Preparing Educators to Engage Families and Communities

Join AACTE to explore the collaborative outcomes, evaluation tools, and practices for integrating family and community engagement into educator preparation developed and supported by NAFSCE.Description/Outcomes:

As part of a larger initiative created to reimagine how educators are prepared for family and community engagement, the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) supported nine dynamic collaboratives of faculty, families, communities, and schools, from across the country to redesign coursework and clinical experiences to make them more family-centered.  Join AACTE for part two of the AACTE Lunch &Learn series to learn about the outcomes of each of these collaboratives, the evaluation tools  used, and the promising teaching and learning practices that emerged for infusing family and community engagement into educator preparation programs.

Watch part one of the series here and learn more about the work in a commentary from the latest issue of the Journal of Teacher Education.

Speakers:

Margaret Caspe, Ph.D.
Senior Research Consultant
National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE)

Margaret Caspe, Ph.D., is a senior research consultant at the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE). She co-leads NAFSCE’s initiative to reimagine how family-facing professionals are prepared for family and community engagement.  Over the past 25 years, she has studied how partnerships among families, schools, and communities influence children’s development in a variety of areas, including language and literacy, bilingualism, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Before joining NAFSCE, Caspe worked with the Global Family Research Project and Harvard Family Research Project where she developed tools to support faculty in developing courses on family engagement topics and oversaw a project to amplify family engagement in public libraries. She is co-editor of the recent book “Family and Community Partnerships: Promising Practices for Teachers and Teacher Educators,” and author of a variety of articles published in journals such as Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Public Library Quarterly, School Community Journal, Childhood Education, and Young Children. Margaret earned her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from New York University, where she currently teaches courses as an adjunct faculty member.

Reyna Hernandez, J.D.
Senior Director of Research and Policy
National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE)

Reyna Hernandez is NAFSCE’s senior director of research and policy. She is a longtime community advocate who supports education, leadership development, and capacity-building in the Latino community. Before joining NAFSCE, Reyna worked as the community wellness director at Latinos Progresando. She also provides strategic support to nonprofits, startups, and school districts independently and as a changemaker with Innovare SIP. She is an adjunct faculty at DePaul University, teaching on issues of Latinos, English learners, and education. Reyna previously served as an assistant superintendent at ISBE for five years, overseeing the Division of English Language Learners, early childhood, and family and community engagement efforts. Her previous experiences include research and policy associate at the Latino Policy Forum, community education parent facilitator at Waukegan CUSD 60, and educational director and trustee at the National Hispanic Institute. She graduated with her juris doctorate from New York Law School and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.