Dr. Mavis Sanders
Would You Support a District-Level (Cabinet) Office for Family Engagement?

Mavis G. Sanders, Ph.D. in education from Stanford University, studies the processes and outcomes of school, family, and community collaboration. She has authored many publications on how schools and districts develop and scale up their partnership programs, the effects of home, school, and community collaboration on African-American adolescents' school success, and how community engagement can improve educational experiences and outcomes for students in US public schools. Her most recent book, Principals Matter: A Guide to School, Family, and Community Partnerships (with Steven Sheldon, Corwin Press, 2009) focuses on principals' leadership for developing effective partnership programs. She is also co-author of School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, Third Edition (Epstein, et al., Corwin Press, 2009). Other books include Building School-Community Partnerships: Collaboration for Student Success, (Corwin Press, 2005), and Schooling Students Placed at Risk (LEA, 2000).
Dr. Sanders currently teaches courses on cultural diversity and research methodologies in education in the Elementary Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program and the Master of Arts in Education (MAE) program, respectively. She also serves as Senior Adviser to the National Network of Partnership Schools, a national organization dedicated to increasing the capacity of school, district, and state leaders to build comprehensive programs of partnerships. Her current research, funded by the Spencer Foundation, examines the role of principal and teacher leadership in restructuring learning opportunities for low income students through full service community schools.
Dr. Sanders currently teaches courses on cultural diversity and research methodologies in education in the Elementary Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program and the Master of Arts in Education (MAE) program, respectively. She also serves as Senior Adviser to the National Network of Partnership Schools, a national organization dedicated to increasing the capacity of school, district, and state leaders to build comprehensive programs of partnerships. Her current research, funded by the Spencer Foundation, examines the role of principal and teacher leadership in restructuring learning opportunities for low income students through full service community schools.
Forest Of The Rain Productions: Would You Support a District-Level (Cabinet) Office for Family Engagement?
Dr. Mavis Sanders: I would definitely endorse a district-level office for family engagement for most school systems. For the last decade or so, The National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) has been studying the influence of district-level facilitators for family engagement on schools' progress on this issue. We have found that these facilitators provide essential professional development, resources, and supports needed for school-based teams to plan, implement and evaluate comprehensive family and community engagement programs (see: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/nnps_model/district.htm).
This is why NNPS encourages a systems approach to family and community engagement that includes state, district, and school based actors working cooperatively (see: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/program.htm).
There is a great deal of research supporting the model that I am happy to share with you or other interested parties (see: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/Research/researchpubs.htm)
We want to hear from you! Would you support a district-level (cabinet) office for family engagement? Please share your opinion, by clicking here!
Dr. Mavis Sanders: I would definitely endorse a district-level office for family engagement for most school systems. For the last decade or so, The National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) has been studying the influence of district-level facilitators for family engagement on schools' progress on this issue. We have found that these facilitators provide essential professional development, resources, and supports needed for school-based teams to plan, implement and evaluate comprehensive family and community engagement programs (see: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/nnps_model/district.htm).
This is why NNPS encourages a systems approach to family and community engagement that includes state, district, and school based actors working cooperatively (see: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/program.htm).
There is a great deal of research supporting the model that I am happy to share with you or other interested parties (see: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/Research/researchpubs.htm)
We want to hear from you! Would you support a district-level (cabinet) office for family engagement? Please share your opinion, by clicking here!