The Equitable Family Engagement Fidelity Tool (EFE-FT)

Looking to Increase Family Partnership?

The Equitable Family Engagement Fidelity Tool (EFE-FT) is a 15 item measure designed to help school teams self-assess the extent to which they are using effective family engagement practices and action plan to strengthen their implementation. The EFE-FT is comprised of four subscales, which are intended to be used in combination to guide schools as they assess and strengthen their approach.

The EFE-FT is currently being validated through a research study and we are inviting selected schools to use this newly-developed tool. In this phase of the study, school teams will score the EFE-FT as individuals and as a group to assess the reliability of the scores. Additionally, schools will evaluate the usability of the EFE-FT.

The EFE-FT validation is part of the E-PATH model demonstration project. You can learn more about the project here.

Participating In the Validation

The EFE-FT is designed to be completed by a school leadership team, composed of at least 3-6 individuals who are familiar with school operations, have access to school-level data, and contribute to the school’s professional learning plan. This includes Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), Multi-tiered Systems of Supports (MTSS), or Systems Planning teams.

We are looking for schools across developmental levels (i.e., elementary and secondary) and who are in varying levels of PBIS/MTSS implementation (i.e., initial implementation and advanced tiers).

Schools who are interested in accessing the EFE-FT and participating in this phase of the study will be asked to engage in the following study actions:

Ready to Get Started?

The study materials can be accessed below.

- EFE-FT: completed by individuals and then school team (a fillable version can be accessed here)
- Usability Survey: completed by the school team after the second EFE-FT team administration

Questions?

Please feel free to reach out to the study team with any questions- we are here to support your participation!

Nicole Peterson (Nicole.Peterson@uconn.edu)
Katherine Meyer (Katherine.Meyer@uconn.edu)
Brandi Simonsen (Brandi.Simonsen@uconn.edu)

Study Considerations

The EFE-FT should be completed by the same team members throughout each step of the study.
It is most efficient for teams to identify one individual to distribute, record, and enter scores on behalf of the team.
It may be helpful to provide paper copies to make completion more accessible.
Scores should be entered after each step in the process.
The timeline for participation is thorugh July, 2025.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER YOUR SCORES

Equitable Practices Resource Bank

A resource for school teams to turn their EFE-FT data into action!

Schools that participate in the validation study actions will have access to the Equitable Practices Resorce Bank. Organized by domain, the bank aims to connect schools with evidence-based practices, exemplars, and resources to help them take purposeful steps to strengthen family partnerhsip within their schools.