Based on family engagement expert and author Dr. Steve Constantino’s best selling book, 5 Simple Principles to Engage Every Family, this action-oriented cohort experience is designed to give administrators and school and/or district teams the ability to define a goal for family engagement in their school community and a proven system and process to achieve that goal, with a focus on building community, improving student outcomes and working in partnership with families to close learning gaps. At the end of the cohort, several action research projects will be chosen as case studies to share, allowing the group to see results and learn from each other.

As part of its mission to serve Virginia educators, the Commonwealth Learning Partnership is offering Virginia educators and school division teams an opportunity to engage with Dr. Constantino’s nationally recognized family engagement program at a significant cost reduction.

Delivered monthly via Zoom, each 90-minute session is designed to give superintendents, assistant superintendents, project and program directors, migrant and immigrant supplemental program directors, family support specialists, site administrators, district and county office administrators, site parent engagement teams and others an affordable and convenient way to facilitate action-oriented conversations around authentic family engagement. As part of the experience, participating individuals and teams will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with Dr. Constantino and The Constantino Group to identify a core problem of practice, review successful strategies and best practices for family engagement and develop an action-oriented plan to improve student outcomes and serve the needs of their communities.

Delivered as (8) 90-min. virtual learning and collaborative doing sessions, the Action-Oriented Family Engagement Cohort is derived from Dr. Constantino’s best-selling book, 5 Simple Principles to Engage Every Family™. An opening kick-off session challenges educators to define a problem of practice and develop an action plan. Subsequent sessions demonstrate how each principle can be applied and used to solve their dedicated problem of practice. Participants will have an opportunity to review successful case studies and engage in action-oriented research practices to apply what they learn to create their own family engagement action plans. At the end of the cohort, several action research projects will be chosen as case studies to share, allowing the group to see results and learn from each other.

The 5 Simple Principles Action-Oriented Family Engagement Cohort is designed for Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Project/Program Directors, Migrant/Immigrant Supplemental Program Directors, Family Support Specialists, Site Administrators, District and County Office Administrators, Site Parent Engagement teams.

The curriculum of the course is based on Dr. Constantino’s “Five Simple Principles” to engage every family. Participants will receive a copy of his book “Engage Every Family: Five Simple Principles” (2nd Ed., Corwin, 2021).

This is an action-oriented cohort. Participants are expected to identify their “problem in practice” and using the tools and information supplied in the sessions, apply new learning to the challenges of engaging every family in the academic lives of their children to improve student learning outcomes. At the end of the cohort, several action research projects will be chosen as case studies to share, allowing the group to see results and learn from each other.

Data collection tools, surveys, questions to drive new discussion and case studies will be used to allow teams a deep dive into improving the authentic engagement of families and leave the cohort experience with a measurable action plan that produces positive results.

If you’re interested in joining an upcoming cohort experience, make sure to save your spot by following the button on this page. Once you sign up, you’ll receive more information about the program — plus, an invoice that you can use to reserve your district’s spot and submit payment. You’ll also receive a detailed follow-up email with information about your cohort, including session dates and times. Should you have questions any time throughout the process, you’ll receive the phone and email of our project coordinator to ensure a positive experience.