The Steans Family Foundation realizes that family and parental involvement are significant forces shaping educational outcomes of children. Parents should have access to ongoing support, education, resources, networking, and guidance to be able to help their children succeed. The Foundation lends support to programs which focuses on engaging parents and families to become more active and effective in guiding their child's positive development.

Results we seek in this priority area include:

• Parents/caregivers actively engaged in their children’s development and early childhood education
• Parents/caregivers actively engaged in their children’s K-12 education
• Increase broader parent/caregiver participation within schools
• Increase the number of parent/caregiver leaders in the community

The primary goal of this strategy will be to directly work with parents/caregivers in North Lawndale so that they can take a more pro-active role in ensuring educational success for their children. The Foundation will work to develop a core cadre of parents/caregivers from across North Lawndale that understands the educational challenges in the community and city, thereby positioning them to be advocates for better educational offerings for their children and others.