The cornerstone of Families & Schools Together Canada (F&ST Canada – pronounced "FAST") is a collaborative team approach that builds on the strengths of families, schools, family service agencies and community organizations so that collectively they achieve results that could not be reached by one group alone. Each team includes at least four core partnerships: a community-based family service organization, a community-based addiction prevention/treatment organization, a public, separate or private school and a parent from the school community. Depending on the cultural and ethnic composition of the community, other partners may also participate.

Families & Schools Together Canada is built on the belief that every parent loves their children and wants a better life for them. Parents, professionals and volunteers work together as partners to build an understanding of school and behaviour problems and their potential to contribute to more serious academic problems, substance abuse and anti-social behaviour. All members of the family work together with community professionals to strengthen the family unit and develop a network of informal and formal social supports to help parents and their children.

Families & Schools Together Canada has been implemented in over 40 communities in seven provinces across Canada. Originally developed by Dr. Lynn McDonald and Family Service America in Madison, Wisconsin, the model has been adopted in the United States by the FAST National Training and Evaluation Center, one of the largest networks of community-based family and child serving groups in North America. Families & Schools Together Canada began in 1996 at Catholic Family Service in Calgary and has been coordinated nationally by Family Service Canada since 1998. The model also operates in Germany, Austria, Russia and Australia.

The goals of the program are to:

• Improve family relationships and build stronger family bonds.
• Promote children’s success in school.
• Prevent substance abuse by children and their families.
• Reduce the stress that parents and children experience in daily life.
• Increase parent involvement in their children’s school and in their community.
• Families & Schools Together Canada gives parents and their children an opportunity to spend quality time together, enjoy and support one another and participate more fully and comfortably in their school and in their community.

Families & Schools Together Canada is designed to enable everyone, regardless of age, to have fun while systematically improving parent-child interaction, empowering parents and building family support networks. The model’s structure embodies a unique and complex interplay of tested family therapy practices, delinquency and substance abuse prevention strategies, parent education techniques and communications theory.

All members of the child’s family are invited to attend a series of eight to twelve (depending on the program adaptation) weekly team-led multi-family sessions at the child’s school. A trained team, which includes a school parent and other key professionals, lead the meetings.

Meetings follow a uniform agenda that includes carefully planned opening and closing traditions, structured family activities, parent time, kids’ time and parent-child time. The activities are educational, lively and fun.

All adaptations of the program conclude with a graduation ceremony that celebrates the successes of the individual families. All families are invited to continue to participate in the second phase of the model, F&STWORKS, a 22-month follow-up program.

Space and Equipment Needs:

• One large area with minimal kitchen facilities for serving a meal to 10-15 families.
• One large area for Kids' Time activities; possibly in separate age groupings.
• A private ‘adult’ room for Parent Group meetings
• A room for parent-child dyads to practice interactive child-led Special Play or One-to-One Time.
• A room for infant and/or toddler care, if needed.
• Play equipment.
• A coffee pot, if available.
• Small area for refrigerator space, if possible.
• Clean-up equipment.
• Small area for storing program supplies.

The value of Families & Schools Together Canada can be stated in two words: “IT WORKS!” All partners – the child, the family, the school and the community – benefit.

• Extensive research shows clear improvements in the child’s academic performance and behaviour at school and at home.
• Increased self-esteem, closer family relationships, more parent involvement in the school and the development of a strong support network all contribute to these results.
• Follow-up studies suggest that children continue to improve their performance and maintain their positive behaviour.
• Research indicates that many parents continue to benefit through access to counselling, substance abuse treatment and job training opportunities.
• Parents continue to be more involved in their children’s schools and in their community.

Families & Schools Together Canada: Canadian National Evaluation of Outcomes 1996-2004 [PDF - 394 kb]

Executive Summary [PDF - 130 kb]

Funding for Families & Schools Together Canada comes from a variety of sources. Funding includes grants and donations from:

• Provincial governments
• Municipal governments
• School boards
• Corporations
• Faith organizations
• The New Ontario Trillium Foundation
• Foundations
• United Way
• Youth services agencies
• Family service agencies
• Community organizations