Parents as Allies: Unlocking the "How" Behind Family-School Partnerships

Parents as Allies is all about unlocking the how behind family-school partnerships—moving from why family-school engagement matters to the practical steps that make it work. Through research, real stories, tested strategies, and lessons learned, we explore ways schools and families can build trust, strengthen relationships, and work together to support every child’s success.

Join us at the Heinz History Center for a special three-part day of learning and collaboration. You’re welcome to join us for the full day or select the sessions that work best for you:

• 10:00–11:30 a.m. | Gallery Showcase
  Stroll through a showcase of schools currently working with Parents as Allies. Discover innovative family-school engagement strategies and hear directly from educators and parents about what works—and why. Drop in anytime during this session. Showcase participants include the following school districts: Ambridge Area, Avonworth, Baldwin-Whitehall, Burrell, California Area, Crawford Central, Duquense City, Monessen City, New Brighton Area, New Castle Area, Northgate, South Fayette and more.
• 12:00–1:00 p.m. | Lunch & Learn
  Enjoy lunch while hearing from keynote presenter Emily Morris, an family-school engagement expert from The Brookings Institution, who will share insights from the latest research on how schools and families can build relational trust that lasts, including the 7 elements that can influence relational trust.
• 1:30–3:00 p.m. | Interactive Workshop
  Take part in a hands-on workshop designed to help you begin or deepen family-school engagement in your own organization. Explore new research from southwestern PA and gain practical tools, using human-centered design, that you can put into action right away. Tools include constructivist listening, empathy interviews, design levers for "hacks" and more.

Read more about each session below. All sessions are free, but registration is required. When you register, you will be asked which sessions you plan to attend. Please register by 12pm on Friday, October 24, 2025.

We are grateful to The Grable Foundation for their support for Parents as Allies.

Info: Across southwestern PA, 44 school teams have partnered with Parents as Allies to experiment with innovative family-school engagement strategies. This showcase invites you to walk through their work, explore their strategies, hear their stories, and learn directly from fellow school partners about how they are building trust and strengthening connections between families and schools. Showcase participants include the following school districts: Ambridge Area, Avonworth, Baldwin-Whitehall, Burrell, California Area, Crawford Central, Duquense City, Monessen City, New Brighton Area, New Castle Area, Northgate, South Fayette and more.

Info: Trust is essential for ensuring that education systems effectively meet the needs of learners, families, schools, and communities. When families feel heard and see themselves reflected in school culture and decision-making, their trust in schools grows. In this session, you’ll learn about the Relational Trust Scale developed by the Center for Universal Education, explore the 7 key elements of trust that support strong family-school partnerships, and discover how your school can participate in a "quick pulse" relational trust survey launching in southwestern PA in partnership with Parents as Allies. Learn more about relational trust here: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/strengthening-trust-in-schools-and-communities/

Info: In this interactive workshop, learn about how to build family, school, and community engagement through research and practice. We begin by looking at our own beliefs about the purpose of school and identifying barriers to strong partnerships. Find out how to break barriers through deep listening exercises and empathy interviews. Participants will learn strategies for positioning families as partners and how schools in southwestern PA use human-centered design to collaborate and co-create. Tools include constructivist listening, empathy interviews, design levers for "hacks" and more. And, hear from a school administrator how strong partnerships support students across ages and communities.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Senator John Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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