Family Engagement in Education: Strategies for Success

Karen L. Mapp serves as Professor of Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she has revolutionized approaches to family engagement in education. After earning her doctorate from Harvard Graduate School of Education, master's in Counselor Education from Southern Connecticut State University, and bachelor's in Psychology from Trinity College, she established herself as a leading authority on family-school partnerships. Her groundbreaking work includes developing the Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships in 2013, which has been adopted by hundreds of districts across the United States and internationally. As a consultant to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement from 2011 to 2013, she helped shape national policy on family engagement. Her influential publications span two decades, including "Beyond the Bake Sale," "Partners in Education," and most recently "Everyone Wins!" Her framework emphasizes relational trust as the foundation for effective family-school partnerships, leading to the creation of designated family engagement positions in districts nationwide. Through her EdX course and professional development programs, she has reached over 43,000 educators globally. As a founding member of the District Leaders Network on Family and Community Engagement and board member of NAFSCE, she continues to advocate for meaningful partnerships between families and schools to support student achievement and school improvement.