Hawai'i Statewide Family Engagement Center

Our purpose is to implement high impact family engagement strategies, programming and policies that build powerful partnerships among family, school, and community. We promote Family Engagement as a learning and equity strategy to improve student academic success and school improvement.

Support for our Maui Communities

The Hawaiʻi Statewide Family Engagement Center extends our deepest aloha and support to all of our partners, families, and educators who have been impacted by the devastation of recent events throughout Maui. To those who have lost loved ones and homes in Lāhainā and elsewhere, we extend our most heartfelt condolences. At this time, we would like to share some resources with any and all folks in need of support. We are honored to be a small part of such a special and strong community, and we are here to support you. Please visit and/or share the Center on Disability Studies (University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa) website to access resources for emergency and disaster helplines, assistance finding loved ones, shelter and housing assistance, opportunities to donate to various funds, mental health support, news, and more.

Me ke aloha,
The HFEC Team

Advisory Committee Family Recruitment

Families have a Ph.D. in their children’s needs. Join the HFEC Advisory Committee and share your expertise!

What is the AC?

The Hawai‘i Family Engagement Center (HFEC) Advisory Committee is a parent-majority network of families, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. The work of our Advisory Committee helps ensure that children thrive developmentally and academically across Hawai‘i. HFEC actively seeks motivated change agents interested in working to develop and sustain powerful and productive partnerships between schools, families, and community organizations.

Benefits of HFEC Advisory Committee Membership:

Elevation of family voice in state and school policies
Opportunities to identify areas of need for family engagement
Contribute to resource development, training, and programming
Parent members receive a $50 attendance stipend after each quarterly meeting
Expansion of welcoming, responsive and respectful areas of opportunity for families and children

Enroll in the NAFSCE Online Course!

Reframing Family Engagement

The National Association for Family, School and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) Reframing Academy is a ten-module, asynchronous course for family engagement leaders who want to learn more effective ways to build support for family and community engagement. How? Through proven communication and messages we can all use!

This course is valued at $100, but is brought to you free of charge by HFEC. Register today and receive your Hawaii-exclusive access code!

PREL Webinar Series 2023

hosted by Paul Hadik

HFEC is pleased to present a new webinar series, “Supporting Micronesian Families in Hawaiʻi,” hosted by Paul Hadik of PREL.

This presentation is an overview of why families from the island nations of Micronesia are moving to the state of Hawai’i, the obstacles they have to overcome, how they perceive the importance of the extended family, and effective strategies that schools and communities can use to build effective and trusting relationships. The webinar will include a one-hour presentation and 15 minutes for Q&A. This webinar is sponsored by the Hawaiʻi Statewide Family Engagement Center. Registration is required.

September Webinar

Session #4: September 20, 2023 from 8:30am to 9:45am HST | View Flyer | Register Now

QR code for September Webinar Registration

What is Family Engagement?

Our center has adopted the Dual Capacity-Building Framework and the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (NAFSCE) definition of family engagement:

Family engagement is a shared responsibility in which schools and other community agencies and organizations are committed to reaching out to engage families in meaningful ways and in which families are committed to actively supporting their children’s learning and development.
Family engagement is continuous across a child’s life and entails enduring commitment but changing parent roles as children mature into young adulthood.
Effective family engagement cuts across and reinforces learning in the multiple settings where children learn- at home, in prekindergarten programs, in school, in after school programs, in faith-based institutions, and in the community.

Our Mission

To promote high impact activities and policies that build powerful partnerships among family, school, and community in order to enhance child development and student achievement.