2019 Partnership District Award Winners

Home » Success Stories » NNPS Partnership Awards » 2019 Partnership Award Winners » 2019 Partnership District Award Winners

Three districts earned 2019 Partnership District Awards from the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University. They are recognized for having expert district-level leaders who guide school-based Action Teams for Partnerships (ATPs) to build their capacities to work with their own students’ families.  The districts and their schools develop, implement, evaluate, and continually improve research-based, goal-linked programs of school, family, and community partnerships.

The award-winning districts help schools at all grade levels welcome all families.  They guide schools to plan and conduct goal-linked family and community engagement activities that contribute to student achievement in specific subjects, attendance, behavior, health, postsecondary planning, and other indicators of success in school.

Applications for an award require evidence of district-level leadership activities to increase awareness of the district’s commitment to family and community involvement, align programs with district policies for school improvement, share knowledge, celebrate successes, and improve family and community engagement in other ways. The leaders also must report how they directly facilitate schools’ ATPs to strengthen their programs of family and community engagement. The activities are included in the districts’ annual Leadership Plans for Partnerships (also submitted).  Repeat award-winning districts must show how they improved their programs over time and scaled up the number and/or quality of school-based partnership programs.  District leadership is guided by the NNPS book: Epstein, J. L., et al. (2019). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, Fourth Edition.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

The reports from award-winning districts show that leaders can develop and continually improve essential elements of partnership programs: leadership, teamwork, written plans, facilitated action, funding, evaluations, support from colleagues, and networking with NNPS and others. Some district-level leadership activities are included in Promising Partnership Practices 2019.