E-PATH Materials Page

Welcome to the E-PATH Project Page for Implementors!

The Equitable Partnerships Across Tiers and Home (E-PATH) Project is an approach to enhance equitable partnerships between schools and families of any underserved groups (including students with disabilities) by leveraging a school’s existing Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), or multi-tiered system of support (MTSS), framework.

Schools implementing this approach center the voices and experiences of their families and establish equitable partnerships across tiers (of their PBIS/MTSS framework) and home. This approach has been developed in partnership with the Navigating Excellence Parent Center Assistance & Collaboration Team (NE-PACT), and we encourage schools, districts, and states to partner with their local Parent Centers to contextualize their own implementation of E-PATH. Read on to learn more about the E-PATH approach.

Welcome!

Start by watching a short welcome from Brandi Simonsen, E-PATH Co-PI:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5Uj6RiOicw

What is the E-PATH Framework?

Hear specifics about the E-PATH framework from Katie Meyer, E-PATH Co-PI to see if its a match for your team:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0mvP4_SRr0

E-PATH Training and Implementation

The E-PATH materials have been developed as a “self-study process,” in which schools progress through a series of activities to:

    • Increase their understanding of equitable family engagement;
    • Build into and enhance existing systems (e.g., teaming, training, & coaching structures) that can support family engagement;
    • Implement a continuum of evidence-based family engagement practices; and
    • Use data to monitor and support their progress.

The self-study activities are designed to be delivered by a local technical assistance (TA) provider, which could be an external or district-level PBIS coach (or another individual) with extensive PBIS implementation experience.

The training sequence is designed to increase a team’s capacity to enhance and sustain equitable family engagement practices over multiple years, with a gradual release of TA support.

The E-PATH training sequence has three distinct phases, each with associated training materials: 

E-PATH Outcomes

In addition to increasing understanding and capacity of PBIS team members, we expect E-PATH to include positive outcomes for families and students. These include increased voice, decision-making, and involvement in school and educational activities for families and increased engagement in school and learning for students. E-PATH activities provide teams opportunities to strengthen their use of data, establish systems, and employ practices that lead to equitable family engagement. These activities include identifying and designing opportunities to strengthen the leadership capacity of parents and caregivers through training team membership opportunities.

Expected benefits of effective family-school partnerships for students are aligned with the existing research on family engagement and include social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes (Barger et al., 2019; Fan & Chen, 2001; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Smith & Sheridan, 2019). The image below (from Peterson et al., 2026) highlights benefits across these three groups.

Determining Eligibility for E-PATH Participation

Though E-PATH has been designed to support teams at various stages of implementation and across developmental levels and settings, TA providers can use the following criteria to help determine if E-PATH is the right fit for their team.

We suggest having the following in place:

1.

An expressed interest in strengthening family partnerships with an emphasis on equitable engagement.

2.

Tiered Fidelity Inventory 3.0 (TFI) score suggesting fidelity of implementation at the Tier 1 level (50% or above), OR Tier 1 implementation scores approaching fidelity with scores at 3 or higher for:  

    • 1.1 Team Composition
    • 1.2 Team Operating Procedures
    • 1.11 Established Priority

3.

At least one parent or caregiver representative on the Tier 1 team and a willingness to include more members from under-represented groups with specific needs (e.g., students with disabilities, families that are military connected) and a representative from the local parent center. 

E-PATH Materials

The E-PATH training materials are organized by project phase in the sections below. The Information for Trainers section has been specifically designed to support TA providers who will be delivering E-PATH training to school teams.  

Information for Trainers

E-PATH Project Overview: This brief and timeline of activities document provide an overview of the E-PATH project that can be used with current or prospective schools.  

Planning, Training, and Activity Scope and Sequence: This chart details the driving questions and main actions associated with each training opportunity. Additionally, the organizer will help you plan your roll-out of E-PATH including who to invite to training opportunities.  

E-PATH Data Guide: this resource details the specific data collected, monitored, and used in the E-PATH framework to guide data-based decision-making.  

PBIS Practice Briefs that Support the E-PATH Framework: The following practice briefs from the National Center on PBIS are in direct alignment with the E-PATH framework: 

Trainer FAQs 

The following are frequently asked questions related to E-PATH Implementation and the TA provider’s role. 

Can a TA provider train more than one school in E-PATH at a time?

Yes! It is possible to train more than one school at a time using the E-PATH materials. We recommend TA providers start with 1-2 schools during their first year and slowly expand as they become more familiar with the materials.

Can the training sessions be broken up into segments and delivered as smaller sections or altered in any way?

We do not recommend that the materials be adjusted in this way. While we recognize that it may be challenging to identify time in a school calendar to deliver the trainings, we have found that longer, more intensive blocks of training time results in stronger implementation. School teams have reported that preserved time to take a deep dive into content, with time to apply it to their setting, has been a beneficial aspect of the E-PATH model. We recommend establishing a training calendar early so time is preserved.

Do PBIS teams need to have a parent or caregiver on the team to participate in E-PATH?

Yes, parent or caregiver representation on the PBIS team is an essential part of the E-PATH framework. An initial activity is to examine school demographic information and evaluate representation on the team, particularly of groups that are historically marginalized or underserved (e.g., parents or caregivers of students with disabilities). See Leveraging the PBIS Framework to Promote Equitable Family Engagement for strategies to recruit family members to Tier 1 teams.

The team does not currently partner with a local Parent Center. Is this necessary and if so, when should this partnership begin?

Local Parent Centers are a valuable partner to PBIS teams and will be integral to engagement in E-PATH activities. The E-PATH framework was co-developed with partners from Navigating Excellence- Parent Center Assistance and Collaboration Team (NE-PACT) as well as Parent Centers in New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut and promotes collaboration in order to accomplish implementation goals. The Planning, Training, and Activities Scope and Sequence will provide information about how to locate and connect with your local Parent Center. It is recommended that this partnership begin as soon as possible.

Can the team training and coaching sessions be delivered virtually? 

To facilitate relationship building and partnership building with the team the 3-hour team training sessions have been developed to be delivered in person. The Coaching sessions (attended by two members of the team and the Parent Center representative) can be delivered virtually.

What data will teams have to collect?

Data-based decision-making is a critical feature of the E-PATH model. We expect teams are already collecting and using some of the data included in the E-PATH framework (e.g., climate, student and family attendance) however some additional data or tweaks to routines may be necessary (e.g., fidelity of implementation, data disaggregation). The E-PATH Data Guide describes each set of data used in the framework and provides timelines and available resources.

My school has high fidelity at Tier 1; however we have only been implementing for a few years. Is E-PATH a good fit? 

We have found that Tier 1 implementation fidelity is a strong indicator of successful implementation of the E-PATH framework. Particularly, teaming structures and routines to ensure that E-PATH activities are carried out with purpose. However, it is not necessary to have advanced tiers in place (i.e., Tier 2 and 3) before starting E-PATH activities. We are confident that newer teams who are motivated to increase family engagement can find success with the E-PATH framework.

Additional Support for TA Providers 

Questions about the E-PATH project, delivery of materials, or overcoming implementation barriers can be directed to the E-PATH Project team at epathuconn@gmail.com 

We are here to support you! 

 

Module 1: Readiness Activities (recommended completion during Spring/Summer)

Training Content: 

Associated Resources:
E-PATH Implementation Workbook: teams use this workbook to guide implementation and document their activities. 
E-PATH Data Dashboard: teams use these spreadsheets to organize and examine data to drive goal setting and action planning. 

Module 2: Fall Training & Coaching Session

Training Content: 

  • E-PATH Fall Coaching Session (1.5 hours): use this slide deck to facilitate the first coaching session with the 2 individuals who have volunteered to serve as the team’s family engagement facilitators.  

Module 3: Winter Training & Coaching Session

Training Content: 

  • E-PATH Winter Coaching Session (1.5 hours): use this slide deck to facilitate the first coaching session with the 2 individuals who have volunteered to serve as the team’s family engagement facilitators.  

Module 4: Spring Training & Coaching Session

Training Content: 

  • E-PATH Spring Coaching Session (1.5 hours): use this slide deck to facilitate the first coaching session with the 2 individuals who have volunteered to serve as the team’s family engagement facilitators.  

Module 5: Year 3+ Ongoing Implementation

Training Content: 

Acknowledgements

The E-PATH framework and associated materials would not be possible without the collaboration from the following Parent Center partners and school teams in Clifton Public Schools (Clifton, NJ).