At the Heart of Family Learning: A look back at a year of family learning excellence
Over the past twelve months, my commitment to the pursuit of excellence has been tested in ways I could never have imagined. At the same time, I’ve come to appreciate the power of choosing to approach even the most difficult circumstances with a mindset of excellence. When confronted with challenges, it can be so easy to give ourselves permission to cut corners or take shortcuts. Instead, these should be the moments when we recommit to our mission and double down on the persistence and resilience that led us here. Across the country over the last 12 months, NCFL has continued to work with and through our partners to lead with excellence and advance what matters most: the learning and success of children and families.
Looking back, I realize that these experiences haven’t just shaped my perspective–they’ve also shaped the conversations we’ve had together over the past year. The theme of staying true to our mission by deepening our partnerships has shown up again and again in the blog posts that received our most readership. With that in mind, I wanted to look back at our most popular blog posts from the year.
February 2025: Shifting adult education through purpose-driven effort
In February, I was joined in conversation with Sarah Cacicio, Director of the Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network (ALL IN) to discuss their efforts to bring the “invisible issue” of adult literacy to the forefront and ensure that adult learners have access to the resources they need to thrive.
April 2025: Approaching challenges with a growth mindset and strong relationships
Student absence is a challenge for many school districts across the country. In April, Search Institute President and CEO Dr. Benjamin Houltberg joined me to consider the rise in student absence and how building authentic family/school relationships can be protective against absence while also improving student motivation and grades.
July 2025: Sustainability is resilience and adaptation in action
In July, I considered the topic of sustainability of family learning programming, which involves more than simply securing ongoing funding. Our partners across the country often focus on fiscal resources, but effective sustainability is based on a variety of factors, including authentic interest, local ownership, effective relationship-building, and demonstrated impact. A companion piece to this blog post provides stories of sustainability from NCFL’s work in Nebraska and Arizona.
August 2025: Collaboration is key
In August, it was my pleasure to work alongside my good friend and fellow Kentuckian Dreama Gentry, CEO of Partners for Rural Impact, to provide a call to action for all of us–from families to policymakers to trusted community institutions like libraries and healthcare providers–to come together to solve America’s literacy crisis.
September 2025: Designing education solutions with a focus on the process
In celebration of Adult Education and Family Literacy Week, this post discussed the ways in which multigenerational learning programs can deepen impact through a focus on the whole family. Family literacy’s multigenerational approach not only enhances workforce skills and literacy outcomes for adult learners, it also helps them better understand their child’s school, expand their social capital, and build resilience.
One through-line I see through all of these posts is the importance of relationships. Whether it’s about building relationships across the adult education ecosystem to benefit learners, the importance of relationships to combat student absence, or the resilience that relationships and social capital provide for family literary participants, building relationships among families, schools, and community organizations is vital to our multigenerational approach to learning. Deepening our relationships and focusing on impact are both purpose-driven strategies that we will continue to employ as we travel down the path towards excellence.
We’re encouraging others to join us as we meet this moment and move toward 2026. By donating to our Legacy of Family Learning campaign, you’ll help us expand reach, build excellence, and accelerate our family learning movement to support children, families, and communities across the nation.
About the Author
As President and CEO of the National Center for Families Learning, Dr. Felicia C. Smith brings decades of valuable experience to advance NCFL’s mission of eradicating poverty through education solutions for families. She is a firm believer in the power of family literacy and family learning for multi-generational impact, transforming the lives of families and communities.
Smith has served in a variety of leadership roles in P-12, higher education, nonprofits, and philanthropy. Her unique vantage point of a learner’s educational trajectory, from preschool to adulthood, is a result of her experience leading across multiple education systems. Recognized as an Aspen-Pahara education fellow, she serves on several local and national boards. She also holds the position of Vice Chair for the Southern Regional Education Board and was appointed by Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear to chair the state’s Early Childhood Advisory Council. In 2021, Smith participated in The Equity Lab’s prestigious year-long Nexus Fellowship.
Smith holds an Ed.D. in education leadership and administration from the University of Kentucky, an M.A. in elementary education with an emphasis on K-12 literacy development, and a B.S. in elementary education from the University of Louisville.
Follow Dr. Felicia C. Smith on LinkedIn.