About The NJ Family Engagement Hub
The New Jersey Family Engagement Hub recognizes that students thrive when families and communities are engaged in the school community increasing the likelihood of student success. Our goals are to promote and engage in activities and policies that build collaborative partnerships among youth, family, school, and community in order to enhance child development and student achievement by:
- Serving as a centralized information hub on family engagement.
- Informing educators, practitioners, and families about the latest educational opportunities and barriers by providing technical assistance, resources, and support on effective family engagement policies, practices, and activities that lead to improvements in student development, academic achievement, and long-term success
- Providing parents and caregivers with easy-to-understand, usable information to solve present-day problems.
- Providing youth with a voice to share their experiences and ideas to support their continued academic success
- Enhancing parent and family capacity to effectively work with schools and professionals to meet children’s needs
NJ Family Engagement Hub’s Vision:
Build strong and positive relationships between families, school districts, community partners, and professionals that create equity, engage authentically, and strengthen family engagement in supporting higher student learning and self-advocacy.
NJ Family Engagement Hub’s Goal Statement:
The NJ FE Hub recognizes that students thrive when we promote and engage in activities and policies that build equitable and collaborative partnerships among families, schools, and communities to enhance child development and student achievement.
NJ Family Engagement Hub’s Objectives:
Serves as an information hub on family engagement that provides families, communities, and professionals with easy-to-understand tools and resources to strengthen partnerships that positively impact student learning and development.
Provides schools with resources and support on effective family engagement policies, and practices, based on their identified priorities. Provides learning opportunities for families and communities that are linked to student learning and enhance families’ ability to effectively work with schools and communities to meet students’ needs.
Elevates youth voices by providing students with a platform so that their goals and dreams shape the policies, practices, programs, and activities of their school districts.
Co-Directors
- Lanisha Makle-Ridley, Co-Project Director
- Jeannette Mejias, Co-Project Director
NJ Family Engagement HUB Team Members
- Kim Rivers, Training Coordinator
- Alexix Pratt, Community Engagement Specialist
- Faith Victor, North-Regional Family Engagement Specialist
- Tiffany Molina, Central- Regional Family Engagement Specialist
- Tara Szymanek, South-Regional Family
- Engagement Specialist
Our Partners
- Parents INC
- Booksmart
- NJ START
- Rutgers SEL (Social Emotional Learning) LAB
The New Jersey Family Engagement Hub is a project of SPAN.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education
- Family Engagement Framework
- Information Dissemination
- Resource Gathering
- School District Engagement
- April 29, 2025 @ 10:30 a.m.
- June 30, 2025 @ 1:00 p.m.
- October 28, 2025 @ 10:30 a.m.
NAFSCE Center for Family Math: The National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) is a membership organization dedicated to advancing family, school, and community engagement to promote equitable educational outcomes for all children.The Center for Family Math is an emerging movement to promote math activities within the context of family relationships and everyday life, from the grocery store to the playground, during breakfast, bath time or bedtime. The practices inherent in Family Math are designed to help young children strengthen their math skills and feel enthusiastic and confident in their math abilities. The movement empowers parents, organizations and early educators with knowledge, tools and resources that help them feel excited about introducing and exploring mathematical concepts..
Visit NAFSCE Family Math Website Family Math – National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement
New Jersey Department of Education (NJ DOE): The official New Jersey Department of Education website provides information, resources, and updates on education policies, programs, and services for students, parents, educators, and schools across the state.
Visit NJ DOE Website New Jersey Department of Education – Home Page
Paterson Education Fund: is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to stimulate community action for change so that the Paterson Public Schools ensure that all Paterson children achieve high standards. Founded in 1983, PEF’s activities build and nourish a constituency for systematic school reform by educating the community on the importance of high standards and expectations in providing quality education for all children. PEF convenes and brokers relationships between the Paterson school district and private sector entities interested in public education in Paterson.
Visit Paterson Education Fund Website Paterson Education Fund
SEL 4 NJ promotes and supports high-quality social-emotional learning (SEL) in New Jersey schools and communities to foster student success and well-being. The mission of SEL4NJ is to continuously build a network of organizations and individuals in New Jersey that are committed to the importance of developing students’ social and emotional competencies, and through this collaboration, promote a systematic and intentional integration of SEL, as broadly defined, in schools and other organizations, including before and after school programming.
Visit SEL 4 NJ Website Home – SEL4NJ