Research–Practice Partnerships, Continuous Improvement, and Family and Community Relationships: A Week of Conversations That Matter

In April, NYKids is delighted to offer a set of conference presentations bringing forward a powerful story about where K–12 education research and practice are headed—and where they must go next. Across multiple sessions, our NYKids team will come together with other researchers and practicing professionals to explore how research–practice partnerships (RPPs), collaborative continuous improvement, and family and community partnerships can help schools respond to complexity, disruption, and persistent inequities of our time.

Rather than offering isolated findings, these presentations highlight relationships, capacity-building, and shared responsibility as central to educational improvement. For researchers and practitioners alike, this work underscores a growing consensus: sustainable change happens when knowledge is co-created with—and not simply delivered to—schools and communities. Check out some of our highlights:

Rethinking Research–Practice Partnerships Across Contexts

Presentation Date: April 11

The session Global Contexts for Research–Practice Partnerships: They Come in All Shapes and Sizes foregrounds the flexibility and adaptability of RPPs across geographic and cultural settings. Through a collection of poster presentations, this session demonstrates how partnerships function in rural, urban, and international contexts—each with distinct challenges and assets.

One poster examines RPPs in rural New York State, offering insights into how scale, trust, and local knowledge shape collaboration. Another explores a holistic, community-centered approach to play-based learning in early childhood education, showing how research can align with culturally-grounded practice rather than displacing it.

Together, these projects remind us that RPPs are not a single model to be replicated. Instead, they are relational infrastructures that evolve in response to local needs and values.

Related research & resources:
– The National Association of Research Practice Partnerships is one fantastic resource
– NYKids research on rural schools including: the impacts of policy shifts in rural schools;  rural research-practice partnerships; and rural youth’s educational aspirations

Advancing Collaborative Continuous Improvement

Presentation Date: April 8

The presentation Advancing the Teaching and Learning of Collaborative Continuous Improvement in Education (CCIE) shifts the focus from individual innovations to systems-level learning. Continuous improvement work depends on shared inquiry, data use, and iterative problem-solving—skills that are still underdeveloped in many educational settings.

This session highlights cutting edge strategies from established leaders in the field addressing CCIE learning challenges for different learners and using different modalities.

For professional developers and anyone who is responsible for designing learning opportunities around CCIE this session lays out practical, technical, organizational, cultural, and ethical/moral principles for the teaching and learning of CCIE.

Related research & resources:
– This session announces the upcoming publication of an edited volume on this topic. Check out Myers Education Press for updates!

Strengthening Home–School Relationships After the Pandemic

Presentation Date: April 12

Few issues feel as urgent—or as unfinished—as rebuilding trust and partnership between families and schools. NYKids’ presentation (Re)Building Relationships: Family Engagement After a Pandemic addresses this challenge head-on by examining how educators can reimagine family engagement rather than return to pre-pandemic norms.

Drawing on NYKids research, this session centers family engagement as relational, reciprocal, and culturally responsive. It pushes beyond surface-level strategies to ask deeper questions about power, communication, and shared decision-making.

For educators and researchers, the message is clear: post-pandemic recovery is not only academic. It is social, emotional, and relational—and families must be partners in that work.

Related research & resources:
– Dual-Capacity Framework for Family Engagement
– Head Start’s Parent-Family-Community Engagement Framework
– National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement Core Competencies
– Brookings Institute on Post-Pandemic Learning
– Aspen Institute Report on Pandemic Recovery in Schools

A Shared Throughline

Taken together, these presentations tell a cohesive story. Whether focused on partnerships, continuous improvement, or family engagement, they all center human relationships as the engine of educational change. They invite researchers to engage more deeply with practice and practitioners to see research as a living resource shaped through collaboration.

For those committed to equitable, resilient, and responsive K–12 systems, this body of work offers both inspiration and practical insight—and a reminder that improvement is not a solitary endeavor, but a collective one.

Stay tuned for more conference updates and uploads of our presentation slides!

For more information about NYKids’ research initiatives and opportunities to engage with this work and other resources, please visit the NYKids website or contact the research team nykids@albany.edu.

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