Training & Capacity Building
Build authentic family-school partnerships that advance student learning!
Students do better academically when schools and families work together, but too often that partnership is missing. Research shows that strong family engagement is linked to improved student achievement and school performance.
Families In Schools (FIS) provides training, coaching, and learning experiences that help schools and communities build stronger, more meaningful partnerships with families. We support families, educators, and system leaders in building trust, sharing responsibility, and using practical tools that can make a difference right away.
FIS offers:
- Training and coaching for educators on family engagement.
- Assessment of current efforts via site visits and focus groups.
- Workshops for families/caregivers on supporting children at home and advocating for them at school.
Ready to build a training plan that fits your community? Schedule a free 30-minute consultation, and we’ll help you identify the right approach that’s realistic, relational, and aligned to learning.
Our approach is built for real schools, real families, and real time constraints:
Linked to learning: We center family engagement strategies that connect directly to student learning and school improvement.
Asset-based and culturally-responsive: We honor the strengths, languages, and lived expertise families bring.
Practical and implementation-ready: Every session includes tools, facilitation strategies, and next steps teams can use immediately.
Customized to your context: We tailor trainings and coaching to your goals, community, and conditions.
Free, Engaging, & Impactful Webinars
Families In Schools offers free webinars on effective family engagement on topics such as strengthening family-teacher communication, leveraging family engagement to improve literacy, and building welcoming school communities.
Stay Notified on Future Webinars
Experience high-impact learning, accessible to busy teams. FIS webinars are designed to deliver a strong learning arc with practical application. Sessions typically include content, reflection, and a short clinic-style segment where participants can troubleshoot real scenarios and leave with next steps.
Currently, FIS has an ongoing series—Family Engagement, Reimagined—that will hold webinars each month on various family engagement topics so you can learn strategies that you can implement in your district or school.
Training, Coaching, & Technical Assistance for Schools & Districts
FIS partners with schools, districts, and community organizations to strengthen adult capacity, shift mindsets, and implement practices that build trust and shared responsibility for student outcomes.
Available Trainings & Technical Assistance
Turn family engagement into a measurable, authentic strategy for school improvement and professional development.
Explore our trainings, with options like:
- Professional learning modules that teach research-based strategies to improve student success through family engagement.
- Coaching and strategic planning that support implementation aligned to strategic goals, timelines, and funding.
- Family engagement site visits that generate a strengths-based assessment with practical recommendations.
- Focus groups and listening sessions that provide facilitation and synthesis to elevate family voice and guide action.
“Our trainings and coaching help teams move beyond one-time engagement efforts and build stronger, more meaningful partnerships with families. We focus on practical strategies, reflection, and real implementation support so educators leave with tools they can use right away.”
— Ashley Johnson, Director of Training and Capacity Building
“The most useful thing I would take away from this training is that we have to be intentional [with] the families we have in our schools and find the best practices to help them be more engaged in our schools and with their children.”
— Mindsets Matters participant from Bright Star Schools
“This training should be accessible for all community schools; the tangible data and rubrics on family engagement are so useful. Thank you for this great information!”
— Creating a Welcoming Environment participant from NYCPS
Workshops for Families & Caregivers
FIS works with families at contracted schools, districts, and community organizations to build caregivers’ knowledge, confidence, and tools in supporting learning at home and partnering effectively with schools.
Available Family-Centered Workshop Offerings
Bring us to your school or organization to support families with workshops that are interactive, strengths-based learning experiences.
Explore our workshops that detail topics like:
- Early literacy at home
- Parent advocacy
- Social-emotional learning
- Growth mindset
- Transitions to middle school, high school, and college
- AI in education
“Our workshops are built to support families with clear information, practical tools, and affirming learning spaces. We believe families already hold deep wisdom, and our role is to help strengthen confidence, connection, and action.”
— LaToya Smith, Senior Curriculum and Training Associate
“Today’s training was extremely helpful and insightful! It taught me that you don’t have to be a teacher to teach your children how to read. By communicating and having conversations with your child about their reading, you are helping with their literacy development.”
— Science of Reading Module participant from LAUSD
“This session gave me a lot more knowledge about all the different early literacy skills, like phonemic awareness and fluency. With easy daily routines at home, we can support children’s literacy and make them stronger readers.”
— Science of Reading Module participant from LAUSD
Trusted by Education & Community Partners
FIS works alongside public schools, charter schools, districts, nonprofits, community organizations, and more across Los Angeles and beyond to build equitable, sustainable family engagement that is practical, consistent, and connected to student learning.
Past & Current Partners
FIS has been proud to contract with multiple organizations throughout our history, including:
- Public school districts like Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), New York City Public Schools, Lynwood Unified School District, Hueneme School District, and San Leandro Unified School District.
- Charter school systems like Bright Star Schools, Ednovate, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, and KIPP SoCal Public Schools.
- Nonprofit organizations like the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), I Have a Dream Foundation, Alliance for a Better Community, NALEO Educational Fund, and Child Care Alliance of Los Angeles.