#FamilyPartnershipMatters: Let’s Work Together
Family partnership is a key ingredient to educational equity and student success. Research states that when schools effectively partner with families— when student learning is connected between home and school— students do better. They go to school more often. Their behavior improves. They achieve more long-term successes. As outlined in SFUSD’s Vision 2025, it is a district priority to support families in advocating for their children and to ensure all families are valued and respected members of the SFUSD community.
For teachers and school staff, partnering with families deepens schoolwide relationships, and it improves communication, teacher morale, and commitment to their roles. Authentic family partnership is one of the five essential supports needed to improve overall school performance.
What We Do: Link to this section
The Student and Family Services Division (SFSD) is primarily in service of students and families and are committed to authentic partnership with them to inform and change our systems. SFSD is committed to anti-racist practices, which require the practice of cultural humility grounded in self-reflection and the recognition that there is no single story and that we cannot possibly know everything/ anything about our colleagues, students, or families without relational trust.
Currently, the Student & Family team works with other teams to design and implement professional development opportunities for school site staff. Our team also supports the SFUSD Family Resource Link.
Working towards authentic family partnership is challenging and takes time, and the Student & Family team offers clear, intentional ways to practice what we, as a district, value.
Scroll to the bottom of this page or click here to check out our new page on Parent-Teacher Conferences, Enrollment and Culturally Responsive Holidays!
The SFUSD Family Partnership Model Link to this section
We're excited to introduce you to the SFUSD Family Partnership model! It is a community garden: one where family members, school staff, students, and the larger community all come together to build and sustain multiple garden plots.
When we work together, we can cultivate a healthy and equitable system that promotes family partnership as an essential piece of student success.
You might be thinking: okay, but why a garden? A few years ago, a team of family partnership practitioners interviewed stakeholders (inclusive of families, school staff and CBOs) and asked, "What do you think of when you think of family partnership?" The image that resonated most with all stakeholders was a community garden.
Here, we have people of varying ages, races, genders and job titles working together to make sure our garden flourishes! What do you see when you look at this garden?
Family Partnership Best Practices Link to this section
Anti-Racist Family Partnership Google classroom
When we authentically partner with our students’ families, and when we use an anti-racist stance, we transform our practice, move away from the status quo and promote educational equity-- all in support of student success. Click below to register for the "Family Partnership 101" Google Classroom. Join the class with class code nhnkv6d
Check out more Family Partnership resources here!
Parent-Teacher Conferences, "Enrollment Season," and lots of holidays are comin' up. Want to know how to move through the next few months using a family partnership lens? Click below!
Please reach out to familypartnerships@sfusd.edu if you have any questions, need any support, or would like to see additional resources.
This page was last updated on January 10, 2024