About 1.4 million Michigan students will return to K-12 public school classrooms this fall.

One of the most powerful influences on how these students will perform exists outside the classroom: the quality of the partnerships that schools and families establish with each other.

Establishing these partnerships may be easier than it sounds. Throughout more than four decades as an educator and researcher studying literacy and family engagement, I have learned that most families deeply care about their children’s education and want to work with teachers toward the best possible outcomes.

Family engagement helps students achieve

This message is especially timely in Michigan. Many students continue to experience challenges in reading following the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 39% of Michigan third graders scored proficient or advanced in English language arts on the M-STEP, an annual state exam, in the 2024-25 school year.

In 2024, Michigan students scored below the national average in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Michigan fourth graders averaged 209, five points below the national average, while eighth graders averaged 255, compared with 257 nationally.

Although standardized test scores do not fully capture the breadth of students’ knowledge, abilities or potential, they can provide one useful indicator of how well students are developing literacy skills.

National studies also demonstrate that families want to play active roles in their children’s education. They show, too, that many parents seek clearer communication and more meaningful opportunities to collaborate with educators.

In my assessment, one of the most encouraging developments in family engagement research over the past two decades has been the growing recognition among researchers, educators and schools that parents are not simply volunteers who occasionally assist schools. They are co-educators whose knowledge, cultural wealth and lived experiences enrich children’s educational........

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