Blog categories
NCFL Image
Oct 26, 2022 I
  No Comments

2023 Families Learning Conference heads to the Cornhusker State

NCFL is thrilled to announce that Omaha, Nebraska is the location of our 2023 Families Learning Conference! Mark your calendars on October 23-25 for our fully in-person annual event. Known for its ...  Read more »

NCFL Image
Oct 26, 2022 I
  No Comments

Arizona educator receives national honor for her family engagement efforts

Ivonne Ortiz of Mesa, Arizona, knows the power of positive thinking when it comes to achieving goals. She is a cheerleader for the students in her family literacy program, helping them to build ...  Read more »

NCFL Image
Oct 20, 2022 I
  No Comments

At the Heart of Family Learning: Families learning, families leading, equitable communities

Excitement is in the air as we gear up to host the virtual portion of our hybrid 2022 Families Learning Conference on October 25-26! In my blog post this month, I highlight conference sessions that ...  Read more »

NCFL Image
Oct 17, 2022 I
  No Comments

Join NCFL for in-person professional development this fall

The hybrid 2022 Families Learning Conference kicks off virtually Oct. 25-26! After the virtual portion, NCFL and our partners are delivering training in family literacy, family engagement, and family ...  Read more »

NCFL Image
Oct 13, 2022 I
  2 Comments

Upcoming webinar explores family leadership program centered on BIPOC voices

Join us Thursday, Oct. 20 to learn about Activate! National—NCFL’s Family Leadership program designed to center Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) representation and advocacy to ...  Read more »

NCFL Image
Oct 11, 2022 I
  No Comments

Meet our five finalists for the 2022 Toyota Family Teacher of the Year

It’s almost time to reveal the 2022 Toyota Family Teacher of the Year and runner-up! For 26 years, the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) and Toyota have partnered to recognize school- ...  Read more »

NCFL Image
Oct 3, 2022 I
  No Comments

Here’s why you won’t want to miss tuning in for #NCFL22!

The countdown is on! Only three weeks remain until the start of the 2022 Families Learning Conference. Our hybrid event kicks off with two days of virtual learning and networking, Tuesday, Oct. 25th ...  Read more »

NCFL Image
Sep 29, 2022 I
  No Comments

Keynote speakers announced for the 2022 Families Learning Conference

NCFL is excited to welcome two dynamic keynote speakers to the 2022 Families Learning Conference virtual portion on Oct. 25 and 26! Candy Magaña, MPA, Director of Health Equity Advancement, ...  Read more »

NCFL Image
Sep 28, 2022 I
  No Comments

NCFL convenes researchers from prominent organizations to inform family learning evaluation, practices, and policy

The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) today announces the launch of its Research Advisory Council (RAC), a group of 12 experts from across the U.S. supporting NCFL’s research and ...  Read more »

NCFL Image
Sep 27, 2022 I
  No Comments

At the Heart of Family Learning: Fostering collaborative partnerships for learning systems

In Dr. Dana Suskind’s recent book, “Parent Nation” she writes, “Real, essential change will occur only when there is a concerted, collective, national effort to bring it about” (p. 23). In ...  Read more »

NCFL Partners

NCFL Image
NCFL Image
NCFL Image
NCFL Image
NCFL Image
NCFL Image

Toyota

Toyota, one of the nation's most successful corporations, began a partnership with NCFL in 1991. In addition to a commitment of more than $50 million, Toyota has also contributed a wealth of in-kind support — including advertising, planning and management expertise — to form one of the most progressive corporate/nonprofit partnerships in the nation.

Three major programs have been developed through the Toyota partnership based on the family literacy model of parents and children learning together. These models have influenced federal and state legislation, leveraged local dollars to support family literacy and led to successful programs being replicated across the country.

Read more about Toyota's commitment to communities

William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust

NCFL received its very first donation in 1989 from the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust to promote and implement family literacy programming, first in Kentucky and North Carolina and later nationwide. The Kenan Family Literacy Model in part laid the groundwork for 30 years of subsequent family literacy and family learning programming developed by NCFL.

Kenan has continued to support NCFL’s place-based family literacy programs since our inception. Most recently, it has invested in our organization’s Sharon Darling Innovation Fund, which will launch emerging ideas and programmatic evolutions in the multigenerational learning space.

Learn more about the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust

Dollar General Literacy Foundation

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation began partnering with NCFL in 2006. A signature effort of this partnership is the National Literacy Directory, a resource that launched in 2010 and strives to guide potential students and volunteers to literacy services, community education programs, and testing centers in their communities.

The National Literacy Directory contains over 10,000 educational agencies located across the United States and has a dedicated toll-free number to help support those wanting to pursue educational opportunities in their communities.

Dollar General also provides support for development of NCFL’s innovative family learning resources centered on financial literacy and Parent and Child Together (PACT) Time®.

Learn more about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation

PNC Grow Up Great

PNC Grow Up Great believes deeply in the power of high-quality early childhood education and provides innovative opportunities that assist families, educators and community organizations to enhance children's learning and development.

PNC Grow Up Great has partnered with NCFL since 1994, most recently in Louisville, Kentucky, to support Say & Play with Words, our pre-Kindergarten vocabulary-building initiative.

NCFL's work is also featured on the PNC Grow Up Great Lesson Center website. The Lesson Center includes over 100 free, high-quality preschool lesson plans and research-based instructional techniques and strategies. All lesson plans contain Home/School Connections printouts, in English and Spanish, to help families extend and reinforce the learning at home.

Learn more about PNC Grow Up Great

U.S. Department of Education

Initiated through the U.S. Department of Education in 2018, the Statewide Family Engagement Centers (SFEC) program provides 12 grantees and 13 states with five-year, $5 million grants to promote and implement systemic evidenced-based family engagement strategies. NCFL was selected to lead SFECs in two states, Arizona and Nebraska, and is a primary partner for two other SFECs in Kentucky and Maryland/Pennsylvania. 

The SFECs work to support family engagement through state- and local-level agencies while providing both professional development to school districts and direct services to families related to children’s academic outcomes and overall well-being.

Learn more about the U.S. Department of Education

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

NCFL was named a recipient of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s "Voices for Economic Opportunity Grand Challenge," which seeks to elevate diverse voices in order to broaden the conversation about the issues inhibiting economic mobility and generate deeper awareness along with actionable understanding. NCFL will develop and launch a podcast series that will highlight the remarkable stories of low-income, diverse families across the U.S. who have improved their communities through Family Service Learning.

Foundation Website