The Family-School Partnership: An Opportunity to Promote the Learning Competence of All Students

Abstract

In this article, family—school partnerships are discussed as a viable and essential way to increase the opportunities and supports for all students to enhance their learning progress and meet the recent demands of schooling inherent in accountability systems and most notably of Title I No Child Left Behind legislation. School psychologists are encouraged to make the family-school partnership a priority by collaborating with school personnel to (a) apply principles from systems-ecological theory to children's learning; (b) maintain an opportunity-oriented, persistent focus when working with youth and families living in challenging situations; and (c) attend to the process of partnering with families. Example opportunities for school psychologists to make this partnership a priority for children's academic, social, and emotional learning are delineated.