Outcomes of a Virtual Community of Practice with Community Navigators Aimed at Fostering Family–School–Community Partnerships

Abstract

Community navigators (CNs) play critical roles in fostering consultancy between school professionals and newcomer families in the United States. The overarching goal of this project was to enhance CNs’ capability to facilitate collaboration and create an impact in the communities they serve. To meet this goal, we created the Leading in Newcomer Communities and Schools program to establish a community of practice through the evidence-based, virtual knowledge-sharing ECHO platform. In total, 18 CNs participated in a 10-session ECHO series designed to enhance CNs’ capability by (1) improving knowledge of education policies and laws; (2) enhancing awareness of education resources; (3) increasing self-efficacy; and (4) building skills to promote school and community collaboration. Electronic pre- and post-surveys were collected to assess CN’s learning outcomes, and data were analyzed using descriptive and frequency analyses as well as Wilcoxon Signed-Rank non-parametric tests. Qualitative feedback was collected from post-session feedback and a post-program focus group and analyzed using a deductive content analysis approach. Overall, participants reported greater capability and confidence for consultancy between families and school professionals and high satisfaction with the program. Similar approaches can help transform family, school, and community partnerships into culturally responsive home–school–community policies and practices.

1. Introduction

Schools and communities nationally are serving an increasing number of students whose families are new to the United States. There are nearly 46.2 million immigrants in the United States as of 2022, the most in the United States’ history (Migration Policy Institute 2024). Approximately 17.6 million U.S. children under age 18 lived with at least one immigrant parent in 2022. They accounted for 26 percent of all 68.6 million children under the age of 18, up from 24 percent in 2010, 19 percent in 2000, and 13 percent in 1990 (Migration Policy Institute 2024). Many of these students, who are emergent English, multi-language learners, reside in families where parents or legal guardians have not been educated in the U.S. and who desire more guidance on how to engage in their children’s education.

Community navigators (CNs), who are often former newcomers that have become trusted leaders within their communities, can play a critical role in supporting newcomer families who are unfamiliar with U.S. schools. In contrast to school appointed interpreters or school family liaisons, CNs are often asked by families, through social networks, to assist in and serve as interpreters for home–school communication. Their already established community relationships, deep commitment to valued cultural traditions, multilingual knowledge, and appreciation of key differences between the educational system in the U.S. and their native country make them invaluable cultural brokers on school-based teams (Henderson and Kendall 2011). CNs can explain, connect, and help newcomer families access services and support and mobilize their communities to advocate for strategies to remove systemic barriers.

While the benefits associated with CN programs have been well documented in the healthcare field (Lewin et al. 2010; Lloyd-Evans et al. 2020), few programs have been specifically identified to promote effective home–school partnerships in the field of education. Existing studies do indicate, however, that CNs can contribute to a safer and more welcoming environment for newcomer students in schools, which in turn bolsters newcomer students’ well-being and the likelihood of their graduating from high school (Podar et al. 2022; Durbeej et al. 2021). CNs are ideally positioned to foster collaborative partnerships between families and schools due to their intimate knowledge of their communities’ cultural values and the many challenges newcomers face when adjusting to the U.S.’s often complex systems (i.e., healthcare, transportation, housing, and employment) (Schaffer et al. 2018).

Unfortunately, limited options exist for CN professional development on critical educational systems and policies or the unwritten expectations and practices that can foster newcomer family engagement to ensure their children succeed in school and graduate with opportunities to attend college, a trade school, or begin a career. Strengthening CN’s professional identity and fostering their confidence to engage in collaborative teaming can advance equity by reducing the achievement and opportunity gaps often observed between students from cultural and linguistically diverse backgrounds and their peers (Basterra and Schlanger 2017; Miller and Nguyen 2014).

Communities of Practice, Community Navigation, and Project Goals

Communities of Practice (CoPs) have been described as “ways of doing things, ways of talking, beliefs, values, power relations” (Lave and Wenger 1991, p. 464) through voluntary and serendipitous member interaction to support identity development (Weinberg et al. 2021). According to Weinberg and colleagues, “CoPs position learning as a social activity; shared discourse and meaning making of norms and behaviors acculturate members into CoPs” (p. S102). Wenger (1998) posits that CoPs can occur formally or informally and are typically composed of three elements: (a) mutual participation with negotiated meanings; (b) a joint endeavor that is based on mutual engagement; and (c) a shared set of resources to negotiate meaning. Within a CoP, learning is an active social process that emerges from a sense of community or belonging and serves as a potential tool for knowledge sharing within that community or unit or organization (Cohen 2022). As learning progresses, individual participant identities transform and evolve over time, resulting in changes in practice (Lave and Wenger 1991; Wilson et al. 2020). Thus, CoPs form a logical professional development framework for training and supporting CNs from varied geographic and demographic identities to come together for the shared goal and purpose of supporting newcomer families to successfully navigate and experience novel educational systems to benefit their child’s development and learning.

CN programs have been widely adopted in healthcare fields based on empirical evidence of their contribution to successful long-term post-surgery outcomes and treatment of chronic health conditions (e.g., Eng and Parker 2002; Henderson and Kendall 2011; Yu et al. 2007). However, few programs have been specifically developed to build CN’s knowledge of general and special education in the U.S., to advance their group facilitation skills, or to strengthen attributions about their advocacy to ensure immigrant families can participate in their children’s education support plans.

Given that no known curriculum or guidelines currently exist to support the training for CNs in education, we sought to design, implement, and pilot an initial evaluation of a professional development program for these emerging leaders. The overarching goal of this project was to enhance CN’s ability to facilitate collaborative decision making and teaming between school professionals and newcomer families using a CoP as the framework. To meet this goal, the Leading in Newcomer Communities and Schools (LINCS) program was created through the evidence-based, virtual knowledge-sharing ECHO platform. The 10-session ECHO series was designed to build the consultancy skills of CNs who wanted to strengthen collaborative home–school partnerships with immigrant families to improve students’ school and life success. The overarching goal of this study was to test the LINCS program with a diverse initial sample to assess how it impacted CN knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy to work with newcomer families and school professionals to promote school, family, and community partnerships. Specifically, the aim was to pilot the LINCS program and assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the program to (a) improve CN knowledge of education policies and laws, (b) enhance CN awareness of education resources, (c) increase CN self-efficacy, and (d) build CN skills to promote school and community collaboration.

2. Materials and Methods

To assess the LINCS program’s benefits to improve CN knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy, the program was piloted with 13 CNs. Pre- and post-surveys as well as concluding focus groups informed program feasibility and effectiveness.

2.1. Project Team

The LINCS program curriculum was developed by an interdisciplinary team comprised professors in higher education (n = 2), a university staff member (n = 1), graduate students in the college of education (n = 3), and a current CN and former teacher (n = 1) who collectively had expertise in school psychology, special education, virtual program delivery pedagogy, community navigation, and experience in supporting newcomer families and students. This team collaborated over four months with an intentionally selected Community Advisory Panel (CAP), comprising individuals with expertise in immigration, bilingual education, and home–school–community collaboration. CAP members included school administrators (n = 2), school family liaisons (n = 2), and community members with experience in refugee and immigrant service delivery (n = 2). The LINCS team received ongoing input from CAP members regarding content, resources, and final evaluation measures.

2.2. Participants

Participants, who themselves were newcomers to the US, were recruited nationally in partnership with the CN on the LINCS leadership team using emailed flyers and text messages. Criteria to participate included the following:

• Community leader with experience in advocacy, service delivery, and/or community navigation.
• Have a deep personal understanding of the challenges refugee and immigrant students and their families face when adapting to U.S. schooling expectations.
• 21 years of age or older and have lived in the United States a minimum of one year.
• Fluency in English and the native language of the community you serve.
• Willingness to facilitate future meetings between educators/administrators and parents/caretakers regarding school or educationally related issues.
• Ability to attend 90 min virtual sessions twice a month for total of 10 sessions.

In total, the LINCS program recruited 18 CNs. Of the 18 total registrants, 17 attended at least one session, and 13 completed all program steps including the pre- and post- surveys. The final 13 participants who completed the program reflected five countries of origin (i.e., Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Morocco, and Sudan) and resided in seven states (i.e., Colorado (n = 5), Iowa (n = 2), Kansas (n = 1) Minnesota (n = 1), Missouri (n = 1), Pennsylvania (n = 1), and South Dakota (n = 2). All were active participants in their communities as leaders, interpreters, liaisons, and advocates (Table 1).

Table 1. LINCS participant roles and experiences.

Role	Number of Participants
Community Liaison	5
Community Leader	3
Translator	3
Church Leader	3
Career Coach	2
Parent	2
Teacher	1
Community Navigator	1
Nurse	1
Radio Host	1

Note. The total n is greater than 17 as some participants reported multiple roles.

The Institutional Review Board at a western private university approved this study, informed consent was gathered from participants, and participants received a certificate of completion and USD 300 compensation for their time at the conclusion of the program.

2.3. Content Delivery—ECHO

The Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) model is an evidence-based, virtual professional learning platform designed to address complex challenges by bringing together CoPs to democratize knowledge and scale evidence-based practice solutions. Project ECHO began at the University of New Mexico in 2003 as a way to connect rural medical providers with the latest best practices for patient care (Arora et al. 2007) and has since spread to over 208 countries and areas across the world (https://projectecho.unm.edu/, accessed on 12 November 2024). The model is now utilized beyond medical care topic areas to include the fields of education, mental health, and emergency response. In 2018, ECHO-DU, a Project ECHO replication site at the University of Denver, was established with a focus on education. Since its inception it has led to 21 series reaching over 1324 educators and school mental health professionals across 24 states and 5 countries.

In the ECHO model, continuing education is delivered through case-based learning in which clinicians, educators, and other professionals draw from and learn together using active client or student cases in their practice. All participants contribute to the case discussions, and specialists mentor practitioners to help them manage their cases through guided discussion and feedback. The ECHO model includes a team of experts located at a hub (e.g., academic center, public health department, etc.) who connect virtually to other community practitioners (i.e., “spokes”) for the purpose of case-based learning, the delivery of specific didactic instruction, and professional network building (Komaromy et al. 2017). At the heart of the ECHO model is knowledge sharing among community practitioners and researchers to work through complex challenges that practitioners might not have felt prepared to address otherwise (Arora et al. 2007).

There is extensive evidence of the effectiveness of the ECHO model to foster the translation of research into practice, to increase knowledge and efficacy around problems of practice, to enhance skill development, and to establish CoPs between researchers and practitioners (Arora et al. 2007; Hardesty et al. 2020; Hirsch et al. 2023). Studies of the model have demonstrated an ability for a professional CoP to form in education-related ECHOs (Hirsch et al. 2023) and to bring together diverse intercultural members to share knowledge and expertise around complex topics in healthcare with cultural brokers (Nixon et al. 2024). In the LINCS program, ECHO-DU was used to bring together not only culturally and linguistically diverse CNs serving students from newcomer families and researchers, but also preservice educators, mental health practitioners, and community partners. The aim was to build systemic capacity and establish a lasting CoP around fostering strong home, school, and community partnerships.

2.4. LINCS Program Content

Adapted from the work of Henderson and Kendall (2011) who designed community navigator training within the healthcare field, the LINCS program content spanned topics such as building a professional network through personal and professional introductions, identification of challenges facing families and youth in newcomer communities, critical information on general and special education in the U.S., the importance of social and emotional development and mental health for students, and building effective consultancy skills needed to foster partnerships between homes, schools, and communities. See Table 2 for a list of session topics. A corresponding website was created so participants could access the materials and resources shared during each session (See https://sites.google.com/view/lincsproject/home).

Table 2. LINCS series schedule and content.

Weekly Sessions	Topic
Session 1	Introductions and Overview
Session 2	US Education System
Session 3	Ensuring Student Success
Session 4	Supporting Social-Emotional Development
Session 5	Supporting Learning and Achievement
Session 6	Enhancing Family Engagement
Session 7	Improving Home–School Communication
Session 8	Promoting Successful Meetings
Session 9	Networking for Success
Session 10	Accomplishments and Next Steps

The LINCS ECHO sessions ran for 10 weeks beginning in January 2023 until the first week of June 2023. All ten sessions were held virtually for 90 min on Saturday mornings twice per month. Sessions were conducted as a non-hierarchical CoP where team members, CNs, and invited guests learned with and from each other. Early sessions focused on personal and professional introductions, challenges facing families and youth in their communities, critical information on general and special education in the U.S., and the importance of youth social and emotional development and mental health. Later sessions focused on effective consultancy skills needed to build partnerships between homes, schools, and communities. As time went on, sessions shifted towards collaborative problem-solving and action planning on priority issues facing their respective communities. Three small groups were formed and worked together during and outside of the sessions on one of three overarching challenges common across communities: (a) the lack of after-school community resources; (b) limited information for families to support social emotional development; and (c) barriers to college entry and other career decisions. Participants joined the group that most pertained to their work and were trained in data collection and research strategies to inform the development of action plans. Participants from each group presented their action plans during the final LINCS ECHO session with invited community members in attendance.

2.5. Project Evaluation and Measures

Summative measures were collected through an online Qualtrics survey developed specifically for the LINCS project to assess participant knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy as well as program effectiveness. The survey was developed through a review of the literature and identified project goals. To assess construct and content validity, CAP team members were provided with a copy of the initial survey items and asked to provide feedback on flow, understandability, and content. The number of survey items was reduced, and wording was revised based on the CAP feedback. This version was then piloted with five immigrant adults by a LINCS team member who were asked to provide feedback on readability and ease of understanding. Final wording changes were made based on the pilot data.

The final survey consisted of 12 items that were included on pre- and post-session surveys that were designed to assess knowledge of policies and laws, awareness of resources, perceived self-efficacy for partnering, and consultancy skills for school and community collaboration. An additional nine items were only included in the post-survey to gauge participant impressions of and satisfaction with the CoP’s formation and engagement, series content and process, and information gained about collaboration with the school community (Table 3). All items were worded as a statement for participants to indicate their agreement using a 5-point Likert scale (i.e., Strongly Agree, Agree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree), with higher scores indicating more agreement with the statement. Participants were sent the 12-item pre-survey via a Qualtrics link through email to complete one week before the initial LINCS session and were sent the 21-item post-survey immediately following the final LINCS session.

Table 3. Sample pre- and post-survey questions.

Category	Sample Question	Purpose
Pre- and Post-Survey
Knowledge of Policies and Laws	Item 1: I understand the education laws that affect children and families in my community. Item 2: I understand how schools and districts in my community are organized.	Evaluated the participants’ knowledge of the US education systems, specifically how schools and districts are organized and the laws that affect children and families in their communities.
Knowledge of Resources	Item 3: I know who to go to in the schools or the district of my community if I have questions or concerns. Item 4: I know how to build relationships between families, communities, and schools. Item 5: I know how to get education resources needed by families in my community. Item 6: I can help make changes to support students and families in my community.	Evaluated the participants’ knowledge about and access to the key individuals and resources available in their schools and districts.
Perceived Self-Efficacy	Item 7: I can answer most questions families have about their children’s education. Item 8: I can consult on student and family education rights in the U.S. Item 9: I can help families advocate for their children’s educational needs. Item 10: I can communicate with school professionals about education issues facing my community.	Assessed participants’ confidence in their ability to serve their communities as liaisons, advocates, leaders, and navigators.
School and Community Collaborations	Item 11: I can work together with the school staff when attending school meetings. Item 12: I can work together with the school staff at Individual Educational Program (IEP) meetings.	Assessed the participants’ ability to collaborate and engage with school staff.
Post-Survey
Participant Collaboration and Engagement	Item 13: Participants in this LINCS group were very supportive of each other. Item 14: Participants in this LINCS group were able to share personal opinions. Item 15: Participants in this LINCS group are persons I would reach out to in the future.	Assessed participants’ perceptions towards collaborative efforts within the LINCS participants.
Training Sessions Satisfaction	Item 16: The LINCS training sessions provided me with important information to support my community. Item 17: The LINCS training sessions helped me develop better leadership skills. Item 18: The LINCS training sessions provided opportunities to build my communication skills with people from different cultures. Item 19: The LINCS training sessions increased my knowledge of important proven (evidence-based) U.S. education programs, practices, and resources.	Assessed participants’ perceptions towards the effectiveness of the training sessions.
Collaborating with School Community (families, school professionals)	Item 20: The LINCS training sessions increased my ability to work together with families and school professionals. Item 21: The LINCS training sessions gave me new ways to support students and families in my community.	Assessed the participant’s capacity to effectively engage with both families and school professionals

Formative data were captured via participants’ oral feedback on three questions that were asked by a non-affiliated staff member following each session.

• What inspired you and what was your favorite thing about today’s session?
• What were your least favorite things about the session?
• What could we improve upon for next time?

The data were compiled into a report and changes were made to the ECHO programming based on the feedback.

Additionally, participants were asked to voluntarily attend a follow-up focus group conducted one month after the final LINCS session. A semi-structured interview guide was developed with input from the LINCS co-directors and the ECHO-DU program manager and then piloted and reviewed for flow. The final guide consisted of seven questions:

• Why did you initially join this ECHO-DU series?
• How comfortable and/or confident did you feel in sharing your ideas and thoughts with the group during meetings?
• What were the challenges of participating in this ECHO series?
• What was the most valuable thing to you about this ECHO series?
• What topics do you wish we would have covered more during this ECHO series?
• We heard from one group that it could be helpful to have skills training to support ideas we have as leaders. They mentioned grant writing skills and presentation skills for example. If we wanted to host this ECHO series again, what other topics/trainings/or skills would you want to hear about?
• Is there any other feedback you would like to share about your experience in the LINCS program?

One focus group was conducted virtually over Zoom by a trained ECHO-DU team member. The 35 min focus group was attended by three participants and was recorded. A summary of recommendations given at the focus group session was provided to all participants as a form of member checking.

2.6. Data Analysis

Participants’ pre- to post- changes in responses across the 12 pre–post survey items were grouped into four categories aligned with project goals: (a) knowledge of policies and laws, (b) awareness of resources, (c) perceived self-efficacy, and (d) skills for school and community collaboration. Additionally, participants’ responses to the nine post-only survey items were grouped into three categories: (a) participant engagement, (b) support through the content series, and (c) increased ability to collaborate with the school community as important social support components of a CoP. Descriptive and frequency analyses as well as a Wilcoxon Signed-Rank non-parametric test were conducted. The formative data collected following each session and the feedback gained via the post-program focus group session were reviewed qualitatively using a deductive content analysis approach (Elo and Kyngäs 2008) to identify patterns and themes regarding participants’ satisfaction with and suggestions for future changes to the program. Participant feedback was systematically categorized by program strengths, suggested program improvements, and additional feedback, which allowed for a structured interpretation of feedback.

3. Results

Of the 18 total registrants, 13 completed all steps of the LINCS program including the pre- and post-surveys, and data were analyzed from these 13 participants. Participants that did not complete the LINCS program had to drop out unexpectedly due to personal and life changes that precluded their full participation. Summative outcomes are presented by category and formative participant feedback is outlined by theme with representative quotes. These data and results were reviewed to understand the feasibility and effectiveness of the LINCS program.

3.1. Summative Outcomes

3.1.1. Participant Knowledge of Policies and Laws, Resource Awareness, Self-Efficacy, and Collaboration Skills

Before the LINCS program, participants reported having some knowledge of school and district organization, how to access educational resources for families, and confidence in answering families’ education questions and consulting on education rights. Overall, after the LINCS program, participants reported that the program led to increased knowledge about education policies and laws, improved awareness of where to find and access resources, greater self-efficacy to work with newcomer families and schools, and enhanced skills to foster collaboration between newcomer families and United States schools (Table 4).

Table 4. Evaluation of LINCS participant knowledge, resource awareness, self-efficacy, and skill.

	% Agree or Strongly Agree Pre-Survey (n = 13)	% Agree or Strongly Agree Post-Survey (n = 13)
Knowledge of US policies and laws
I understand the education laws that affect children and families in my community.	77%	85%
I understand how schools and districts in my community are organized.	54%	100%
Awareness of resources
I know who to go to in the schools or the district of my community if I have questions or concerns.	62%	92%
I know how to build relationships between families, communities, and schools.	77%	100%
I know how to get education resources needed by families in my community.	38%	92%
I can help make changes to support students and families in my community.	85%	100%
Perceived self-efficacy
I can answer most questions families have about their children’s education.	38%	77%
I can consult on student and family education rights in the U.S.	38%	77%
I can help families advocate for their children’s educational needs.	62%	92%
I can communicate with school professionals about education issues facing my community.	62%	100%
School–community collaboration skills
I can work together with the school staff when attending school meetings.	92%	100%
I can work together with the school staff at Individual Educational Program (IEP) meetings.	85%	100%

Further, Wilcoxon Signed-Rank non-parametric tests across the 13 participants revealed significant gains in participant understanding of school and district organization scores from pre-series (M = 3.3, SD = 1.1) to post-series (M = 4.3, SD = 0.48); z = 2.6, p ≤ 0.01). Significant differences were also found in participant resource awareness including who to request help from in schools or districts from pre-series (M = 3.2, SD = 1.5) to post-series (M = 4.5, SD = 0.66); z = 2.2, p ≤ 0.03), how to build relationships from pre-series (M = 3.8, SD = 1.1) to post-series (M = 4.5, SD = 0.52); z = 2.0, p ≤ 0.04), and how to get education resources from pre-series (M = 3.5, SD = 1.1) to post-series (M = 4.4, SD = 0.51); z = 2.1, p ≤ 0.04). There was also a significant increase in participant self-efficacy in communicating with school professionals about education issues facing their communities from pre-series (M = 3.5, SD = 0.97) to post-series (M = 4.3, SD = 0.48); z = 2.2, p ≤ 0.03).

3.1.2. Participant Engagement, Support, and Improved Abilities

Participant responses to questions about the formation of a CoP highlighted the positive impact of the LINCS program on fostering lasting partnerships during the series and revealed a likelihood to engage with other people/professionals beyond the program. Overall, all participants (100% agree or strongly agree) reported feeling supported by LINCS peers, 12 participants (92% agree or strongly agree) reported that they were able to share personal opinions during the sessions, and 11 participants (85% agree or strongly agree) indicated they would reach out to fellow participants in the future.

Participants also expressed high levels of satisfaction with the training provided, emphasizing its valuable contribution to their understanding of community support (100%, agree or strongly agree), leadership in schools (100%, agree or strongly agree), diversity (100%, agree or strongly agree), and knowledge of the US education system (100%, agree or strongly agree). Additionally, participants agreed that training sessions increased their ability overall to work with families and school professionals (100% agree or strongly agree) as well as provided new ways to support students and families (92% agree or strongly agree).

3.2. Formative Feedback

LINCS Program Satisfaction and Feedback

Participants provided monitoring feedback at the end of each session. This real-time assessment allowed for immediate adjustments and improvements to the program to be made by the LINCS Leadership team, fostering an environment of dynamic responsiveness. Qualitative data was gathered on the following areas: LINCS program strengths, LINCS program areas for improvement, and additional feedback for the facilitators. At the end of the LINCS program, focus group questions addressed these topic areas as well as ideas participants had for successful future LINCS series. Table 5 provides an overview of participant feedback.

Table 5. Participant feedback related to the LINCS program and representative quotes.

Themes and Summaries	Representative Quotes
LINCS program strengths
Content: participants explained that sessions were clear, information felt relevant, and the content would help them support families	“I’m here to learn… For my kid’s future because I want to support them. I want to join this program”. “The information about newcomer challenges is important because it helps us consider what needs to be added in newcomer training programs”. “[I] learned about the gaps and the challenges that integration orientation processes for newcomer communities [have]”.
Networking and group projects: participants reported that group action plan projects were great opportunities to work together, step-by-step templates were helpful, and that the process helped individuals’ professional work	“Well, for example, you cannot clap with one hand. You need two hands. If one person has an idea, you can’t build something. You need to invite people to build it together”. “I presented at the last day and we shared our opinion in front of the group. There were a lot of presentations for one day. I was prepared for one or two days. When I presented, people asked questions and we answered as a group”.
Resources: participants explained that the resources shared during LINCS were a great way to easily access information and continue learning	“I am thankful for resources for our communities, for us navigators and leaders”.
LINCS program areas for improvement
Collaboration: participants asked for more collaboration and discussion time during and outside sessions.	“Some individuals are working on other key areas in their action planning groups but have experience in the areas that other groups are working on… there should be flexibility to provide support and resources to other groups”.
Additional content: participants described additional content that LINCS could cover including the following: mental health for refugee and immigrant populations, finding financial resources to support education, advocating for educational rights in the political arena, and skills for grant-writing and presentations	“I wish there was more program so I could keep learning”. “Many of us come from outside of the U.S. and don’t speak English as well. We should have a parent workshop. Parents need to know how to schedule meetings, remind their children how to do the homework, and take notes about school”. “I raised 2 kids by myself, so I do have some experience with the schooling stuff. With this community, I learned more. In the future, I would like to learn more about this kind of stuff”. “We need guidance on accessing programs that can assist with college expenses”. “As refugees, many of us face language barriers and lack confidence in assisting our children with their studies. We need accessible programs that empower us to actively engage in our children’s education and provide the necessary support”.
Guest presenters: participants asked to invite new guest experts each week to share experiences and resources	“It would be interesting to learn from an expert who is an outsider, and it would be great if we could have time to ask questions”.
Participant engagement: participants asked that all participants have the chance to speak during discussion, that the LINCS Leadership team follow up with absent participants, and include more group discussion	“Discussions feel rushed and sometimes people don’t share important points due to time limitations”. “More repetition of ideas and group discussions [would help]”.
Timing: participants mentioned running out of time for discussions, scheduling challenges, or difficulties with the length of the program	“This is an opportunity to network and gather resources so it would be helpful if participants can have time to meet or connect outside the LINCS sessions”.
Additional feedback
Community of practice: participants mentioned the benefits of having a network of people to support their work	“Appreciate the opportunity to have access to the group over the last couple of months”. “[We] need more time to meet with other LINCS participants to foster community and learning”.
Diversity: participants expressed appreciation for the diverse perspectives presented	“Good to get together to share information and experiences and happy to hear different perspectives”. “Some people I know before. They come from my country. Some people I don’t know. That brings up communication and getting to know each other from other countries. I am happy to meet and get to know people”.
Empowerment: participants described feelings of increased confidence to do this work	“It’s about supporting our kids and having a connection with the community and a connection with the school district. and how to reach out to teachers with all this stuff, or how they, the chair, can reach out to you to support your kids, to go to school or to go to college”.

Overall, participants shared they were grateful for the information and group support the LINCS program provided them, and they provided helpful guidance on refining the program. Suggestions included adding additional content or expanding upon content in ways like creating a program for parents navigating U.S. schools, continuing the current LINCS program and expanding upon topics introduced, bringing in more guest speakers, and providing more time for participants to share. For example, participants explained how helpful it was to hear from guest speakers that work in school districts and to be able to ask questions about resources available to newcomer students and systems and policies in place. The LINCS team met this request immediately by adjusting the LINCS curriculum to include relevant guest speakers on topics like the special education process as well as legal and procedural issues. Other changes that were immediately integrated into the curriculum included the LINCS team providing the specific resources requested (e.g., questions about college financial aid access were raised and resources provided). Resources including webinars, texts, articles, personal contacts, and all session video recordings were added to the LINCS website, which participants were encouraged to use even after the program ended.

Other participant feedback will be used to enhance future iterations of the LINCS program. For example, additional time or sessions to network with each other and guest speakers could allow participants to ask questions related to their work and could potentially open new topics for discussion and learning. Participants enjoyed meeting one another and the LINCS leaders and even suggested another series for the same group to expand upon topics and continue to offer each other support.

4. Discussion

The LINCS program is a professional development space for immigrant community navigators to collectively share and learn approaches to build strong home, school, and community partnerships. Too often these individuals are overlooked in such efforts, even though they are sought out by families for guidance on how to engage in and support their children’s education. The overarching goal was to embrace and nurture the consultancy knowledge, capabilities, and expertise of identified community navigators through a professional community of practice opportunity with other leaders passionate about supporting the well-being of families and students within their communities. Quantitative and qualitative outcomes from pre-and post-surveys, post-session feedback, and a post-program focus group strongly suggest that this approach leveraged participants’ understanding of strategies to support newcomer families’ engagement in their children’s education. Participants also reported high satisfaction with the professional communication, shared resources, and network that were created.

Several recommendations are forwarded to foster future expansions of this work:

• First, CNs must be recruited informally and formally across multiple avenues and settings. By working together with immigrant/refugee service agencies, faith-based organizations, community hubs, and cultural/ethnic organizations, CNs can be identified who are already actively supporting families within their communities. A larger sample with longitudinal data would allow us to understand CNs’ knowledge and applied skills to assess the impact of the LINCS program in real-world settings.
• Second, thoughtful situation-crafting (Cohen 2022) is needed to create a strong sense of belonging and open communication during a virtual intercultural community of practice where members have different levels of spoken English proficiency. Initial efforts focused on personal story sharing can encourage greater participation (Strickland 2022). Additionally, participants from the LINCS program asked for more time to share more experiences, to network, and to process problems of practice and brainstorm solutions as a group.
• Third, a prolonged commitment to multiple professional development sessions requires the recognition of family and employment obligations that can make it difficult to attend all sessions. Alternative engagement strategies for unexpected situations are needed so members can listen to a taped recording of a missed session prior to attending subsequent meetings. Compensation for such engagement also creates a climate of gratitude and reinforces the importance of sustained participation with colleagues who want to learn together and share resources.
• Fourth, program flexibility is critical. The LINCS program was grounded in prior research on healthcare consultancy and vetted by our community advisory panel; however, participant feedback collected after each session led to an important shift in later sessions to prioritize time for collaborative problem-solving and action planning in support of commonly identified needs within their communities. One way in which the LINCS program offered flexibility was through the virtual ECHO-DU platform. This virtual option allowed participants to join via computer or cellphone from anywhere. There were some disadvantages to consider, however. First, some participants were initially unfamiliar with Zoom and needed additional tutoring on how to utilize this type of virtual platform. A technical assistant from ECHO-DU provided guidance to participants during sessions and helped ensure fewer technical glitches while facilitating the virtual session.
• Finally, the student researchers reported a deeper appreciation and understanding of community and family strengths, the personal and systemic barriers that can hinder family and student engagement, and the ways in which learning occurs both within and beyond the school setting. These transformative, embedded field experiences equip preservice college students with the professional dispositions, skills, and cultural knowledge necessary to effectively serve and connect with the families and communities they support.

5. Conclusions

In summary, enrolling CNs who reflect multiple cultural and ethnic identities, literacies, and traditions in a professional community of practice provided a dynamic opportunity for intercultural networking that transcends language and cultural differences (Ishimaru 2017). The community navigators who participated in the LINCS program reported greater post-session competence and efficacy for future consultancy between families and school professionals. The collective learning that occurred was guided by an understanding of a community’s cultural fund of knowledge (Gonzalez et al. 2005; Moll et al. 1992), socio-cultural ways of constructing meaning (Esteban-Guitart and Moll 2014), and cultural capital (Yosso 2005). Recent research has expanded upon these concepts to acknowledge the diverse strengths and assets that students, families, CNs, and others from historically marginalized communities bring to school settings (Acevedo and Solorzano 2023; DeNicolo et al. 2015). This research highlights the importance of valuing the community cultural wealth of diverse groups to foster more inclusive and effective educational settings.

The case study design provided in-depth, context-rich insights into CN experiences in the LINCS program. Findings, however, are limited in generalizability due to the focus on the specificity of this context. While definitive conclusions are restricted by the case study design, the initial findings strongly suggest that virtual professional development experiences for CNs, such as those crafted through ECHO-DU, may be an important adjunctive modality to support newcomer family engagement in their children’s education (Caspe and Hernandez 2023; Cureton 2020). ECHO-DU is an ideal medium for building such interprofessional and intercultural partnerships and capital in that it allows key stakeholders to share expertise and resources, overcoming potential challenges like geographical distance and cultural and linguistic differences. The ECHO model also offered a solution for challenges like limited professional and social networks or uncertainty about state policies or procedures, which can be common challenges faced by newcomer communities.

By bringing together participants from different groups including CNs, faculty, preservice educators, and community members, the LINCS program was built in such a way as to foster honest dialogue and to facilitate increased capacity within education systems (Miller et al. 2025). Future iterations of the program could involve additional stakeholder groups from district-level policy makers to students and other family members. Community-based participatory opportunities for lay people have been employed with great results in the healthcare field (Suarez-Balcazar et al. 2020; Yu et al. 2007). Similar approaches can help transform family, school, and community partnerships into culturally responsive and sustainable home–school–community policies and practices that contribute to students’ school and life success to help ensure that “everyone wins” (Mapp et al. 2022).