CT Family School Partnerships

📚 School 14 of 20 - Last month we visited Macdonough Elementary in Middletown! 🎉
Macdonough Elementary, you’re making it happen! 👏

You’re leading with commitment, inclusion, and intentionality, creating a space where every voice matters and true partnership thrives. Keep up the incredible work! 💙

The Welcoming Schools Toolkit is one of CFSP’s signature resources, designed to help schools build inclusive, relationship-centered communities by centering the voices of families, students, educators, and community members.

During each Welcoming Walkthrough, School Action Teams reflect on four key areas that shape the school experience:
✅ Physical Environment
✅ School-Wide Practices & Policies
✅ Culture & Climate
✅ Home-School Communication

Together, these elements create a space where every student and family feels seen, valued, and welcomed.

Swipe ➡️ to see the Macdonough Elementary team in action!

📚 School 13 of 20 – Last month we visited Wilbert Snow Elementary in Middletown! 🎉
Wilbert Snow Elementary, you are leading with heart! 💛

You’re showing how strong relationships and intentional practices create a school where everyone belongs. Thank you for building a welcoming, connected community!

The Welcoming Schools Toolkit is one of CFSP’s signature resources, designed to help schools build inclusive, relationship-centered communities by centering the voices of families, students, educators, and community members.

During each Welcoming Walkthrough, School Action Teams reflect on four key areas that shape the school experience:
✅ Physical Environment
✅ School-Wide Practices & Policies
✅ Culture & Climate
✅ Home-School Communication

Together, these elements create a space where every student and family feels seen, valued, and welcomed.

Swipe ➡️ to see the Wilbert Snow Elementary team in action!

CFSPConnects

Growing Together with Books | Cohort 2 📚✨

On March 17 in Hartford, we were proud to welcome our second cohort of Growing Together with Books!

A heartfelt thank you to all of our participants for your engagement, energy, and commitment to strengthening family partnerships through literacy. 💙

This year, we’re excited to expand our impact by including a curated list of books in Spanish, helping us better support and connect with all families. 🌍📖

Friday Café | March 13 | Danbury ☕✨

We gathered at the Children’s Family Aid Center in Danbury for a powerful Friday Café focused on removing barriers and strengthening sustainable family engagement practices.

Guest speakers from Plainville and Naugatuck shared impactful perspectives from both the district and school levels. Highlighting what it truly takes to create inclusive, lasting partnerships with families.

Grateful for the honest dialogue, shared strategies, and continued commitment to doing this work together.💜🧡

🎉Thank you, Dr. Judy Carson, for your leadership in creating Friday Café as a powerful statewide space to connect, collaborate, and strengthen family engagement practices for student success.

We’re back on the road! 🎉🚌

The CT Welcoming Schools Tour resumed with School #12 of 20 participating schools statewide and we were proud to visit Buckner Hill Elementary School in Waterbury, CT!

Thank you to the Buckner Hill team for your commitment to creating welcoming, inclusive environments for families and students. Your leadership in implementing the Welcoming Walkthrough Toolkit continues to strengthen family-school partnerships across Connecticut.

WaterburyCT

🎓 FAMILY DAY COLLEGE TOUR 🎓

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Perfect for families of high school students navigating the college journey.

📅 Saturday, March 21, 2026
🕘 9:00–11:00 a.m.
📍 SCSU | 1 Wintergreen Ave., New Haven, CT
🚶‍♂️ College presentation & campus tour
🚗 Travel stipends available upon request
👉 Register here:
https://serc.info/famcollegetrp

Hosted by SERC in partnership with CONNECTION® Statewide Family Engagement Center
Equity | Excellence | Education

✨This workshop gives parents an overview of how special education works and how schools and families can partner to support students. We’ll walk through how children are identified for services, what the IEP process looks like, and what support can look like at school.

For content questions contact,
Nicole Vitale,
SERC Consultant
(860) 632-1485 ext. 234 or
[email protected].

For registration questions contact,
Emma Velasquez,
SERC Project Specialist
(860) 632-1485, ext. 218 or
[email protected].
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

✨We are so grateful to the family-facing professionals who joined us for our final Friday Café of 2025
🎤 Beyond Screen Time: Preparing Families for an AI-Powered Future sparked thoughtful dialogue, reflection, and shared learning.✨

A heartfelt thank you to Joanne White and Paul Castiglione .ct for an engaging and practical presentation, and for generously sharing resources that support local implementation of Connecticut’s K–12 Digital Citizenship Model Curriculum. Together, we explored meaningful ways to help families better understand emerging technologies, nurture healthy digital habits, and support students in using technology safely, ethically, and creatively.

💡 Missed the session or want to revisit the resources?
Visit CT-FSP.org and head to the Resources tab to access presentation links and tools shared during the Café.

🌟 We look forward to continuing the conversation—join us virtually on January 9 for our next Friday Café on 🎤Listening Circles: Relational Leadership in Education.

✨🍁 Holiday cheer came early to Cromwell! 🍁✨

Today, Dr. V delivered the 📚Growing Together With Books materials to Edna Stevens Elementary School, officially making Cromwell the first district in Connecticut to launch this brand-new literacy family engagement program! 📚🤝✨

We’re so excited to see how GTWB strengthens school–family connections, builds joyful reading routines at home, and inspires students to fall in love with books. Cromwell is leading the way—and we can’t wait to watch this model grow across the state! 🌟

Sending warm gratitude to all our family-facing professionals who keep this work moving forward.
🧡🍂
Here’s to meaningful partnerships, shared stories, and brighter futures!

✨ What a Friday Café! ☕️✨
Today’s session was packed with energy as CT SFEC unveiled the brand-new digital version of our updated Welcoming Schools Toolkit — one of CFSP’s signature tools for strengthening school culture and climate. 💻

🏫Family-facing professionals from across Connecticut got a first look and even walked through a sample welcoming walk-through using the new digital platform. The room was buzzing!💡💡💡

🌟 Farmington Public Schools shared the high-impact outcomes they’ve seen through Welcoming Schools, including:
• Virtual office hours that make administrators more accessible to families
• Clear, simple signage that strengthens navigation and a sense of belonging
• Equitable access to curriculum for all families

A special thank you to Dr. Kristen Wilder for showcasing this powerful work!

These are exactly the kinds of high-impact practices our new digital tool is designed to elevate. What an inspiring way to launch it! 🎉

As a capacity-building grant, CFSP is excited to support districts statewide in using this tool to strengthen partnerships and improve school climate.

We wrapped our morning by announcing the Welcoming Schools Train-the-Trainer Session, coming Spring 2026! 🌼

😩 Missed today’s Café?
Don’t worry — reach out by email! We’d love to connect and make sure you’re part of what’s coming next.