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Family Engagement Strategies That Break Barriers and Build Bridges
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EDT
Presented by Dr. Marcia Russell, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services, Santa Cruz Office of Education; and Joan Brooks, Vice President of Sales, Blue Star Education
Sponsored by Blue Star Education
Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.
Strong family engagement can transform student learning, but making it happen in everyday life isn’t always easy. In this edWebinar, we begin by clarifying the difference between family involvement and family engagement. While involvement often means families participate in school-organized activities, true engagement happens when families and educators work together as equal partners to support student success.
From there, we explore real-world examples where efforts to engage families didn’t go as planned and the lessons learned from these experiences. We then dive into practical, easy-to-implement strategies that help families move beyond involvement to authentic engagement in their child’s learning journey. You discover ways to turn everyday routines into meaningful learning opportunities and build habits that strengthen students’ confidence and understanding.
By examining real-world missteps, clarifying key concepts, and applying proven solutions, you leave with a toolkit of ideas to increase authentic family engagement and support student success. Whether you’re a teacher in the classroom or an administrator supporting schoolwide efforts, you come away with strategies to build authentic family partnerships that boost student learning. This recorded edWebinar is of interest to PreK-8 teachers, school leaders, district leaders, and family engagement leaders.
About the Presenters
Dr. Marcia Russell has served in education for over 30 years in North Carolina, Arizona, and California in rural, urban, and suburban settings. She was a teacher for ten years before serving as a principal and district administrator. Currently, Dr. Russell serves as Associate Superintendent, Educational Services at Santa Cruz County Office of Education in California. Dr. Russell was also a consultant working in schools across the country supporting districts with instructional initiatives to improve outcomes for students. Community engagement, and especially welcoming parents as partners in education, has been central to Dr. Russell’s work in education.
Joan Brooks is the Vice President of Sales at Blue Star Education, where she partners with school districts nationwide to strengthen the school-to-home connection through innovative family engagement resources. With deep experience across the K–12 education landscape, Joan is passionate about supporting the vital work happening inside schools and ensuring families are active partners in student learning.
Joan holds an Executive MBA from the University of Nebraska Omaha and a Bachelor of Science in elementary education with a minor in early childhood development. This unique combination of classroom experience and business strategy has fueled her career in education leadership and sales, where she develops processes and coaches teams that help districts extend learning beyond the classroom and create meaningful engagement for families.
Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.
Join the Community & Family Engagement community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.
At Blue Star Education, we create supplemental curriculum materials designed to motivate students to actively build the skills they need to succeed in every subject area. We understand the unique challenges educators face and the critical role families play in supporting student learning, which is why we prioritize creating resources that strengthen the connection between school and home.
Whether it’s through engaging activities, hands-on learning tools, or family-friendly resources, our goal is to foster a love of learning and to encourage meaningful family involvement. We are proud to be a company that champions parental and family engagement, equipping families to take an active role in the educational journey of their children. Together, we can shape confident, curious, and capable learners, ensuring that every child has the support and resources to excel both academically and personally.
