Engage Every Family: Five Simple Principles

Reach beyond theory and engage every family in student success

Family engagement increases student achievement but how do schools connect with families who don’t participate yet? Educators can easily become frustrated trying to reach the disconnected and often fall back to engaging the already engaged. How can you involve the entire school community in a positive way? 

Dr. Steve Constantino, known for his experience and sound teaching on family engagement, believes you can and promises far more than easy answers and theory to make it so. This book shows you how to bring real shifts to your culture through steps, reflections, and diligent effort. Simple logic models and best practice case studies will reveal: 

• How and where family engagement breaks down, and
• How to create a truly inviting culture for successful community and family partnerships

Introduce this field book as a springboard for professional development and watch family engagement strategies improve student outcomes in your school or district.

"Veteran teachers will note that the ideas and strategies come from someone who has been in the classroom and understands the different types of teachers that will be on any school staff. Strategies are presented in a manageable format and within reasonable time constraints. It is a practical fieldbook that will be easy for teachers to use."

Dana Leonard, Exceptional Children’s Teacher

Ledford High School, Thomasville, NC

"In my work with nearly 400 public school systems across the country, spanning a dozen years, I have witnessed and experienced a wide range of issues, hurdles and home run ideas on the subject of Family Engagement. In this book Steve brings them all - and I really mean all - together. He has woven a narrative that is at once funny and profound, anchored in research yet ready for practical implementation. Without family engagement, America′s public schools risk obsolescence and without our public schools, our democracy will lose the foundation upon which it stands. Steve′s book will inspire every educator and then arm them with step by step directions to re-vitalize our schools."
Suhail Farooqui, CEO of K-12 Insight

For over twenty-five years, Dr. Steve Constantino has captivated thousands of teachers, administrators, school board members, and businesspeople from the United States and around the world. His keynote presentations and workshops have been featured in local, state, regional, national, and international conferences. Working as a high school principal in 1995, he stumbled across research about the effects of family engagement on student learning and was immediately convinced that this was the missing ingredient in helping all children learn.

Steve’s work quickly gained national prominence, and soon he began traveling the United States, speaking, and working with all types of educators, school board members, and businesses to promote sound practices in family engagement that result in increased academic achievement for all students. His natural gifts as a motivating orator, coupled with his knowledge and practical experience, make him one of the most sought-after speakers in the field of family engagement.

Steve began his career as an instrumental music teacher and later became an assistant principal, principal, deputy superintendent, and district superintendent. Steve is the former chief academic officer and acting superintendent of public instruction for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, Steve is an executive professor at the William & Mary School of Education where he teachers in the Education Policy, Planning and Leadership department and continues to travel the globe helping schools, districts, and organizations to engage every family.