Families and Schools Together — Grant enables expansion of school-family program

Families and Schools Together, a UW–Madison-based program aimed at building stronger ties among children, parents and their schools will expand to 20 more Wisconsin schools as the result of a $993,500 U.S. Department of Justice grant.

“The program is really a strategy for building relationships,” says Lynn McDonald, a senior scientist at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and founder of the FAST program. “It works with groups of families to build community. Communities are safer when networks of families partner with schools.”

After the new schools are added, more than 100 schools in Wisconsin will offer the program. FAST programs are also being used in 45 other states and five other countries.

Years ago, McDonald notes, community and neighborhood bonds were more of a resource for raising children than they are today, with increased family mobility, and the prevalence of divorce and single-parent households.

“The family is getting much more isolated and stressed, and I see an increased reliance on professionals to help with their troubles,” McDonald says. “We are using resources to recreate the village. We bring people together who live in the same neighborhood so they can get to know each other.”

FAST — which began 15 years ago — is an after-school program that weekly brings together eight to 20 families in a series of activities that build respect between family members, and between families and their schools. It is a “science-based” model, which means researchers have rigorously evaluated the program, McDonald says.

A trained team of culturally representative school and community members runs the groups, and the sessions include time when parents can meet with other parents to share advice and support.

The Madison school district partners with the Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin to provide FAST, district coordinator Joan Lerman says. Madison schools have used the program since it was piloted there 15 years ago. Now, seven elementary schools and two middle schools participate.

“All of the barriers for parents to come are removed — we provide transportation and child care, and give parents a chance to talk with other parents and to their kids,” Lerman says.

“It’s a fun evening for everyone to come together. We’re continuing to do FAST because it works and our families love it.”

Independent studies show that participating children have improved attention span, reduced aggression and improved academic performance, McDonald says. In addition, families have less conflict, and parents become more involved in community leadership.

“Isolation is a huge cloud on our society that’s hard to notice, because relationships are invisible, except to the participants,” McDonald says. “If you have solid relationships, kids do better in school, crime is down. We have to find ways to capture the social capital that is dwindling in this country.”