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MPS committee seeks to "co-create" engagement strategy, introduces new chief of family and community partnerships
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Summary
The Family and Community Engagement Committee reviewed public input from an Aug. 26 listening session, discussed a plan of monthly district town halls and bimonthly work sessions, and welcomed Brian Litzy as the new chief to lead parent coordinators and outreach.
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Board of School Directors— Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Committee spent the bulk of a Sept. 9, 2025 meeting reviewing themes from a community listening session and discussing how to operationalize more inclusive, ongoing outreach to families. The committee also introduced Brian Litzy as the district—s new chief of the Office of Family and Community Partnerships.
Dr. Owen Moore, the board secretary who summarized the Aug. 26 community engagement session, said parents in the listening session asked the district to treat families as "co-creators" of education: "What would it look like if we truly valued families in the community as co-creators of an excellent education experience?" Moore said. Themes included accessibility and inclusion, clearer communication, transparency and accountability, trust-building, and concerns with the parent portal in Infinite Campus.
Kendall Allen, speaking during public comment on the family and community engagement item, described a case he said involved a parent who had trouble picking up her autistic child and characterized the episode as an example of the district—s need to improve frontline engagement and case handling. The committee asked the administration to follow up with Allen and record contact information for further review.
Superintendent Brenda Cassellius and committee members discussed structural and logistical choices for future engagement. Cassellius said the district plans monthly district "town halls" led by the family-and-community office and suggested alternating a business-style committee meeting with a more informal working session or community-focused meeting on a bimonthly basis. She said some engagement efforts will be bound to budget and statutory processes (for example, budget hearings and strategic-planning timelines), which will shape when and how broader community input is solicited.
The committee discussed more targeted supports for families, including strengthening parent coordinators, creating mentor or ambassador programs, holding localized school-based sessions, and pursuing language-specific or disability-focused outreach. Director Fonz urged visibility work: "People don't know what Milwaukee Public Schools has to offer," he said, recommending direct outreach and clearer marketing of programs such as immersion and Montessori options.
Brian Litzy, who the superintendent introduced as the new chief of Family and Community Partnerships, told the committee he would emphasize customer service and a principle he called "dignity and simplicity." "We don't have to be fancy to listen to people," Litzy said. "We can still do that with dignity and respect for every parent, for every student, for every person that works within MPS in this community." He described receiving more than 1,000 phone calls to the district switchboard during the first days of school and said centralizing and standardizing response processes across departments would be a priority.
Committee members pressed for clearer role definitions and requested materials from the administration including a job description for parent coordinators, follow-up reporting on the parent portal and Infinite Campus usability, and a plan that identifies how board-facing working sessions will differ from superintendent-led district town halls. Multiple members urged measurable goals and benchmarks, citing the district—s recent MGT audit and a separate governor—s operational audit as reference points the administration is using to guide changes.
Board members also discussed practical details for community sessions: rotating meeting locations into schools to increase accessibility, balancing citywide reach with transportation and weather constraints, and streamlining overlapping advisory groups so families are not overwhelmed by multiple committees and duplicate requests. The administration said it would bring a budget timeline and schedule for upcoming public hearings and strategic-planning sessions in October.
No formal action was taken; the item was presented as an informational work session and committee members asked the administration to return with the requested follow-ups.
