. In addition to information on how communities and families
can support learning, you can read more about how people learn, how educators
teach, how schools run, and how specific tools and policies can improve the
education process.
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