Family Partnerships

Developing strong partnerships with families is crucial for fostering student learning and achieving developmental outcomes. Collaborative efforts between schools and families play a pivotal role in providing students with the necessary support, both at home and in educational settings. The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) and Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP) define partnerships in terms of family engagement as a “collaborative relationship between families, educators, providers, and partners to support and improve the learning, development, and health of every learner.”

To learn more about Family Partnerships, please view the "Family Involvement or Family Partnerships One-Pager"

MiFamily Partnership Assessment

The MiFamily Partnership Assessment (https://mimtssta.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ahFiLudLJaSF3QW) is a pair of practical tools for schools that want to build and maintain partnerships with families. The primary purpose of the assessment is to help school staff and families understand their strengths together and find ways to improve their partnership practices. The Family Version and School Staff Version are designed to be used together, not in isolation. This tool is specifically designed to help schools identify strategies to enhance relationships with families, aligning with ongoing school improvement efforts.

To access the MiFamily Partnership Assessment and related information, please complete the MiFamily Partnership Assessment Interest Form.

We offer several professional learning sessions designed to meet the needs of educators and families in various roles. Family Partnership sessions are available on an ongoing basis and can be found on the professional learning page. 

Family-Focused Sessions

  • Literacy as a Life Skill
  • Sources of Reading Difficulties
  • Reading Assessments to Inform Children’s Assets and Needs
  • MDE’s Dyslexia Guidance
  • Busting Barriers to Partnering with Schools around Literacy
  • Supporting Older Children with Reading Needs

Educator-Focused Sessions

  • Family Partnerships: Foundations and Principles
  • Family Partnerships and MTSS
  • Strengthening Family Partnerships with the MiFamily Assessment Tool
  • Improving Attendance through Family Partnerships
  • Family Partnerships and Literacy
  • Family Partnerships and Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Health (SEBH)
  • Busting Barriers to Partnering with Families
  • Family Partnerships for District and School Administrators
  • Family Partnerships and Multilingual Learners
  • Culturally Supportive Family Partnerships
  • Family Partnerships for Middle and High School

Microlearning

Microlearning is an approach to learning new information in small chunks at a time. Typically, microlearning sessions are under ten minutes and can take as little as one minute to complete. Check out the microlearning opportunities related to Family Partnerships on the microlearning page of the MiMTSS TA Center’s website. 

On-Demand Courses

Check out the self-paced, on-demand courses offered via the EduPaths page of the MiMTSS TA Center's website.