Learning from Our Investments in School-Family Partnerships

In 2021, Carnegie Corporation of New York set out to answer a key question: How can schools and families work together to better support student learning?

Through an open call for proposals, Carnegie’s Education program selected ten local organizations with strong connections to families and school districts. These organizations, working in both rural and urban communities across the country, teamed up with Columbia University’s Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL), spending two years building their leadership capacity and trying out and assessing new strategies for their school-family partnership initiatives.

Some organizations focused on specific populations — like Connectedly in Philadelphia, which focuses on strengthening networks of grandparent caregivers, many of whom play a critical role in their grandchildren’s education.

Every Wednesday evening, a group of grandparent caregivers would gather for a Connectedly workshop — officially to discuss literacy strategies, but just as importantly, to find support in one another. “One of the most valuable parts of the workshop is for grandparents to connect with other people in the same boat,” says Connectedly’s program director. That sense of community extended beyond the sessions. When one grandmother needed back surgery, other participants stepped in, offering to pick up and drop off her granddaughter from school.

But Connectedly does not just build community — it also adapts to families’ needs. When staff realized that some grandparents couldn’t attend in person due to health or transportation issues, they introduced virtual workshops. Yet new barriers emerged: digital literacy challenges and unreliable internet access. Rather than abandon the effort, Connectedly provided home visits to help caregivers navigate Zoom and troubleshoot connectivity issues. The result? More engaged grandparents, stronger support for students, and a growing network of caregivers who knew they weren’t alone.

Other organizations, like the Building Skills Partnership in Los Angeles, help low-wage workers’ families prepare for the college application and enrollment process. The South Dakota Statewide Family Engagement Center supports the varying learning needs of struggling caretakers. In Milwaukee, Families and Schools Together invests in parent coordinators — trusted liaisons who bridge families and educators.

Successful efforts had some elements in common, including strong leadership rooted in the community, a nimble commitment to continuous improvement, and strong connections with families, educators, and school and district leaders who support and advocate for the work.

The report Family Engagement in Action: A Roadmap for Building Authentic School-Family Partnerships that Boost Student Learning, published by CPRL, distills the lessons learned, offering concrete recommendations for nonprofits, schools, and funders looking to strengthen family engagement.

Whether it’s hiring locally, fostering trust between educators and parents, or ensuring long-term support for these partnerships, the findings confirmed that when schools and families work together, students thrive.

The report concludes with recommended action steps that nonprofit organizations, funders, schools, and districts can take to build strong school-family partnership programs that result in responsive learning environments.

Learn more about this cohort of Carnegie grantees and read the full report here Family Engagement in Action: A Roadmap for Building Authentic School-Family Partnerships that Boost Student Learning.

Angely Montilla is the program communications specialist at Carnegie Corporation of New York.