When educators and families build authentic relationships, everyone wins.
Families are able to share their hopes and goals for their child’s education. Educators have the opportunity to help families understand how to best support their student’s learning at home. And students are surrounded by the support they need to excel socially, emotionally, and academically for the long term. Students do better when families and educators work together as equal partners. For students most impacted by inequity, this equal partnership – what we call REAL Family Engagement – often doesn’t happen well or at all. We are working to strengthen family engagement in schools through our school partnerships and leadership development programs.
Grounded in research, our school-based work allows us to learn from and grow the capacity of public and public charter schools in Washington, DC to embed REAL Family Engagement into their way of being.
Flamboyan provides professional development to educators, leaders, and others who support public school students. Participants learn REAL Family Engagement practices while exploring their assumptions about students and families to deepen their understanding of systemic inequities.
Conversation with Arne Duncan, Wanda Durant, and Kristin Ehrgood at “The Promise of Family Engagement” in November 2019.
Philanthropic Partners
Our Family Engagement Funding Partnerships
D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education
The D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) Office of Public Charter Financing and Support has partnered with Flamboyan on multiple initiatives since July 2015, when it awarded Flamboyan a grant to support its family engagement work in seven DC public charter schools. The Scholarships for Opportunities and Results (SOAR) Act grant funded Flamboyan’s family engagement partnerships with schools across the city. The two-year SOAR funding allowed teachers in these schools to receive the training, tools, coaching, and financial support to build trusting relationships with families, engage families as partners in their student’s academic success, and communicate consistently and meaningfully with them.
Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation
The Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for families and their communities by supporting innovative projects and successful ongoing programs. It has partnered with Flamboyan on multiple projects since 2011, when it first co-funded with Flamboyan the launch of a school-wide model for family engagement in a select group of DC public schools.
Explore Even More
Learn About Our Work in Puerto Rico
Strengthening K-3 Reading In Puerto Rico
Ensuring students are reading in Spanish on grade level by third grade.