Family Engagement
Family engagement is about increasing the involvement of family members and caretakers in afterschool and summer learning programs. Partnership and coordination between afterschool programs, school partners, and families are key to the academic, behavioral, and social success of our students. Beyond School Bells (BSB) is committed to supporting our partners to create thriving, active relationships between their program staff, families, and students where all are equally valued partners who are empowered to work together.
On this page you will find information on BSB’ family engagement centered grant offerings that are designed to meet programs where they are, a high-quality toolkit and workbook that offer a family engagement plan outline and provide a wealth of resources from our partners on the latest best practices around family engagement, and many other useful resources to help ensure your program has what it needs to build strong and lasting relationships with families in your community.
Family Engagement + STEM
We see best practices in family engagement and the world of STEM (Science, Technology Engineering & Math) as forming a powerhouse for high-quality ELO programming. Our grant packages provide avenues for programs to engage families through shared meals and fun STEM activities. We hope afterschool sites adapt our support in ways that meet their needs and abilities and that they integrate the practices into their norms of operation.
Using STEM as a family engagement platform provides opportunities to break through barriers between programs and families with fun, hands-on, productive activities and breaks through barriers between students and STEM career pathways by empowering caregivers to support their kids in ways they may not otherwise have felt equipped to do.
Family Engagement Resources
The professional development components of BSB' Family Engagement grants are built around the STEM Family Engagement Planning Tool and Workbook available below. If you would like to read more about how these tools have impacted programs both nationally and in the state of NE, check out the Family Engagement: Make it About Empowerment blog located here.
Family Engagement Grant Options
Beyond School Bells is excited to offer Family Engagement (FE) Mini-Grants beginning in July 2022 for summer and school year support. The purpose is to increase family engagement across NE programs in innovative and hands-on ways that reflect current best practices and a genuine desire for enriching family and community experiences.
