The FAST Institute provides training and coaching for family engagement professionals, educators, and staff to help schools create a welcoming environment for all families—particularly for BIPOC families and families living in poverty. It is designed to help, guide, and support participants to:
- Build a welcoming school climate and culture that values and respects families as partners
- Establish practices at both the classroom and school-wide levels which link family engagement to learning and academic success
- Engage families in culturally diverse settings and bridge racial, socioeconomic, and cultural differences through an asset-based approach
- Collaborate with families to create and implement activities and services and engage with community organizations to build partnerships
The institute blends best practices in teacher training and family and community engagement and applies an equity-focused approach. Training and coaching session topics, delivery (in-person or virtual), duration, and audience are all customizable to the needs of your school.
Components of FAST Institute
We have strategies that educators can use tomorrow to create stronger partnership with families, in support of student academic success and well-being.
Available topics for the 2024-25 school year include:
- Introduction to Family Engagement
- Strengthening Classroom Conditions
- Empowering Families at Parent-Teacher Conferences
- Creating a Welcoming School Climate
- Effective Communication Strategies
- Race, Class, Culture, Gender and Examining Implicit Bias
- Family Engagement and Advocacy
- Collaborating with the Community
- Evaluating and Sustaining Family Engagement Practices
- Family Engagement Introduction
- Welcoming Environment
- Virtual Engagement & COVID Challenges
- Parent-Teacher Conferences
- Strengthening Classrooms
- Advocacy & Power Sharing
- Race, Class, Culture & Implicit Bias
- Community Collaboration
- Evaluating & Sustaining Practices
- Additional Topics
During these sessions, facilitators/coaches and participants review key research, discuss best practices, and share tools and strategies school staff can use daily when working with families. Emphasis is on group discussion and hands-on approaches that build family-school partnership.
If you are interested in strengthening and customizing your family engagement practice, review our FAST Institute Playbook or contact us for more information. Explore our FAQs page to learn more.
Institute News 📌
- Preparing, supporting, and training educators to engage families with the FAST Institute“Is anyone else in here trained as a teacher?” Dr. Robyn Sperling, former school teacher and current Director of Research and Innovation at Families &… Read more: Preparing, supporting, and training educators to engage families with the FAST Institute
- Families & Schools Together among 10 organizations selected by the Carnegie Corporation for grantCarnegie Corporation of New York Names 10 Grant Recipients to Support Family Engagement Programs Philanthropic funding will advance new strategies to provide equitable learning for… Read more: Families & Schools Together among 10 organizations selected by the Carnegie Corporation for grant
- The FAST Institute partners with WEAC to support educators statewideFamilies & Schools Together is pleased to announce its first-ever partnership with the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC). WEAC, an affiliate of the National Education… Read more: The FAST Institute partners with WEAC to support educators statewide