FAMILY ENGAGEMENT INSTITUTE (FEI)
All families dream about raising healthy, successful children, but not all families
have equal access to the systems of support that turn the dream into reality.
The Family Engagement Institute at Foothill College (FEI)
FEI is a newly founded organization in co-sponsorship with Foothill College and
funded in its first year by a private family foundation. The purpose of FEI is
to provide continued educational opportunities for families of low income by
building engagement strategies that strengthen the capacity of families, schools
and communities to support the success of all children. FEI provides opportunities
for accessible and affordable parenting workshops, children's programs, high school
and college student mentor programs, vocational programs, staff trainings and
community resources to schools and local organizations. The FEI faculty and
staff work closely with Foothill's Child Development Department, Noncredit
Division and community organizations to maximize resources and develop and
deliver high quality programs that emphasize the importance of family in a
child's healthy growth and development.
Community and school organizations and programs we currently partner with
include: Stretch To Kindergarten, a quality early childhood educational program
for children of low income prior to entering kindergarten, Mountain View Whisman
School District (MVWSD) Preschool Program serving Head Start and State Preschool
families, MVWSD Reading Partners after school program, Boys and Girls Club of
the Peninsula, Mountain View Los Altos Adult Schools' Young Parent Program
serving teen parents, the Even Start Family Literacy Program serving families
with toddlers and preschoolers and Costa&ntilte;o Elementary School's kindergarten
program serving families in East Palo Alto.
Download FEI Overview (English) (PDF)
Download FEI Overview (Spanish) (PDF)
The Family Engagement Institute (FEI) is a grant-funded organization that works in partnership
with Foothill College to provide continued educational opportunities that increase family
involvement and leadership. Founded in February of 2010, FEI focuses on providing
educational programs to underserved families to close the achievement gap - or, more
accurately, the opportunity gap - by instilling a commitment to valuing the influence
of family on a child's well-being, ensuring all families gain access, tools, and the
voice to support student success. FEI believes that family is the most powerful advocate
to ensure a child's healthy development and academic success.
FEI partners with educational institutions and community organizations that serve children,
youth and families of low income to deliver programs to families, providers and educators
that promote family engagement, school and workforce readiness, and pathways to postsecondary
education. FEI collaborates with individual schools and districts to offer parenting workshops,
educator workshops and educational programs, at no cost.
In collaboration with Foothill College, the Family Engagement Institute provides educational
materials and adjunct faculty from the community college to deliver programs to our partner
organizations, so that the families become community college students under the college's
noncredit parenting division. This student status allows our families to use any of the available
resources at either the main Foothill College campus or the satellite Middlefield campus.
FEI serves as a college bridge program where families build the skills, tools and confidence
to successfully enroll in more community college classes in the future.
