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2019 District Leaders Learning Lab- Philadelphia, PA

2019 District Leaders Learning Lab- Philadelphia, PA

The Institute for Educational Leadership’s Learning Labs are study tours hosted by a network member. They provide an opportunity for District Leaders to learn from peers who’ve successfully applied family and community engagement (FCE) strategies within their districts. Participants examine key structures and practices within a local context and connect with local partners, staff families and district leadership, sharing lessons learned and key challenges on the road to improving systemic family and community engagement.

Though each Learning Lab is slightly different, they all contain similar elements.  The 2019 Learning Lab was hosted by Philadelphia Public Schools on November 13-15, 2019. Participants learned from Executive Director of Family and Community Engagement Jenna Monley on how she reinvigorated interest in its family engagement programs and events, built stronger relationships among families, teachers, principals, and district administrators, and empowered families to take the lead in their child’s education. 

Participants learned about the transformation journey of the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Family and Community and Engagement, got a presentation from Read by 4th- a citywide collective impact approach can move the needle for students and families, attended site visits at our schools to experience their programs first-hand, and visited and toured the Crayola factory and learnt about how the FACE Office has forged a partnership in the private sector to support goals around literacy.