edWeb.net and Schoolwires announce a new online professional learning community to support parent involvement and community engagement in K-12

In schools where there is strong parent involvement and community engagement, children tend to do better academically, stay in school longer, and like school more as well. Each school plays a critical role in determining the level of involvement of its parents and other community members. Education leaders can build stronger relationships with everyone who contributes to their schools by learning best practices from peers and experts. An online professional learning community is an effective tool for bringing education leaders together to learn these skills.

edWeb.net and Schoolwires have created Parent Involvement & Community Engagement in K-12, a free professional learning community (PLC) where school leaders can learn how to improve parent communications and better involve their communities as partners in school decisions that affect students and families. The new PLC gives district and school administrators, teachers, and parents a forum to post questions, start discussions, and get feedback from peers and experts on all aspects of family engagement and its positive effects on student achievement.

The Parent Involvement & Community Engagement in K-12 PLC is part of edWeb.net, a professional learning and social network for the education community. This PLC provides free webinars that share research and resources to help K-12 leaders become more knowledgeable about the power of family and community engagement and its positive impacts on student achievement. Educators receive a CE Certificate for attending a live webinar or for viewing a recording. The PLC also hosts online discussions for educators to share ideas, practices, and examples of improving and expanding parent involvement and community engagement in K-12 schools. Parent Involvement & Community Engagement in K-12 is a growing PD hub with webinar archives, CE quizzes, and support materials that can be accessed at anytime, anywhere.

Schoolwires is dedicated to K-12 education, and to the people who are part of every local school community – students, families, teachers, administrators, and supporters of education. Their mobile and web-based solutions are expressly designed to foster student, teacher, and parent engagement. Today, more than 10 million users in the U.S. and China rely on Schoolwires content management system, mobile solutions, and safe collaborative learning community to drive engagement in the classroom, locally, and across the globe.

“The Schoolwires community is off to a great start. This is our first community that addresses parent involvement which is so important for student success,” said Lisa Schmucki, founder and CEO of edWeb.net. “We are delighted to launch this effort with Schoolwires and to help them reach school leaders and parent involvement coordinators.”

Schoolwires’ Chief Executive Officer, Christiane Crawford added, “Schoolwires is committed to helping every K-12 community reach its optimal level of engagement. Parent Involvement & Community Engagement in K-12 is a valuable resource that enables us to lead, share and contribute to important conversations between parents, teachers and K-12 leaders.”

The community’s next live, interactive webinar is on Wednesday, October 8 at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. School administrators and leaders can register here for “Then and Now: Developing Programs of Family and Community Involvement for Student Success,” led by Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., Director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University.

Past webinars are archived for on-demand viewing in the community’s growing webinar library. Available sessions include “Avoiding Student Brain Drain: 3 Powerful Ways to Inspire Student Learning,” “Don’t Quit! Improving Your District’s Community Engagement & Communication Is Possible,” and “Boosting School-to-Home Connections: Proven Strategies & Tactics.”

Education leaders are invited join the free Parent Involvement & Community Engagement in K-12 professional learning community on edWeb to stay informed about upcoming webinars, join in discussions with peers and experts, and gain access to valuable resources.