ABOUT US
Marissa Alberty and Eyal Bergman developed this website as part of their coursework in the Doctor of Education Leadership program (EdLD) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. As former students of Dr. Karen Mapp and practitioners in the field, they hope this website can serve as a resource to anyone who seeks to elevate and improve their family & community engagement practice. Together with our partners, Dr. Mapp and the Institute for Educational Leadership, we thank you for visiting dualcapacity.org.
Dr. Karen L Mapp
Karen L. Mapp, Ed.D., is a senior lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and the faculty director of the Education Policy and Management Master's Program. Over the past twenty years, Mapp's research and practice focus has been on the cultivation of partnerships among families, community members and educators that support student achievement and school improvement.
Marissa Alberty
Marissa is an Education Leadership Doctoral (EdLD) student at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Marissa began her education career as a teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma and later in Washington, D.C. She then transitioned to the nonprofit sector, and was most recently the Chief of Staff at Teach for America in Oklahoma City. Prior to Chief of Staff, Marissa was the founding Director of Family and Community Partnerships, leading hundreds of new teachers yearly in FACE professional development.
Eyal Bergman
As the son of immigrants and educators, Eyal was raised with a deep appreciation for public schools. He was the founder of the Family & Community Engagement Office in the Cajon Valley Union School District in El Cajon, California. He built the department on a vision rooted in his experience as community organizer and youth mentor. Eyal is now in the Doctor of Education Leadership (EdLD) program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Institute for educational Leadership
IEL’s family and community engagement (FCE) work assist states, districts, and schools to improve their family and community engagement efforts. It is built on two goals: (1) Improve state and district FCE capacity, and (2) Improve federal, state, and local FCE policy. In addition to the District Leaders Network on Family and Community Engagement, IEL hosts the annual FCE national conference, which highlights evidence-based practices and leadership and offers ample opportunities to examine how schools, districts, and communities around the country are realizing mutual goals through productive partnerships.
IEL provides a range of supports to school districts, including: assessment of current practice; coaching district engagement staff; technical assistance in implementing assessment recommendations and action plans; and designing summer institutes and other professional development and peer learning activities where necessary. Avoiding cookie-cutter approaches, IEL tailors supports and capacity-building activities to the needs and opportunities in each district and community, working with districts on customized action plans informed by assessments of current family engagement policies and practices.