News & Press https://nafsce.org/news/default.asp Thu, 2 Jul 2026 03:30:07 GMT Fri, 6 Apr 2018 12:15:45 GMT Copyright © 2018 National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement W.K. Kellogg Foundation Awards NAFSCE $588,552 to Advance Systemic Change In Education https://nafsce.org/news/news.asp?id=395297 https://nafsce.org/news/news.asp?id=395297  

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lisa Aramony, Director, Communications
aramonyl@nafsce.org
(703) 328-0305

W.K. Kellogg Foundation Awards NAFSCE $588,552 to Advance Systemic Change In Education Through Family Engagement

ALEXANDRIA, VA (April 4, 2018) The National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) has been awarded an 18-month grant of $588,552 from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to advance parent and community involvement as an essential strategy for improving children's learning and advancing equity.

NAFSCE will use the funds to develop a framework focused on training teachers on effective family engagement strategies before they enter the classroom, support and sustain a network of state coalitions to advance family engagement policy and practice, build the capacity and leadership of family engagement practitioners, and reframe the national conversation to build awareness for the importance of family engagement.

Family, school, and community engagement is increasingly recognized as an essential element of child development programs, school improvement strategies, and efforts to reduce the achievement gap, yet recent studies show that U.S. public schools get poor marks for it. A recent study by Rice University found that just 34% of public school parents were “very satisfied” with their school’s family engagement efforts. In a recent survey, 72% of NAFSCE members said they needed more help in engaging families of diverse ethnic, racial and cultural backgrounds.

“Family engagement is on the cusp of becoming a strategy that can truly transform our educational system. Innovative practices such as home visits have yielded very impressive results, but they alone cannot bring about systemic change. This support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation is crucial to NAFSCE’s efforts to address the barriers that have prevented family engagement from having the impact on student achievement and school improvement that we all know it should and could have,” said Vito Borrello, Executive Director of NAFSCE.

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About the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement
The National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) was founded in 2014 as the first membership association focused solely on advancing family, school, and community engagement. Its mission is to advance high-impact policies and practices for family, school, and community engagement to promote child development and improve student achievement. NAFSCE is based in Alexandria, VA. For more information, visit www.nafsce.org

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work, and life.

The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.]]> Fri, 6 Apr 2018 13:15:45 GMT