This partnership will examine how multilingual family participation in school-based improvement teams—called a Networked Improvement Community—leads to the development of more culturally responsive family engagement strategies that increase belonging and agency for multilingual families, enhance knowledge about educational pathways and advocacy for children, and, ultimately, lead to improved youth outcomes. The team will implement Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles across three middle schools in Richmond, Virginia, to foster multilingual family belonging and agency as key levers for improved transition to 9th grade, improved attendance, and increased enrollment in advanced coursework and career and technical education programs. In alignment with the district’s strategic plan, the partnership will build capacity for research use within Richmond Public Schools by providing training and resources on improvement science methods and creating an infrastructure to use these methods beyond the grant period. At the university, the team will build on a commitment to engaged research in the School of Education and College of Humanities and Sciences by integrating community engagement into hiring processes and job positions, reforming annual review rubrics to recognize and incentivize engaged research, developing a graduate credential for community-engaged research, and supporting the coordination of institutional change across campus.
This grant will strengthen the partnership between Virginia Commonwealth University and Richmond Public Schools.
