Home/School Partnerships

Family involvement plays a key role in helping students succeed in school and in building a sense of pride in the school community. Boston Public Schools (BPS) is committed to building strong partnerships among home, school, and community. In fact, one of the BPS’s seven "Essentials of Whole School Improvement" is to partner with families and the community to support student learning.

Parent University is an exciting new initiative for BPS parents that provides them with the opportunity to gain a better understanding about what their children should be learning, how to advocate for their children, how to access resources and supports, and how to effectively participate in school governance. Additionally, Parent University will offer elective classes such as financial management, health and wellness, English as a Second Language (ESL), and computer literacy.

Here are some examples of activities that schools offer to engage families in student learning:

• individual parent-teacher conferences
• workshops on the subjects your child will learn and how to help your child prepare for tests
• home reading programs
• home visits by school staff or other parents
• special events, such as Math and Literacy Nights
• policy making and school governance committees
• opportunities to volunteer—in classrooms, the school Family Center, fundraising activities, and fun events.

Expectations for schools

Every Boston public school is expected to:

• set aside space for parents
• schedule time each week for teachers to contact or meet with parents
• respond promptly to questions and requests from parents
• communicate regularly with parents in the language spoken in the home
• inform parents in a “family-friendly” format about strategies to improve student achievement at school and at home
• at the high school level, provide parents with a syllabus (a written summary) of the main topics to be covered in each course.

Outreach to families

The district and schools are working hard to strengthen home/school partnerships. Through two programs of the Family & Student Engagement Office, trained staff are helping to make that happen.

Thirty-one schools have full-time Family & Community Outreach Coordinators (FCOCs). The FCOCs have three main goals:

• Strengthen relationships among parents and between parents and teachers
• Build the capacity of parents to help their children and be school leaders
• Make schools more welcoming to families.

Information about FCOCs: 617-635-9569.

The School, Family & Community Engagement Unit works with all BPS schools to help organize School Site Councils, plan activities to engage families in their children’s learning, and help parents and school staff communicate with each other. Several team members are specially trained to work with families with limited English and families who have children in special education programs.

Information about School, Family & Community Engagement: 617-635-7750.