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Resources for Educators

Educator Resources

Navigating 2024 Together

In 2024, we are thrilled to share our plans for fostering collaboration and strengthening relationships between families and ... read more

Incorporating Play into Your Classroom: FAQs

Decades of research confirm that play is essential for children’s healthy development. Play does everything from creating connections ... read more

Unlock Your Potential as a Family Data Leader!

A 3-Part Training Series to Empower Parents and Caregivers The Family Data Leadership (FDL) Training is your opportunity to: 🌠 ... read more

Transform Your School’s Communication with Our Welcoming Families Toolkit

Enhance Your School's Communication Practices with Proven Strategies and Templates   This toolkit is designed to help ... read more

From Prep to Progress: Nurturing School-Family Connections

FCSN and MASFEC are excited to celebrate the outstanding efforts of MA public school districts prioritizing family engagement. Many ... read more

Family Guide for Students with Disabilities in Boston Public Schools

English  |  Español  |    العربية  |   Français  |  Kreyòl Ayisyen |  Cabo-Verdiano  |  中文    |  Soomaali  |  Tiếng Việt |  ... read more

Communication Strategies that Support Family Engagement

Explore Our Tip Sheet on Communication Strategies for Enhanced Family Engagement! read more

What is Family Math?

I bet you've heard of family literacy, but have you heard of family math? It's all about incorporating math concepts and interactions ... read more

Summer is a Great Time for Reading

Summer break is a special time when families can focus on reading together. With more free time and flexible schedules, it's a great ... read more

Picture Books and Math!

{:en}Between the ages of 0 and 5, children organically explore mathematics through everyday play. Stacking blocks, pouring water, ... read more

What is Co-design?

At FCSN and MASFEC, we use a co-design process whenever possible. We bring families, educators, and other stakeholders together to ... read more

Celebrating the End of the School Year!

Honoring Accomplishments and Embracing Growth The end of the school year is a significant milestone for every child, filled with ... read more

What’s a Listening Session?

A listening session is a structured event or meeting designed to provide a platform for individuals or groups to express their ... read more

I Don’t Know What To Do this Summer! 2023

Are you struggling to find activities for your child this summer? We know it can be difficult to navigate the changing guidelines and ... read more

2023 Family Engagement Survey

Family Survey > Educator Survey > Information about the Family Survey in multiple languages > MASFEC is dedicated to ... read more

Boston Caregivers!

We have a survey designed for Boston families of students who have or may have a disability. We will use what we learn from this ... read more

Support Parents: Find One, Become One!

Family TIES of Massachusetts, one of our sister programs within the Federation, offers a unique volunteer opportunity for families who ... read more

Exercising the Empathy Muscle

Danielle Hardin and Heidi Harris talk about Family Engagement Family Engagement involves ongoing efforts to build meaningful, ... read more

School Options in Massachusetts

{:en}The Public School System provides all children who live in the U.S. with a free education. A core value in public education is ... read more

Understanding Massachusetts Schools

{:en}Welcome to Public School in Massachusetts! {:}{:es} {:}{:pt} {:}{:zh} {:}{:vi} {:}{:ht} {:} read more

Better Together Family Engagement Summit

On October 28, nearly 500 people gathered to share, learn, and celebrate the impact of Family Engagement on children and youth. The ... read more

Talking to Your Kids About Gender

Gender is loosely defined as a spectrum of identities ranging from masculine to feminine. It should be noted that gender is not ... read more

Six Surprising Benefits of Universal Free Lunch

{:en}While the American school lunch program began almost two hundred years ago, it has, traditionally, only provided free food to ... read more

Engage Other Families at Events: Using 3 Questions 

{:en}‘Tis the season for back-to-school events hosted by every family-led group (SEPACs, ELPACs, PTOs, etc.) in your school district. ... read more

Massachusetts Reframing Academy

This course has now been completed for 2023. NAFSCE's Reframing Academy will teach you how to change the way people think about ... read more

Strengthening Partnerships: Training of Trainers

2024 Training of Trainers Series Family Engagement is not a one person job. It is an equity-driven, coordinated program that builds ... read more

CTE Outreach Toolkit

Our Career and Technical Education outreach toolkit was developed in response to focus groups, interviews, and surveys of ... read more

What is Achievement Testing? Video

Do you have questions about the educational achievement tests your child is taking in school? Watch this video to learn more about ... read more

Celebrating Juneteenth

{:en}On June 19th, 1865 – two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation –Union troops rode into Texas and ... read more

A Queer Reading List for Middle Schoolers

During middle school, your child and their friends will more actively start exploring their sexuality. They may identify as ... read more

What is Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Screening? – Tip Sheet for Families

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What is Intelligence Testing? – Tip Sheets For Families

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Data Literacy Tip Sheets

Data Literacy is the ability to read, understand, and talk about data. Data is simply information that you can use to help you ... read more

Recommended Reading

The following book lists were created to support children's reading development - using books as a way to explore the world, current ... read more

Supporting Sibling Relationships

In families with two or more children, it can be challenging to figure out how to support positive relationships between siblings ... read more

Developing Healthy Habits for Middle Schoolers

When children are young, parental responsibilities often revolve around physical care, like bathing them, feeding them, brushing their ... read more

What did we learn? Needs assessment 2021

  Each year MASFEC conducts a survey of families and educators in Massachusetts. Below, you will be able to access the full ... read more

An Introduction to Ramadan

{:en}Known by some as the holiest month of the year, Ramada commemorates the month when the holy scriptures were revealed to the ... read more

A Ramadan Reading List

{:en} Ramadan is the holiest month in the Muslim calendar. During this month, Muslims all over the world reconnect to their ... read more

2022 Family Engagement Survey

Family Survey > Educator Survey > Information about the Family Survey in multiple languages > MASFEC is dedicated to ... read more

What is Family Engagement? For Providers

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What is Family Engagement? For Families

{:en} Family engagement is an intentional, authentic, respectful, and equal partnership between practitioners and families ... read more

We Need To Talk About Teacher Burnout

Have you ever felt mentally exhausted, dreaded going into work, and found your work troubles were negatively affecting your personal ... read more

Powerful Parents

For Black History Month, I've been reading about the impact that African American parents and self-advocates have had on both racial ... read more

Measuring the Impact of Home Visits

Home visits are well established as a high-impact family engagement strategy. Research and direct experience confirm that visiting ... read more

Welcoming Newcomers: Advice for Middle School and Above

In the summer of 2021, the United States withdrew all of our troops from Afghanistan, where we had been an occupying force for twenty ... read more

Teaching Children to Welcome Newcomers

In 2021, the United States suddenly withdrew our troops from Afghanistan after two decades of occupation. The abruptness of America’s ... read more

Welcoming Your Afghan Students

Welcoming Newcomers Elementary and early childhood  Middle school and high school Background Information ... read more

Start Envisioning Your Visions of Community Experience

Visions of Community - March 19, 2022:  Registration & details The annual conference of our parent organization, the Federation ... read more

An Anti-Racist Reading List for Middle Schoolers

Adolescence is a time when many young people explore multiple aspects of their identity. Many start to view race and ethnicity through ... read more

Career and Technical Education: What Families Need to Know

Click Here to Register Virtual Workshop & Listening Session Offered in Six Languages Portuguese: Friday, February 11 at ... read more

A Reading List for Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year holiday is a great opportunity to learn more about Asian, and in particular, Chinese, cultures and traditions – ... read more

Teens and Materialism

For years, your child may have been content with library books and the occasional Lego set. As they mature, however, their tastes in ... read more

Winter Activities for Young Children

Wintertime and the holidays can be busy, joyful, and stressful times for parents of young children. Here are some holiday resources ... read more

Career & Technical Education: Insights from Language-Diverse Families

{:en}In October 2021, our parent organization, the Federation for Children with Special Needs spoke with nearly 500 parents and ... read more

Middle School Friendships

According to Phyliss Fagell, author of Middle School Matters, teens and tweens with strong friendships tend to emerge from middle ... read more

Positive Solutions Train the Trainer

  Overview Through a grant provided by the Department for Elementary and Secondary Education, the Federation for Children with ... read more

Best Practices in Meaningful Family & Student Engagement

A FREE Self Directed Course for Special Education Professionals The Federation for Children with Special Needs has partnered with the ... read more

Families of Middle Schoolers

The Middle School Years, roughly Grades 6-8, are a time of enormous growth and change for young people and the adults who care about ... read more

Equity in Action: Tips for Parents and Caregivers

This tip sheet, Equity in Action: Tips for Parents and Caregivers, encourages caregivers to reflect on the things they already do with ... read more

Cell Phones Part 2: Establishing Rules Around Devices

{:en}Once you’ve decided that your child is mature enough to handle the responsibilities of a cellphone, it’s time to establish some ... read more

Cell Phones Part 1: Is Your Child Ready for a Cell Phone?

{:en}   The modern era has introduced a new milestone for middle schoolers: a young person’s first cell phone. But what ... read more

Tips for After Caregiver-Teacher Conferences

Being invited to a parent-teacher conference doesn’t mean your child is in trouble! A parent-teacher conference is a meeting between ... read more

Tips for Caregiver-Teacher Conferences

Being invited to a parent-teacher conference doesn’t mean your child is in trouble! A parent-teacher conference is a meeting between ... read more

Preparing for a Caregiver-Teacher Conference

Being invited to a parent-teacher conference doesn’t mean your child is in trouble! A parent-teacher conference is a meeting between ... read more

Fostering Study Skills in Middle School

For many young people, middle school marks a sea change in academic expectations. Students receive more homework than ever, and are ... read more

Everyone Should Read Karen Mapp’s New Report

This “Back to School” season is unlike any before. On top of the typical nervous excitement of a new school year, the stress and ... read more

Equity-Driven Family Engagement with the MA Statewide Family Engagement Center

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Debunking Myths About Middle School

{:en}For many adults, the mere mention of middle school is enough to twist their stomach into knots. Thanks to a combination of pop ... read more

Picture Books About Gender

According to the Mayo Clinic, children start noticing differences between genders before they turn two years old, and have a clear ... read more

Let’s Revisit Reframing!

In the fall of 2020, MASFEC hosted a Reframing Institute that offered concrete strategies for generating buy-in and investment in ... read more

Online Resources for Curious Kids

Rainy day? Too hot to be outside? But just because you’re indoors doesn’t mean you can’t explore the world around us! ... read more

Meeting Families Where They Are

Let's meet families where they are... not where we want them to be!   read more

Tips for Creating a Student Snapshot

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Tips for Communicating with Families

Ongoing communication with families is essential for building and sustaining positive relationships!     read more

Family Engagement and the Special Education Evaluation Cycle

  In the document below, you will find best practices for engaging families during the special education evaluation process. ... read more

Early Math Tips for Families

Math is all around us. Ideal teaching moments for learning about math occur all day. Caregivers can help by using everyday activities ... read more

National Review of Statewide Family Engagement Centers

Our partners at the National Association for Family, School, and Community Partnerships recently released a comprehensive review of ... read more

MASFEC Tip Sheets

MASFEC and our parent organization, the Federation for Children with Special Needs, provide a variety of printable resources designed ... read more

A Rhyming Picture Book Roundup

In its earliest stages, learning to read is all about recognizing patterns and sounds. Particularly if they are learning through ... read more

Initial Learnings, Still Time to Respond! 2021 Family Engagement Survey

We have begun exploring initial results, but there's still time to respond to the 2021 Statewide Family Engagement Survey! ... read more

Family Engagement and the American Rescue Plan

Within the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan, $123 billion in funding will support K-12 education - including specific ... read more

Painless Pre-Writing Activities

Most children start writing legible letters and numbers around four or five years old, though it differs from child to child. ... read more

June Family Literacy Calendar

Our family literacy calendars are designed to reinforce reading fundamentals and the love of reading. June provides rich ... read more

Acceleration Roadmap: Pathway to an Equitable Recovery

On May 25, 2021, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the Acceleration Roadmap: Pathway to an Equitable ... read more

Summer Learning and Enrichment: Tips for Childcare Providers

As a summertime child care provider, you can help school-age children and their families make the most of the summer months and avoid ... read more

The Family Institute for Student Success (FISS) Graduations

One of MASFEC's initiatives is the Family Institute for Student Success (FISS), a program run by PIQE in collaboration with DESE and ... read more

May Family Literacy Calendar

Our family literacy calendars are designed to reinforce reading fundamentals and the love of reading. Flowers, gardening... and ... read more

Self-Regulation Activities for Young Children

{:en}   Between the ages of 2 and 6, we humans undergo one of the most dramatic developmental shifts of our lifetimes, ... read more

Learn About the MA Family Engagement Framework

In June 2020, Massachusetts finalized Strengthening Partnerships: A Framework for Prenatal through Young Adulthood Family Engagement ... read more

Community Council Members Wanted

A new pilot program of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Kaleidoscope Collective for Learning, is working to ... read more

Building Empathy in Young Children

Empathy, defined as feeling and acting out of compassion for others, is not an inherent human trait, but a skill that built over ... read more

Keys to Building Positive Relationships with Families

Relationships nurture the partnerships that are needed for children to succeed in school. Positive relationships between families and ... read more

April Family Literacy Calendar

Our family literacy calendars are designed to reinforce reading fundamentals and the love of reading. They say that April showers ... read more

Understanding District Report Cards

{:en} Check out our resource guide! {:}{:es} {:}{:pt} {:}{:zh} {:}{:vi} {:}{:ht} {:} read more

Novak: What is Universal Design?

MASFEC is pleased to unveil a new resource on family engagement, developed in partnership with Katie Novak, internationally recognized ... read more

Universal Design for Family Engagement

MASFEC is pleased to unveil a new resource on family engagement, developed in partnership with Katie Novak, internationally recognized ... read more

Learn and Have Fun with Mathu

This year, MASFEC has benefited from the creative and joyful approach of virtual educator-and-author-in-residence Mathangi ... read more

DESE Office of Student and Family Support

Family engagement is a key lever for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to contribute to ... read more

Snow Science for Preschoolers

{:en} Winter means snow, cold temperatures – and science! The following activities are a great way to help children explore ... read more

COVID-19 Vaccine Information

{:en} The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has created these resources to help inform the public about the COVID-19 ... read more

Visions of Community Virtual Conference

Visions of Community, the annual conference of the Federation for Children with Special Needs, offers unparalleled information and ... read more

What is Family Engagement? Jen’s View

I was an educator in multiple settings before becoming a parent and have experienced family engagement on both ends of the spectrum. I ... read more

Night Activites

{:en} Winter days are short, which means there is more time when children can see the night sky. This is particularly exciting ... read more

Talking to Children About Violence at the US Capitol

In the wake of the events of January 6th, 2021, many of our educators, families, and children will struggle in the coming weeks. As ... read more

Family, School, and Community Partnership Fundamentals

In June, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released Strengthening Partnerships: A Framework for Prenatal through ... read more

Curriculum: Tech Basics for ESOLs

MASFEC Partner English for New Bostonians has developed a new curriculum for teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages ... read more

Caregiver Self Care Strategies that won’t add to your To-Do List

Most articles about self-care try to convince you to do something: buy a product, exercise more, eat less, or otherwise add something ... read more

Frameworks Institute Offers Strategies for Building a Culture of Family Engagement 

If you are reading this, chances are you are already convinced that family engagement is a powerful catalyst for any number of ... read more

Small Children, Big Feelings

{:en} Between the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread financial struggles caused by quarantine and lockdown, drawn-out conflicts over ... read more

Google Classroom Help

{:en}Goggle Classroom 101 video {:}{:es}{:}{:pt}{:} read more

Help for IXL Learning

Are your children using IXL for remote learning? Do you need some help navigating IXL? Here are some useful resources: IXL Parent ... read more

Engaging Engagement?

Let's start by wondering who the families are that we serve and why families, schools and educators might want to partner. Seems like ... read more

Diwali: Bringing Light into the Darkness

  This year (2020), Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, falls on November 14. Whether you are a practicing Hindu, a parent ... read more

Family Engagement is Making Headlines

A number of education journals and news websites have focused on the subject of family engagement since hybrid and fully-remote ... read more

Helping Your Child with Financial Literacy

{:en} Build your kids’ money skills! This site has games and activities that can help your children and young adults gain money ... read more

An Indigenous Reading List for Thanksgiving

At Thanksgiving time, all over the country, children in the early grades will learn the story of the Mayflower. Unfortunately, ... read more

Fall Science

  Autumn means falling leaves, hot apple cider – and lots of opportunities for preschool science! Young children are natural ... read more

An Election Reading List

This November’s election is poised to be one of the most turbulent in recent memory. Even if you haven’t explicitly told your ... read more

What is Family Engagement? Sherri’s view

If you ask a roomful of people to define family engagement, you often get a roomful of answers! I’ve found many people have their own ... read more

Positive Solutions for Educators: Free Train the Trainer

We are excited to provide this 10 hour virtual course for educators. Upon completion, educators will be prepared to launch a Positive Solutions for Families program. read more

Welcome to MASFEC!

Welcome to the Massachusetts Statewide Family Engagement Center (MASFEC)!  MASFEC strengthens the capacity of educators, families, and ... read more

Introducing Mindful Mondays for Educators

Introducing Mindful Mondays! The school year has started, and many of us are feeling overwhelmed. Come join other educators from ... read more

School Reopening Resources for Teachers

Educators, we'd like to welcome you back to the school year with some strategies to build family engagement during remote and hybrid ... read more

Connecting With English-Learner Families: 5 Ideas to Help Schools

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Council for Exceptional Children – Resources for Teaching Remotely

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Dual Capacity Framework Version 2

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The Schools Teachers Leave: Teacher Mobility in Chicago Public Schools

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Ten Ideas for Engaging Parents

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The Center for Family Engagement

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Family Engagement: Resource Roundup

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Effective Strategies for Engaging Parents: Real-Life Experiences that Make a Difference

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Understanding Childhood Trauma

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Dispelling the Myth of “English Only”: Understanding the Importance of the First Language in Second Language Learning

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Beyond Random Acts: Family, School, and Community Engagement as an Integral Part of Education Reform

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Taking It To the Next Level: Strengthening and Sustaining Family Engagement through Integrated, Systemic Practice

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Beyond caring: Mapping the gaps between expert, public, practitioner, and policymaker understandings of family, school, and community engagement

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From Caring to Conditions: Strategies for effectively communicating about family, school, and community engagement (A FrameWorks Framing Brief )

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Parental Effort, School Resources, and Student Achievement

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A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement

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Share the Message:Read! Communication Resource Guide

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Literacy Instruction

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Barriers to Parent-School Involvement for Early Elementary Students

The purpose of this report The purpose of this report is to describe basic descriptive statistics on barriers to parent-school ... read more