Contact us for support
OhioSFEC@osu.edu
Our November meeting focused on engaging families in math and a presentation of a new Family Math Toolkit. Thomas Capretta shared survey data from over 1,600 Ohio families, which showed that families wanted math connected to real-life activities and needed clearer guidance on how to support their children’s learning. Parents felt capable but unsure of their role, and that communication about math standards and “new math” concepts remained a significant challenge. Thomas also introduced the Family Math Toolkit as a resource to address these needs. Participants discussed practical ways to support math at home, such as using everyday activities like cooking or sports and addressing math anxiety. The group also discussed the value of student-led portfolios and academic parent-teacher teams to make math data more accessible to families.
In October we planned even more supports for you! Ohio Network of Partnership Schools now offers coaching at no cost.
✔ Strengthen an existing practice
✔ Work through a specific part of your action plan
✔ Build confidence and reduce isolation
✔ Expand the Partnership Schools
There are two ways to start:
1. Current members, request coaching at go.osu.edu/coaching-interest
2. Not yet a member? Join us on the third Tuesday of any month, from 3:30–4:00 p.m. We’ll introduce you to the modules, help you build your school team, and create an action plan. Register at go.osu.edu/ONPS-monthly
We kicked off our first Network Meeting on September 1, 2026. School leaders shared an interest in learning creative ways to engage families—especially at the middle and high school levels—gather meaningful family input and build sustainable systems that prevent staff burnout. We also heard great ideas already happening across the network, from connecting with families at sporting and cultural events to Parent Cafés, career events, and even gathering quick feedback in the school drop-off line. We’ll continue using our network to share what’s working, learn from one another, and tackle common challenges together.
We’ve made some structural changes to this year’s network!
– Instead of “Colleague Connect” meetings, we are offering a series of 7 meetings for school teams, and 2 meetings just for district leads. Members can login to the member resources page to download this year’s schedule.
– State Support Team coaches will no longer be embedded in this network, due to their shifting roles and responsibilities. Schools in ONPS should reach out directly to our Ohio State team for support related to implementation of the Partnership Schools approach, and we will be happy to provide tailored assistance to you and your team.
Our team joins others across the United States and around the world in mourning the passing of our colleague and longtime mentor, Dr. Joyce Epstein. Her research and work at Johns Hopkins leading the National Network of Partnership Schools is reflected in so much of what we do as a team. Her mission of strong family, school, and community partnerships will live on in our Ohio Network of Partnership Schools, and in many other aspects of our work. Over the past few years, we have worked to capture the essence of her messages to schools and district leaders through video recordings that we’ve embedded in our Partnership Schools seminar for educators. We will miss our personal interactions with Joyce, and the way she supported us and cheered us on. She was such a consistent and focused champion for family engagement research and practice, and we will continue to lean on and build on her life’s work in the years to come. May she rest in peace.
To read more about Dr. Epstein’s life and legacy, you can read her obituary.
Thank you to our Network Members for making this a memorable and meaningful year.
Welcome back! Over the summer, we reviewed the feedback on our self-paced online modules for new Partnership School leaders and teams, and made several improvements. Those schools interested in joining our network this year can register and complete the updated, self-paced modules beginning on August 1, 2025.
What else is coming up for our network? Our full line-up is available for members to add to their calendars now. View Calendar.
Have some questions for our team? Reach out anytime at OhioSFEC@osu.edu.
We can’t wait to see you soon!
Take the Ohio Network of Partnership Schools Spring Survey Now!
It’s time for the Spring Survey! If you support the Partnership Schools approach (NNPS) in your region, district, or school, please take 10 minutes to complete this survey. Your answers provide important information about the Partnership Schools initiative.
We want to hear from all State Support Team Coaches, District Leaders, School and Community School Leaders, and School Partnership Team (“ATP”) members!
The Spring Survey is from an independent evaluation team and is confidential. Districts and LEAs with at least 15 responses from participating school teams can receive a custom report.
This survey is open through March 31st. Thank you for completing this survey!