Wake County outlines April family-engagement summit; board asks for clearer outreach

Wake County Public Schools officials said the district will hold a family and community engagement summit on April 26, with a launch event the evening of April 25, and asked board members to help spread the word.

Dr. Lee Ann Albert Keith, presenting at the board’s community engagement meeting, said the summit will include nationally known keynote speakers, a community showcase and sponsored refreshments. The launch event the evening of April 25 is scheduled at Marvel’s Museum; the main summit is set for The Summit at Capitol Hills, a larger community campus off Capitol Boulevard she said. Registration flyers were placed on the meeting table and are linked in the meeting materials.

Board members raised questions about outreach and clarity. One board member said the flyer confused the April 25 versus April 26 dates and asked whether families should attend one or both sessions. Dr. Albert Keith acknowledged that targeted messaging could be improved and said the district would add more clarity around dates and that the communications team plans additional targeted messaging and distribution to local media the week of the event. She said schools have been given a toolkit of flyers and suggested messages for principals and teams to use in school communications and that advisors and community advisory members had been asked to promote the event.

Board members suggested practical changes: listing a street address on promotional materials for families who might show up without registering; adding clearer descriptions of vendor and resource offerings so families know what services will be available; and asking town commissioners or local officials to help publicize the event. Dr. Albert Keith said she would add the address to materials, pursue targeted posts and noted the district welcomes suggestions and additional outreach partners.

On registration, Dr. Albert Keith said sign-ups are “higher than this time last year,” but the presentation did not include an exact registration count. She also said the district’s communications team intends to place notices with local media during the week of the summit and that families may attend even if they did not register in advance.

Votes at a glance

At the start of the meeting the committee approved its March 11 community engagement minutes. A motion to accept the minutes was made, seconded and carried by voice vote; the meeting record reports “Aye” with no oppositions. The transcript did not record the mover or seconder by name.

Why it matters

The summit is the district’s largest family-engagement event of the season and is intended to connect families with district programs, local resources and nationally recognized speakers. Board members framed clearer outreach and accessible messaging as essential to ensure families across Wake County know the event is intended for them.

What to watch

Staff said they will (1) update promotional materials to show the correct dates and a street address, (2) run additional targeted social media and school-level messaging, (3) share notices with local media the week of the summit, and (4) continue recruiting families and staff to participate. The district did not supply an exact registration total during the meeting.

(Reporting based on presentation by Dr. Lee Ann Albert Keith and board discussion at the Wake County Public Schools community engagement meeting.)