2021 Partnership District & Organization Award Winners

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Three districts and two organizations earned 2021 Partnership Awards from the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University.

District leaders are recognized for guiding schools’ Action Teams for Partnerships (ATPs) to develop, implement, evaluate, and continually improve their programs, plans, and practices of school, family, and community partnerships.  Organizations in NNPS have broader agendas to guide district leaders to work with their own schools to build stronger partnership programs.  This year, the two organizations that earned awards are located at universities. They offer coursework and training workshops to help many educators in and beyond their geographic boundaries to better understand and implement research-based programs of school, family, and community partnerships.

In their applications for awards, district and organization leaders must show that they are linking official policies for partnerships with the guidance, information, and materials they provide for excellent and equitable programs of family and community engagement. They work to (1) increase awareness of and commitment to family and community engagement, (2) align district and school programs of partnerships with official policies, (3) provide training for program development, (4) share knowledge, (5) celebrate successes, and (6) evaluate progress.

Award applicants also submitted their annual Leadership Plans for Partnerships. Repeat winners must show how they improve their programs over time to promote sustainable programs (not just isolated activities) of family and community engagement for student success.

The district and organization activities (below) and others are reported in greater detail in the NNPS collection, Promising Partnership Practices 2021 at www.partnershipschools.org in the section Success Stories. Guidelines for district and organization leadership are in Chapter 7 of Epstein, et al., (2019). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, Fourth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press