Program Description
Families and Schools Together (FAST) partners with community-based organizations and schools across the U.S. to provide training, support, and technical assistance for their FAST Program and FAST Institute.
The FAST Program meets for weekly 2.5-hour in-person or virtual sessions over an 8 – 10-week cycle. During these sessions, a trained FAST Team of local parents, youth (for middle and high school levels only), educators, and mental health and other community professionals facilitates and provides coaching and support to participating families engaging in special play/conversation time with their children and other participating families.
The FAST Institute provides training and coaching for family engagement professionals, educators, and staff on best practices in teacher training and family and community engagement through an equity-focused approach. During these sessions, facilitators/coaches and participants review key research, discuss best practices and share tools and strategies school staff can use daily when working with families through group discussions and hands-on approaches.
Program Outcomes
The impact of Families and Schools Together (FAST) was evaluated in a cluster-randomized trial involving 52 elementary schools in San Antonio, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona. The study examined 3,084 first-grade students over two years, with 26 schools implementing FAST and 26 serving as control. FAST schools demonstrated significant gains in social capital (effect size = +0.21). There were no significant results on measures of students’ internalizing or externalizing behavior. The significant results on the measure of social capital qualify this for an ESSA Tier 1 (Strong Evidence) rating.
A second study of FAST conducted a cluster-randomized trial involving 60 elementary schools in Philadelphia. While FAST was implemented with high fidelity, overall program participation was lower than expected. The study found no significant effects on student academic or behavioral outcomes.
Staffing Requirements
4 – 10 local parents, youth (for middle and high school levels only), educators, and mental health and other community professionals are needed to implement the FAST Program.
Professional Development/Training
FAST Teams, comprised of local parents, youth (for middle and high school levels only), educators, and mental health and other community professionals will be trained to facilitate the FAST Program. The FAST Institute has a variety of flexible sessions, which schools can elect to host as a series or individually, to best accommodate the busy schedules of their staff.
Technology
No technology is required to implement the in-person FAST Talk program. If schools opt for the FAST Program to be conducted virtually, laptops and teleconferencing software are needed.