Our Resources
Resources for Parents
PODER Video Series
Padres Optando por el Desarrollo, Enseñanza y Realización de la lectoescritura is an online video course for Spanish-speaking parents of multilingual learners designed to enable them to support and advocate for high-quality, high-impact reading instruction in their children’s districts, schools, and classrooms.
Family Guide to LAUSD Strategic Plan
A tool for families to engage as partners to help LAUSD students thrive
Parents Guide to Student Success, CA PTA
Grades: Kindergarten - High School
Crossroads: The Path to Local Control (Elevating the Voices of Families, Students & Community to Improve Student Outcomes)
California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE)
How Children Learn to Read
Reading Rockets
Como Aprenden Los Ñinos a Leer
Y la razón por la que una enseñanza efectiva marca una gran diferencia.
Raising Bilingual Kids, Colorín Colorado
A bilingual site for educators and families of English Language Learners
LCFF Priority 3: Family Involvement
Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) resources for this priority include family engagement in decision-making and promotion of family participation in the education process for all students, including students with disabilities.
English Learner Family Toolkit
This toolkit is provided by the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) with information on questions English learner families may have about public schools in the United States.
California Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
Whole child resources and supports to help local educational agencies, schools, and families serve the needs of the whole child.
Resources for Educators
California Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
Whole child resources and supports to help local educational agencies, schools, and families serve the needs of the whole child.
CA Community Engagement Initiative – Community Engagement Training Modules
A series of in-depth trainings on meaningful pupil, family, and community engagement that are scaffolded to support the continued professional development and deeper expertise of educators.
Ready or Not: How California School Districts are Reimagining Parent Engagement in the Era of Local Control Funding Formula
Report by Families In Schools, 2015
Reimagining Parent Engagement in California: Moving from 1.0 to 2.0
Report by Families In Schools, 2013
Measuring Parent Engagement: Early Lessons Learned from the California School Dashboard
Report by Families In Schools, 2019
The Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships (Version 2)
Based on existing research and best practices, the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships is designed to support the development of family engagement strategies, policies, and programs.
Understanding the Literacy Crisis
Hard to Read: How American Schools Fail Kids with Dyslexia
A 2017 APM Report by Emily Hanford discussing how public schools are denying children with dyslexia proper treatment and often failing to identify them in the first place.
Hard Words: Why Aren’t Kids Being Taught to Read?
A 2018 APM Report by Emily Hanford discussing how scientific research has shown how children learn to read and should be taught, but a lack of understanding and resistance to the science is setting up millions of kids for failure.
At a Loss for Words: How a Flawed Idea is Teaching Millions of Kids to be Poor Readers
A 2019 APM Report by Emily Hanford discussing how schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers for decades, with many teachers and parents not knowing that the theory behind these strategies has been debunked.
What the Words Say: Many Kids Struggle with Reading – And Children of Color Are Far Less Likely to Get the Help They Need
A 2020 APM Report by Emily Hanford discussing how deep inequalities have formed among U.S. children based on the false assumption of what it takes to be a skilled reader, putting many on a difficult path in life.
Sold a Story Podcast
There's an idea about how children learn to read that's held sway in schools for more than a generation — even though it was proven wrong by cognitive scientists decades ago. Teaching methods based on this idea can make it harder for children to learn how to read. In the Sold a Story podcast, host Emily Hanford investigates the influential authors who promote this idea and the company that sells their work.