ANNOUNCEMENT: REPORT RELEASE ____ En español
In a three-report series, the Parent Organization Network (PON) tackles the complex issue of how to best prepare today’s educators to effectively build relationships and partner with families in their day-to-day work.
PON Professional Learning Network Report II:
The Impact on Local Control
and Accountability Plans

The discussion on teacher preparation is not new and education researchers and parent advocates continue to weigh in on how to develop strategies to change the paradigm on family engagement from one based on passive limited involvement to one that fosters an equal partnership with parents in the education of their children.

PON is moving the conversation forward with three reports that present specific insights from staff from four school districts who participated in a PON Professional Learning Network (PLN) on family engagement from 2017-2019. PON’s PLN was one of 57 two-year PLNs sponsored by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) to promote innovative thinking to fulfill California’s promise of a “quality, equitable education for every student.”

Report II builds upon the findings of Report I and looks at how the PLN process affected the school districts’ thinking or practices on family and community engagement, methods or models used to improve engagement and whether these changes were reflected in their Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs).
Report II Key Findings:

  • Each district experienced growth in community or stakeholder engagement, refined existing processes and/or developed new ways to reach specific audiences, and developed structures to strengthen the practice of continuous improvement for LCAP development.

  • Changes to improve family engagement goals and actions, metrics, and reporting rationale and effectiveness of goals and actions are not consistently reflected in school districts' LCAP plans and budgets.

  • Promising practices for family and community engagement are highlighted throughout Report II.
The two reports stress that changing current practice from family activities at school sites to districtwide systemic engagement, will require greater guidance from key state agencies. The reports also provide feedback and recommendations including the voices of PON parents and community leaders, and urge family engagement advocates to push to strengthen existing requirements and training.

While recent state and national initiatives seek to update and bridge the theory and practice of family engagement in education, the reports caution that policy initiatives cannot make these shifts alone and that county offices of education and school districts also must play a critical role in helping shift practice in schools.

The reports show that there is a lot of work ahead to develop strong practices, policies, and systems to support effective family engagement for student success, but express hope that current steps heading in the right direction will be developed further.

Please note this report is primarily based on analysis of LCAPs from school years 2017 through 2020. Additional progress on family engagement goals for the 2019-2020 LCAP may have been made in the Fall of 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic has without a doubt impacted this work in Spring 2020.

To learn about PON's family and community engagement recommendations to respond to the pandemic, download our Letter to Educators .
Report III analyzes family engagement for educators during pre- and in-service .   I t provides a legal overview, examines credentialing requirements, and offers a preliminary landscape analysis on how future and current educators are prepared to engage families. Report III will be available in June.