Family Engagement and Resources

What is Family Engagement? 

• Meaningful family engagement is based on the premise that families, educators, and community members share responsibility for the academic, physical, social, emotional, and behavioral development of youth. 

• Family engagement is fostered through a deliberate process that is embraced throughout the school. 

• Family engagement empowers adults to jointly support student growth, addresses any barriers to learning, and ensures college and career readiness. 

• Effective family engagement systems, policies, and practices are mindful of diverse school-communities that are rich in language, culture, and school experiences. They are responsive to student and family needs. 

Why is Family Engagement Important? 

True engagement takes place when families and school staff work together, on an ongoing basis, to support and improve the learning and growth of students. 

• When families, schools, and communities partner in promoting learning and healthy development for all children, schools thrive and student growth increases. 

• Research indicates that when families are engaged with their children’s education, whether in school or at home, students perform better academically. 

• Regardless of socio-economic background, students with involved families are more likely to: 

✔ earn high grades and test scores 

✔ enroll in higher level programs 

✔ attend school regularly 

✔ exemplify positive behavior 

✔ develop better social skills 

Urbana School District #116’s Family Engagement Goals: 

Urbana School District #116 recognizes the necessity and value of family engagement to support student success and academic achievement. To support collaborative partnerships between families and schools, the district is committed to achieving the following goals in ways that recognize and respect the diversity and differing needs of 

families: 

•  Involving families as partners in school governance, including decision-making. 

• Establishing effective two-way communication with all families. 

• Developing strategies and programmatic structures at schools to enable families to participate actively in their children’s education. 

• Providing support and coordination for school staff and families to implement and sustain appropriate family engagement from early childhood through grade twelve. 

• Utilizing community resources to enrich the educational environment and promote family and student success. 

• Supporting families in their roles as their child's first and most important teacher. 

All Urbana School District #116 principals host quarterly Community Round Table Meetings in their schools to collaborate and strengthen partnerships with their families.