Why & How
Why Do We Do It
Perhaps the most important question for many parents is, "why?" Why does Families and Schools Together® exist, and who funds it? We are a nonprofit, 501c3 organization that operates like a business. We develop and distribute unique programs to help parents and children. Our mission comes from our founder, Dr. Lynn McDonald, who realized in 1988 that many of the services available to help families improve the lives of their children were not working.
The reason was not the availability of services or the knowledge of how to improve parenting, or how to create a better learning environment. Dr. McDonald discovered that there were specific reasons kids do not achieve their potential, and that even the most well-meaning parents need help on occasion. She developed a program based on specific scientific research that revealed many of the direct causes of risk to kids and under performance at school.
How Do We Do It
With the help of many people from the best universities, like the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), and from school principals, teachers, guidance counselors, and from donors, as well as federal and state grants, we built both a set of award-winning programs as well as a way to bring them to you.
After years of development and testing in schools throughout the US and Canada, the programs she created have been used to improve parenting and child learning around the world.
- We develop and distribute unique programs to help parents and children
- Equip families with tools to assist their kids from making bad decisions as they grow up
She felt it was critically important to find a way to be able as many people as possible to learn the principles of personal achievement and how to surround your kids with protective factors. As a result, our premise is that most parents love their children and want what's best for them. But that on occasion everyone needs help to improve family functioning and protect their kids from making bad decisions as they grow up.
Families and Schools Together Inc. is the business that makes it all happen. Our value to local service providers is funded primarily by the revenue we receive for program distribution and quality assurance. We also accept donations from individuals and foundations. Your local service providers are likewise funded by grants from public and private sources, and private donors. A network of volunteers helps families participate in our programs. We are governed by a board of directors that includes some very smart and dedicated people from research, clinical, and business backgrounds. Board members give their time to guide our company so we can achieve our mission. Thank you for looking into us and for learning how we can help you and the kids of your community.
FAST mom, Pennsylvania