On the Same Team

“Gerzon-Kessler leverages his decades of experience in schools, seamlessly blending the latest research in family engagement with practical guidance to help schools more effectively partner with families. On the Same Team walks readers through a step-by-step guide to implementing Families & Educators Together (FET) teams. Readers have the opportunity to learn not only from other schools' successes, but also their missteps, as the book highlights common obstacles and how to overcome them.”

“For the past decade, Boulder Valley School District has intentionally integrated family, school, and community partnerships as a critical improvement strategy for student success. On the Same Team highlights the research-based approach of having a school-level action team—Families and Educators Together—to lead and guide high impact family engagement initiatives. This book provides real-life examples of school staff sharing leadership with families that lead to positive student outcomes. I recommend this book to any school, district, or state leader who is looking for a systematic approach to taking their family engagement efforts to the next level.”

“This book begins with a thorough diagnosis of the reasons that family-school partnerships are not normative, despite evidence of the benefits for the learners, especially non-majority students. It is a daunting set of “symptoms.” But few maladies can be reversed without a thorough and accurate diagnosis. That willingness to look honestly and deeply at what has not happened and why has enabled Ari Gerzon-Kessler to outline a key curative element: Families and Educators Together (FET) Teams. However, innovative solutions don’t implement by themselves. Read this book, follow the practical guidance in it, and you will see the benefits for your students, their families, and your teaching staff.

The book begins with a compelling case for why achievement and opportunity gaps in our schools cannot be systematically eliminated in the absence of school-family partnerships. After the “why,” Ari Gerzon-Kessler provides a detailed road map for the “what”—Families and Educator Together (FET) Teams—and the “how.” You will learn—based on multiple years of experience in multiple schools-- about who should be on these teams, the groundwork needed for a strong launch, techniques for creating inspiring and effective FET meetings, and the role of leadership and amplifying parent voices in sustaining the momentum from FET teams. Ultimately, it is about putting out a genuine welcome mat for all families to truly enter the school and work in partnership with school personnel to educate the children they share. The extraordinary benefits that can result are more than cost-effective: they give new and positive life paths to children whose likely trajectories will otherwise be quite different. To quote one educator from the book: “ It’s not us and them; it is us together.”