Scholastic will be hosting what looks like a very useful Google Hangout on family engagement. Here’s how they describe it:

Wed, Oct 8, 5:00 PM – 5:40 PM
Hangouts On Air – Broadcast for free

Join us for a Scholastic Mini-PD session focused on “Family and Community Engagement Practices that Raise Achievement.”

Through this 40-minute, interactive panel discussion, you will:
1) Learn about the U.S. Department of Education’s new “Dual-Capacity Framework” for family and community engagement.
2) Hear from one of the country’s top researchers and experts on how schools can create family and community engagement programs that drive academic achievement.
3) Take away tangible advice and ideas to implement in your school and community this year.

About the panelists:

–Dr. Karen L. Mapp is the senior lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-author of the U.S. DOE Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Mapp’s research and practice focus has been on the cultivation of partnerships among families, community members, and educators that support student achievement and school improvement. Dr. Mapp has partnered with Scholastic FACE (Family and Community Engagement) to co-author Scholastic Literacy Events – a new research-based event kit that provides educators with strategies and practices to engage families in activities that maximize student reading and writing success.

–Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell is the Director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U.S. Department of Education.

–Karine Apollon is Vice President and General Manger of the Scholastic Classroom and Community Group where she oversees the company’s Family & Community Engagement (FACE) programs and partnerships.