The partnership model developed by Epstein et al. (2002)proposes six types of partnership between the
school, the family and the community. According to these authors, it is up to the program directors and
practitioners of the family literacy programs, in concert with the families, to select the types of
partnerships that are suitable to their particular group. We have added some guidelines to illustrate each
type of partnership.
Type 1- Providing help to parents: Support parents in the area of parenting skills and understanding of
child development.
Type 2 - Communication: Find ways of facilitating the communication between families and practitioners:
newspapers, mail, telephone, meetings and other means.
Type 3 - Volunteering: Encourage families that are able to volunteer (e.g., helping with daycare or
training in family literacy).
Type 4 - Leaming at home: Motivate families to support their child's learning at home. Encourage parents
to apply what they have learned in family literacy workshops.
Type 5 - Decision-making: Consult parents or ask their opinion about decisions to be made about the
children's group or the parents' group.
Type 6 - Collaboration with the community: Inform parents about the resources and services available in
the community. Ask community organizations to support the program or help parents directly with specific
tasks or activities.
We have found the following information and research on home-community-school partnerships in
Francophone Canada particularly noteworthy: the Guide de partenariat: vers des partenariats
communautaires rassembleurs published by the Franco-Manitoban literacy organization Pluri-elles (2004)
and studies by Masny (2002)and Kanoute (2003)that focus on the home-community-school partnership.
The partnership project in Manitoba
Pluri-elles is the only Franco-Manitoban organization working in the field of literacy, and it is a leader in
implementing win-win partnerships in Francophone communities in Manitoba that support French language
family literacy programs. The organization has produced a set of documents and tools to this
end. The Guide de partenariat: Vers des partenariats communautaires rassembleurs