Department Awards Over $7 Million to Eight Organizations to Highlight Parent Voices and Support Families Informing Student Development and Academic Recovery

Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced awards totaling over $7 million to eight statewide organizations under the 2022 Competitive Grants for the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFEC) program, underscoring the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to enhance and increase parent and family engagement in local education. As the 2022-23 school year begins, and to help drive academic recovery, the Department is redoubling its commitment to providing states and communities with additional resources to support student learning and parental and family engagement.

These SFEC grants will provide financial support to organizations that offer technical assistance and training to state educational agencies and school districts that effectively engage families over policies, programs, and activities that lead to improvements in student development and academic achievement.

“Congratulations to these new grantees on their work to advance innovative approaches that promote strong parent and family engagement for the academic success of all students,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The voices of parents and families have never been more critical to the success of our education system. Parents are our children’s first and most influential teachers. We have an enduring commitment to parent and family engagement in all our work at the U.S. Department of Education. These new grantees exemplify the efforts we want to see across the country to improve our parent and family engagement.”

Today’s announcement comes while Secretary Cardona is participating in the Road to Success Bus Tour, a week-long, multi-state road trip that will show the many ways school communities are helping students recover and thrive – putting them on the road to success. On his stops today, he will be visiting a community school in Pennsylvania and will speak with parents about their role in supporting the academic success of their students.

The Biden-Harris Administration remains committed to elevating parent voices in education. Last month, the Department released a parent back-to-school checklist. The checklist helps parents, caregivers, and families engage with local school and district leaders about how they are supporting students as they recover from the impacts of the pandemic. This checklist elevates key evidence-based practices for supporting students’ learning and mental health, and ensuring the safety of students and staff, which districts are encouraged to implement using American Rescue Plan (ARP) and other COVID relief funds. Through the ARP, the Biden-Harris Administration provided states and school districts with $130 billion to help students recover, succeed, and thrive. Earlier this year, the Department launched the National Parents and Families Engagement Council to facilitate strong and effective relationships between schools and parents, families and caregivers

Today’s announcement reflects this year’s SFEC competition priorities, which emphasize addressing the impact of COVID and academic recovery, using cross agency partnerships to better coordinate support for children, and promoting equity in student access to education resources and opportunities.

The SFEC grants will help position these states to develop resources and other supports to foster parental and family involvement in the academic setting. These grants will enhance statewide collaborations and communication to further the commitment by all for the success of our children.

Statewide organizations or consortia in partnership with at least one State Education Agency, applied for these grants. More information about the SFEC program is here.

The statewide organization’s project titles, and award amounts are shown below: