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3.01.2025

Increasing Student Success through Family Engagement: Nevada’s Plan for Family Engagement

Imagine a world where every child has the educational support they need to succeed - not just from teachers, but also from their families and entire communities. That’s the power of family engagement! 

When families, schools, and communities work together, students thrive. With strong supports, students develop stronger learning skills, build confidence, and create positive relationships that help them inside and outside the classroom.

Family engagement isn’t just about attending parent-teacher conferences or helping with homework. It’s about making sure all families, no matter what their background, language, or financial situation have access to the resources and support needed to be active in their child’s learning journey.

Why Family Engagement Matters

The Nevada Department of Education (NDE) understands family and community engagement is a key part of student success. When families participate in their child’s education, students perform better, earning higher grades, have better attendance, and face fewer behavior challenges. 

Plus, family engagement helps students develop important social and emotional skills, like teamwork and perseverance, while also strengthening the overall school community.

Nevada’s Big Plan for Family Engagement

In January 2024, NDE launched a family engagement initiative through the Nevada Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5). This initiative aims to strengthen family engagement across Nevada, from birth through 12th grade, by updating the Nevada Birth through Grade 12 Family Engagement Framework, the statewide definition of family engagement, and the development of a toolkit that helps families, schools, and communities work together to support children’s education.

To achieve this, the Nevada Birth through Grade 12 Family Engagement Framework Advisory Committee was created, bringing together families, school professionals, and community stakeholders. 

From January to October 2024, this committee met monthly to revise the family engagement definition, improve the framework, and enhance the toolkit to ensure a shared vision for family engagement across the state.

A Fresh Definition of Family Engagement

One of the biggest accomplishments of the Advisory Committee was redefining what family engagement means in Nevada. Here’s the revised definition:

“Family engagement is a joint partnership involving families, communities and schools
ensuring equitable access to necessary resources for successful collaboration
in children’s development for education and lifelong learning.”

This new definition highlights family engagement as a true partnership. Families, educators, and communities must work together to give children the best possible opportunities. The new definition also ensures families from all backgrounds have the resources needed to be involved in their child’s education.

A Framework for Everyone

One of the key decisions made by the Advisory Committee was to divide the Family Engagement Framework into three main sections:

1. Families: Providing guidance on how families can actively support their children’s learning.
2. Educators & School Staff: Helping teachers and school staff create welcoming environments for families.
3. Community & Partner Organizations: Encouraging businesses, nonprofits, and community groups to support family engagement efforts.

By breaking the framework into sections, Nevada is ensuring that everyone understands that they have a role in supporting children’s education. Think of it as building a bridge, without all parts working together, the connection wouldn’t be strong!

What’s Next? The Advisory Committee’s Recommendations

While updating the framework and toolkit, the Advisory Committee came up with several recommendations to make sure families and communities can easily access these resources. The following are recommendations made by the committee.

1. Develop an interactive website where users can select their role (e.g., parent/family, teacher, counselor, administrator, community leader).
2. Schedule ongoing content updates and link maintenance to keep information current and avoid duplication.
3. Create engaging and accessible visual materials to improve availability and participation: flyers, infographics, and QR codes to streamline information access.
4.  Ensure transparency in decision-making with clear communication.
5. Provide all materials in languages spoken by Nevada families making the resources accessible by all. 

Guided by recommendations from the Advisory Committee, the Nevada Department of Education’s Office of Educator Development, Licensure, and Family Engagement (EDLiFE), in partnership with PDG B-5, is formatting the resources for a more user-friendly, inclusive, and effective family engagement framework. 

The final draft will be presented to the Advisory Committee in March 2025. This updated framework will provide a clear, comprehensive approach to family engagement from birth through 12th grade. 

Stay tuned for updates as Nevada continues to strengthen collaboration among families, schools, and communities to support children’s success.

Working Together for a Brighter Future

Family engagement is more than just checking homework and attending parent-teacher conferences. It’s about building strong connections between families, schools, and communities. When everyone works together, children have the best chance to succeed in school and in life.

Nevada’s new and improved Family Engagement Framework is a major step toward making sure all families have the tools and support they need. By creating partnerships, offering resources, and ensuring every family feels welcome, Nevada is building a brighter future for every child.

So, whether you’re a family member, teacher, or community leader, get involved, stay engaged, and be part of the movement to support our students. When families engage, everyone wins! Click here to follow PDGB5 initiatives and updates!