{"id":1304,"date":"2025-03-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carnegie25live.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=1304"},"modified":"2025-12-16T10:52:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T18:52:57","slug":"engaging-families-empowering-students-a-conversation-with-learning-heroes-ceo-bibb-hubbard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/engaging-families-empowering-students-a-conversation-with-learning-heroes-ceo-bibb-hubbard\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging Families, Empowering Students: A Conversation with Learning Heroes CEO Bibb Hubbard"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dive into this conversation with Bibb Hubbard, founder and CEO of Learning Heroes<\/a>, as she explores the critical role of family-school partnerships in fostering student success. Bibb, who has spent her career at the intersection of education policy, advocacy, and parent engagement, launched Learning Heroes to support and equip parents in advocating most effectively on behalf of their children\u2019s learning and wellbeing. To meet parents where they are with actionable information and resources, Learning Heroes has conducted an unprecedented amount of parent mindset research<\/a>. Bibb also serves on the Carnegie Expert Workgroup<\/a> to guide the co-creation of our research and development agenda to transform U.S. high school education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this Q&A, Hubbard shares key findings on family perceptions and academic achievement, how communities can work together to support student growth, and the critical moment for family engagement in high school. She also discusses what\u2019s next for research at Learning Heroes and the policy shifts needed to ensure every parent has the knowledge and resources to help their child thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What inspired your focus on parent advocacy and research, and what pivotal experiences led you to launch Learning Heroes?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I come to this work through the lens of policy, politics, communications, and advocacy. I started my career in national politics, working on Democratic presidential campaigns, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Senate, the White House, and the Department of Labor, but three key experiences led me to Learning Heroes. First, as a public school graduate and mom of two, I\u2019ve experienced firsthand the power communities play in supporting student success. Second, my time at Scholastic reinforced the importance of integrating families into every decision. Third, while working at the Gates Foundation, I kept asking, \u201cWhat is our plan for engaging families in our strategy?\u201d which led me to focus on this work with philanthropic support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early on at Learning Heroes, our research found that almost nine in ten parents think their child is at or above grade level<\/a>. Meanwhile, only 30% of 8th graders nationally demonstrate proficiency or above in math and reading. While this illustrates how much there still is to do, based on our work and research, when families are seen, heard and invited in, the results for kids, schools and communities will follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are you most excited about over the next 12 to 24 months at Learning Heroes?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been at this work for nearly a decade. What excites me most now is the clarity we\u2019ve gained: we can\u2019t just support families in isolation to move the needle. We must consider what\u2019s happening inside school buildings, and if there ever was a need for meaningful communications with families, it is now.  We focus on three key areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n