“In a global economy, where the most valuable skill you can sell is your knowledge, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity. It is a prerequisite.”
FIS provides technical assistance and support to organizations and collaborations in an effort to build their capacity to support parents’ active involvement in their children’s education and to advocate for opportunities for all children. Capacity-building initiatives include:
The success or failure of California’s educational system is shaped by many factors, including the availability and allocation of adequate resources, school leadership, teacher preparation, student learning supports, curricular approaches, and families’ involvement in their own children’s education, among other factors. While improving educational outcomes for children in public schools requires numerous approaches, advocacy efforts led by nonprofit organizations and community members have impacted changes in policy, practice, and resources in districts and states around the country. The vast majority of community-based organizations, however, devotes less than two percent of their budgets to advocacy activities and often relies on the least demanding forms of engagement in advocacy. Significant investments in strengthening the capacity of nonprofit organizations – who have the passion and will, but often lack resources and experience – are necessary to expand the sector’s influence on local and statewide educational policy and practice.
Families, schools, and communities all play a critical role in ensuring that children are socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively prepared to succeed in school and life. Unfortunately, certain groups of children enter kindergarten less equipped to be successful in later grades. The First 5 LA School Readiness Initiative supports organizations and programs across Los Angeles County to ensure that families and communities are provided the necessary support to ensure that these children do not fall behind. In 2008, Families In Schools (FIS) was selected to provide technical assistance to 42 grantees of the First 5 LA School Readiness Initiative (SRI). As technical assistance provider, FIS facilitates learning among grantees and their partners to build a sustainable peer learning exchange, promote successful implementation of SRI programs, and build grantees’ capacity to positively impact the quality of life for children 0 to 5.
The United Way Success by 6® Wilmington Initiative (SB6-Wilmington) is an early learning collaborative consisting of 21 schools and organizations that strive to create a community-wide school readiness effort for Wilmington families. SB6-Wilmington has been in operation since 2001 and has experienced success in building strengths-based collaborations to support early education efforts in the Wilmington community.
In October 2007, Families In Schools (FIS) received a grant from the California Community Foundation to work in partnership with the Lennox School District. The goal of the partnership is to raise the literacy achievement of low-income, minority, and English learner students in grades pre-K through 5 through a comprehensive parent engagement strategy.
Programs & Services 
The success or failure of California’s educational system is shaped by many factors, including the availability and allocation of adequate resources, school leadership, teacher preparation, student learning supports, curricular approaches, and families’ involvement in their own children’s education, among other factors. While improving educational outcomes for children in public schools requires numerous approaches, advocacy efforts led by nonprofit organizations and community members have impacted changes in policy, practice, and resources in districts and states around the country. The vast majority of community-based organizations, however, devotes less than two percent of their budgets to advocacy activities and often relies on the least demanding forms of engagement in advocacy. Significant investments in strengthening the capacity of nonprofit organizations – who have the passion and will, but often lack resources and experience – are necessary to expand the sector’s influence on local and statewide educational policy and practice.
Families, schools, and communities all play a critical role in ensuring that children are socially, emotionally, physically, and cognitively prepared to succeed in school and life. Unfortunately, certain groups of children enter kindergarten less equipped to be successful in later grades. The 
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