For over a decade, Maryland has been leading the nation in the development of innovative family engagement policies and practices that help promote school readiness, positive parent-child relationships and the benefits of family engagement.
A Major Goal
March 1, 2008
Maryland’s Early Childhood Advisory Council made family engagement a major goal of the state’s three-year action plan to improve school readiness and school success.
Won DOE Grant
December 1, 2011
Maryland received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) to enhance the state’s early learning system, including efforts to strengthen family engagement.
Maryland Family Engagement Coalition Established
June 13, 2012
The Governor’s State Advisory Council on Early Care and Education, later renamed the State Early Childhood Advisory Council, established the Maryland Family Engagement Coalition, whose mission was to review the federal Head Start sponsored Family Engagement Framework and the U.S. Department of Education’s Dual Capacity Framework and customize it for Maryland.
Maryland’s Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework Published
June 1, 2013
The Coalition published Maryland’s Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework, which set forth seven goals for family engagement and shared best practices with early care and education providers.
Prekindergarten Expansion Act
June 1, 2014
Family engagement continued to be a priority for the state with the Prekindergarten Expansion Act of 2014, which required the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) to incorporate parent engagement activities into Pre-K programs. Under the RTT-ELC grant, MSDE established project section 8, which was devoted entirely to family engagement in all early learning settings, including family child care, libraries, Head Start and Early Head Start, Judy Centers, Maryland Infants and Toddler Program, and Preschool Special Education.
Expanding Initiatives
August 1, 2015
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation awarded MSDE a grant to improve and expand the state’s early childhood family engagement initiatives.
Another Tool for Engaging with Families
June 1, 2016
With W.K. Kellogg Foundation funding, the Maryland State Department of Education’s Division of Early Childhood and the Coalition developed the Early Childhood Family Engagement Framework Toolkit.
Creating a Communications and Technology Infrastructure to Meet Maryland Family Engagement Goals
August 1, 2016
A Communications and Technology Plan was presented to the Division of Early Childhood with five recommendations for the development of a statewide, coordinated communications system for family engagement.
Launch of Families Engage Website
July 26, 2018
Maryland continues to build on this important work with the development of the state’s new family engagement community hub website, Maryland Families Engage.
