Why Family Empowerment?

Research has continually found that family and community engagement in children’s learning directly and positively impacts children’s academic achievement and well-being. Although there are many ways to involve parents, there are specific activities and behaviors that have a greater impact on increased academic achievement.

The Family Empowerment Team is dedicated to developing educated, engaged, and empowered parents and staff who are partners in creating great schools in every neighborhood where Every Child Succeeds. 

School-Level Initiatives

Academic Standards Events

Academic Standards Events (ASEs) will invite families into schools several times throughout the year to deepen the level of alignment between the home and school learning environments. These events will ensure that families understand the skills that their children need to learn, how their children are progressing, and the role of state academic standards in schools.

Community Progress Monitoring

Sharing meaningful, relevant data with families is vital to student success. Community Progress Monitoring is the process of sharing the ABCs of data: Attendance, Behavior, and Courses/Curriculum. For more information about Community Progress Monitoring and resources to help you plan your rollout, please visit the Community Progress Monitoring Commons page.

Parent Teacher Home Visit Program

Parent Teacher Home Visit (PTHV) Program is designed to strengthen the connection between teachers, family, and students. The Family Empowerment Team provides training, resources and compensation for teachers, including support for connecting the home visit with other family engagement initiatives at the school site. For more information, visit the Parent Teacher Home Visit Tab under the FACE Department.

Family Leadership Training

Family and Community Engagement (FACE) is excited to announce an opportunity for Title I school staff to get trained to facilitate workshops for their families. We offer three parent-facing programs: Family Meals Challenge, Calm & Kind Family, and Parenting Partners. Family Meals Challenge is simple step toward boosting family wellness and student success by increasing the number and quality of shared family meals. Calm & Kind Family is designed to equip parents with the tools to support their children emotionally in three key areas: Mental Health, self-regulation, and managing your own emotions. Parenting Partners workshops combine parenting and leadership skills that empower parents to become vital contributors to their children’s academic success. Learn more on the Family Leadership Inc. website, or sign up for a training opportunity here in DPS via DPS FACE University Family Learning Hub.

If you are interested in bringing this program to your school please fill out the registration form to attend the February training. Please email Mark Fukae or Trevon Brandhorst with any questions.

School Governance

All schools in the Denver Public School system must have certain governance structures to ensure that families and communities have a voice in their schools.  These structures are designed to help promote community involvement and strengthens schools.  They are also required by state and federal law. Our School Governance page is filled with information and resources to help you build these structures.  

District-level Initiatives

FACE University Family Learning Hub

FACE U Learning Hub provides tips, tools, and trainings to families and the greater DPS community. Our trainings are provided in your home language using live interpretation and subtitles. You can earn learning-experience tickets to venues such as Colorado History Museum, Denver Childrens Museum, The Museum of Nature and Science, and more! Just for participating! Why? We want to support families in engaging, advocating, and supporting their students' journey through the education system. Visit our website to access our virtual/in-person learning calendar, family-facing resources, and more!

Learn more about our Title I & Family Empowerment program offerings by clicking here!