The power of language begins with the family as child’s first teachers. Whether families access early education through home visiting programs or preschool settings, the quality of the partnership between the educator and the family is especially influential when children are learning in two or more languages. Families and community resources enhance early childhood education by contributing funds of knowledge that are culturally responsive to each child. Partnerships inform and empower families to enhance learning at home to strengthen academic success and social-emotional growth. Engaging multilingual families in their child’s education from the start helps support their child’s transition from setting to setting. Practical field examples give family specialists and early childhood educators insights to connect with individual families. We frame the discussion with research on bilingual development, ex. Banse, H. (2021) Dual Language Learners and Four Areas of Early Childhood Learning and Development: What Do We Know and What Do We Need to Learn?, Early Child Development and Care. And research on family-educator partnerships such as Barger, M.M., Kim, E.M., Kuncel, N.R., & Pomerantz, E.M. (2019), The Relation Between Parents’ Involvement in Children’s Schooling and Children’s Adjustment: A Meta-Analysis, Psychological Bulletin. Objectives: Participants will be able to: Compare ways to reach individual families to include their cultural and linguistic funds of knowledge Discuss ideas for building partnerships with individual families and community organizations Identify roles families play in supporting child’s transitions from setting to setting for academic success and social-emotional growth