September 2026

Honoring the Transformational Legacy of Dr. Joyce Epstein

The passing of Dr. Joyce Epstein on August 11th marks a profound loss for the field of family engagement. Her contributions span both theory and practice. In the early 1990's she developed the Six Types of Involvement framework, which gave the field a shared vocabulary for understanding and categorizing family engagement work. In 1991 she co-founded the International Network of Scholars on School, Family, and Community Partnerships to connect researchers from multiple disciplines to share quantitative and qualitative studies, and improve student learning through robust school-family-community-ties. Then in 1995, she founded the National Network of Partnership Schools, which grew to support more than 5,000 schools and hundreds of districts and organizations in building research-based partnership programs. Throughout, she pushed to connect research, policy, and practice — insisting that evidence be translated out of academic journals and into real school programs. She backed this up with a prolific body of scholarship, authoring more than 150 publications, including the widely used Handbook for Action and a textbook that trained generations of future teachers and administrators, and her impact was recognized with an AERA Fellowship and the Elizabeth Cohen Distinguished Career Award.

Messages from CA-FEN Members & Partners
 

“Dr. Epstein established family engagement as a legitimate area of study— answering the foundational question of what it is and offering strategies to the more practical question of how to do it well. Every family engagement researcher and practitioner stands on Dr. Epstein’s work.” - Araceli Simeón, CA-FEN.

“A brilliant career, Dr. Joyce Epstein showed us the path before many others could see it, demonstrating what meaningful, practical family support for learning at home could look like. Her work inspired many of us to move beyond theory and focus on what families and educators could actually do together to support learning. I am especially grateful that, while I was still a doctoral student, Dr. Epstein graciously took the time to review my early ideas and drafts of Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT). I will always be grateful for her inspiration and for the path she helped illuminate for so many of us.” - Dr. Maria Paredes, Creator and Designer of APTT

"Dr. Epstein opened the door for families to see that being involved in their children’s education is much more than attending events, receiving information, or volunteering at school. Her “Six Types of Family Involvement” framework helped families and educators recognize the many ways parents and caregivers can participate in their children’s learning and contribute to student success.


Perhaps one of the most powerful aspects of her work was her emphasis on partnership and collaboration. Dr. Epstein demonstrated that families should not simply be recipients of information or services; they can be active participants in creating solutions, serving on action teams, contributing their voices, and working alongside educators and school leaders to improve outcomes for children.” - Antoinette “Toni” Hernandez, STEP Engagement Coaching

“As a former educator, CEO, and family engagement practitioner who has worked with schools, districts, families, and communities—including through federal grant-funded initiatives—I have witnessed firsthand the lasting impact of her work.


Her work strengthened school climate, increased family confidence and leadership, and fostered collaboration among educators, families, and communities. Her influence also shaped my own work and I am especially honored to say that her influence is reflected in my book, The Art of Engaging Families: A Resource Guide Featuring a TRUE Partnership Approach, where her ideas helped shape the work done throughout the field.


Dr. Joyce Epstein leaves a legacy that will continue to inspire educators, family engagement professionals, and families for generations to come.” - Dr. Maria S. Quezada
 

CA-FEN UPDATES

RESEARCH

THANK YOU...


...For generously promoting the survey in your newsletters and workshops. Your support helped us reach families across the state.



CABE

California State PTA

CA PFL

Community

Engagement Initiative

The Knowledge Shop

Parent Organization Network

ParentsCAN

PIQE

State Transformational Assistance Center

STEP Engagement Coaching

FAMILY SURVEY PROGRESS


As of today, we have collected 1219 responses!

88% of our responses are from Latino parents. Every single response is welcome. At the same time, we need everyone's support reaching families in other racial/ethnic communities as well. Please continue forwarding the survey to groups or contacts. Reaching others via text works as well!


To access the survey, visit our website: www.ca-fen.org, or click for the survey in the language you prefer here:


The links are the following:




The survey closes on 9/30. If you are a parent, please complete the survey as well!
 

NETWORK

JOIN US AT THE CA-FEN 2026 ANNUAL CONVENING


The Heising-Simons Foundation is generously sponsoring our 2026 Annual Convening, From Seeds to Movement: Connecting Our Voices and Power for Change in San Diego at the Town and Country Resort. On Tuesday,10/27 we will be reviewing and discussing preliminary family survey results and teacher prep program survey results. On 10/28 we will be developing policy recommendations for a policy campaign. There is no registration cost to attend this convening and coalition meeting. If interested, please register here so we can plan accordingly.

 

For more information, please visit our website at www.ca-fen.org

CA-FEN is a project of Charitable Ventures

California Family Engagement Network | 747 PO Box | Walnut, CA 91788 US

Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice

Constant Contact