Our Impact
Since 2000, we have partnered with school districts and charters across California, individually and via peer-learning networks, and engaged more than 240,000 families to ensure students farthest from opportunity are set up to succeed in school and life.
Family Engagement Capacity-Building Institutes
A 2016 evaluation found that 82% of participants interviewed felt more confident in implementing FIS’s parent engagement strategies after participating and learning about authentic parent engagement.
said the institute increased their knowledge of parent engagement’s benefits
reported that the institutes gave them the knowledge to implement authentic parent engagement
now know what it takes to create a welcoming environment for parents
had confidence using FIS’s effective parent recruitment strategies
reported that the parents who worked with their school or agency felt welcomed to become involved
English Learner Families for College Program - Family Academy
As part of Moreno Valley Unified School District’s English Learner Families For College Program, FIS provided five family academies to transform participating parents into advocates for their children’s education, with 92% of parents feeling more confident in helping their child succeed in school, 95% reporting talking more with their child about their school progress, and 95% saying they would recommend the program to other parents in a survey during the project’s first year.
Transition to College Parent Training
In a preliminary evaluation, FIS found that 94% of the parents interviewed would recommend Transition to College to a friend, 93% believed the program offered them new information and ideas, and 90% thought their child was more likely to attend college because of the program. For the students interviewed, 95% reported having gained more knowledge on financial literacy and planning through Transition to College, 72% developed a plan to help them transition to college, and 97% said they now understood how important it was to communicate with their families both before and during college.
In a 2017 evaluation report of the Transition to College program, FIS surveyed focus groups of LAUSD students and parents who participated and discovered that, following their completion of the program, 99% of parents believed they could guide their child’s college transition, 96% of parents felt equipped to support their child socially and emotionally during college, and 90% of students reported changing their preparations for college.
Community Engagement Initiative (CEl)
In 2018-19, FIS partnered with the Defend and Mend Coalition in advocating to the State Board of Education and the legislature for funds that would build the capacity of Local Education Agencies (LEAs) across California to improve their family and community engagement efforts, as required in the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). This work resulted in the state allocating $13.2 million over five years to create the Community Engagement Initiative, with FIS serving as a lead agency partner.
In 2022, FIS was selected to serve as a community partner in the expansion of CEI after the state legislature invested an additional $100 million in the initiative.
Passport to Success
The program provided a learning kit of free and low-cost summer activities to 60,000 LAUSD families in 2013-14, with 78% of the parents surveyed agreeing that the program prepared their child to start school in the fall and 90% stating that one or more of their child’s learning-supportive activities increased because of Passport to Success.
Million Word Challenge*
In 2014, FIS led the Million Word Challenge in LA County, engaging over 300 schools and more than 180,000 families to embrace and promote the power of literacy by reading millions of words outside of the classroom.
*Initiative to be renamed Read LA! Challenge