Family Leadership in Education
When families help shape decisions, schools and communities become more responsive, inclusive, and effective.
NPLI partners with schools, initiatives, and communities to support positive, necessary change in education. We help create pathways for parents, caregivers, and families to build leadership skills, strengthen relationships, navigate systems, and participate in decisions that affect children’s learning and well-being.
Across communities, parent leaders are already making change in powerful and practical ways. They are improving communication between families and schools, advocating for more inclusive practices, identifying barriers that affect children, and helping schools better understand what families need. NPLI supports this work by helping families and partners build the knowledge, confidence, relationships, and structures needed to strengthen learning environments for children.
Stronger Schools Start With Stronger Partnerships
Families bring knowledge that schools and systems need. They understand their children’s strengths, needs, cultures, histories, and daily experiences. They also see where systems are working, where barriers exist, and where change is needed.
When schools create meaningful opportunities for families to participate as partners and leaders, they build stronger trust, better communication, and more responsive learning environments.
Family leadership helps move schools from asking, “How can we get more families involved?” to asking, “How can families help shape the decisions, practices, and systems that affect children?”
What Family Leadership Can Look Like in Practice
Family leadership can take many forms depending on the school, district, community, or initiative. The goal is not one single model. The goal is to create meaningful pathways for families to participate, lead, and help shape change.
Four Ways Family Leaders Strengthen Schools, Expand Opportunity, and Shape Education Systems
Expanding Academic and Enrichment Opportunities
Creating access to high-quality learning, culture, literacy, technology, and enrichment that help students thrive.
Shaping Education Policy and Systems
Improving policies, programs, and decision-making processes to better serve students and families.
Advancing Inclusion and Belonging
Helping schools become more welcoming, culturally responsive, and connected for every student.
Supporting Students with Disabilities, Language Access, and Learning Needs
Identifying gaps and creating tools, supports, and resources so every student can learn and succeed.
Family:Schools Partnership in Practice
Family leadership in education becomes clearest when families name what they see, what children experience, and what needs to change.Through the Family:Schools Partnership work, parent leaders from New Orleans shared projects focused on literacy, representation, language access, inclusive school practices, family economic stability, and stronger communication between families and schools. Their work shows how families can help schools and communities identify barriers, build trust, and create practical solutions that support children’s learning and well-being.
For Schools & Parents
Family:Schools Partnership Toolkit
Produced in partnership with parent leaders from New Orleans, this toolkit offers recommendations to improve collaboration and communication between families and schools. It helps families and school teams work in the same direction to support positive outcomes for children.
Parent Leaders in Conversation
Family:Schools Partnership Panel
In this recorded panel, parent leaders share education-focused projects connected to literacy, representation, language access, inclusive forms, family well-being, and stronger school-family relationships. Though recorded a few years ago, the conversation still reflects a core belief behind NPLI’s work: schools are stronger when families help shape the decisions and practices that affect children.
How NPLI Supports Family Leadership in Education
The National Parent Leadership Institute works with communities across the country to build the leadership skills of parents and caregivers so they can participate in civic life and help shape the systems that affect children and families.
In education, this means helping schools, organizations, initiatives, and communities move beyond surface-level participation toward deeper family leadership and shared decision-making. Two of the primary ways NPLI supports this work are through the Parent Leadership Training Institute (PLTI) and the Children’s Leadership Training Institute (CLTI), which together offer a two-generation approach to civic learning and leadership development.
Through PLTI and CLTI, families build the knowledge, confidence, relationships, and practical skills needed to lead change in their communities. NPLI also supports partners in creating the structures and practices that allow family leadership to take root, from stronger school-family communication to more inclusive decision-making and systems change.
Leadership Development
NPLI helps parents and caregivers build the confidence, knowledge, relationships, and civic skills to navigate systems, speak up, and lead change in their communities.
Shared Decision-Making
We help schools, organizations, and initiatives create meaningful roles for families in shaping priorities, giving input, asking questions, and participating in decisions that affect children.
School-Family Practice
We support partners in strengthening the everyday practices that shape family-school relationships, including communication, inclusive language, family-facing materials, meeting structures, and opportunities for collaboration.
Systems Change
We help communities identify barriers, listen to family experience, and turn what they learn into more responsive practices, policies, programs, and partnerships.
Learn more about NPLI's Work
Family leadership in education is one part of NPLI’s broader work to strengthen communities through parent leadership, youth leadership, and shared decision-making. These resources offer a quick introduction to who we are, how PLTI works, and how family leadership can support stronger schools and learning environments.
National Parent Leadership Institute
Learn more about NPLI’s mission, approach, and work with families and communities across the country.
Parent Leadership Training Institute
Explore PLTI, a free 20-week leadership and civic engagement experience that helps parents and caregivers build the knowledge, confidence, and skills to make change in their communities.
Children’s Leadership Training Institute
Learn how CLTI supports children’s leadership, literacy, civic learning, and community connection while their parents and caregivers participate in PLTI.
Ready to Connect?
NPLI works with schools, organizations, agencies, and community partners that want to build stronger relationships with families and create meaningful opportunities for shared leadership. Whether you’re interested in PLTI, family leadership in education, or broader partnership opportunities, we’d be glad to start a conversation.
Connect With Our Team
If you attended an NPLI session or connected with our team during the IEL conference, we’d be glad to continue the conversation. Please feel free to reach out directly.
Carolyn Lee-Davis
- Director of Operations & Special Projects
- carolyn@parentswholead.org
Zulema Gomez
- Director of Implementation
- zulema@parentswholead.org
Donna Thompson-Bennett
- Executive Director
- donna@parentswholead.org
About Us
The National Parent Leadership Institute
The National Parent Leadership Institute (NPLI) is an anti-racist, non-profit, nonpartisan, parent-informed democracy initiative. We embrace asset-based learning that works across diverse backgrounds, races, genders, religions, ages, sexual orientations, and other factors to increase the civic leadership of parents and family members and improve outcomes for children and families.
