Buffalo Public Schools seeks public feedback as it reviews family and community engagement policy

Dr. Jennifer Rich, director of the Department of Family and Community Engagement for Buffalo Public Schools, led an annual review of Board of Education policy 31‑70 on family and community engagement, walking attendees through the policy’s purpose and soliciting public input. "Everything that we do is aligned to the 1 voice, 1 vision, 1 mission," she said, and described family engagement as the bookends of the district’s work.

The presentation outlined four board‑supported opportunities for engagement: school‑level activities (family math nights, Title I meetings, open houses), district‑level programming (including BPS parent centers transitioning to a Family Resource Center opening Oct. 7), school‑level governance (SBMTs and parent organizations), and district governance through an elected Parent Congress of board‑recognized parent groups. "We are heading into the finish line" of a multi‑year rollout of the district’s engagement framework, Dr. Rich said, and asked viewers to submit feedback through the provided survey link or chat.

Dr. Rich described the Parent Congress as an elected body representing board‑recognized parent groups that advises on district plans, including the district comprehensive improvement plan (DCIP), where family engagement is a designated priority. She outlined requirements for a parent group to gain board recognition: formal bylaws, a membership composed primarily of parents, a minimum of 10 members, and a districtwide purpose. To remain recognized, groups must recertify annually and submit quarterly documentation—agenda and minutes from at least two of the group’s formal meetings—along with a membership roster, bylaws, and evidence of participation.

The presentation named six board‑recognized parent groups and described their roles: the Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization (BPTO), the District Parent Coordinating Council (DPCC), Most Valuable Parents (MVP), the Multilingual Education Advisory Committee (NEAC), the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (CPAC), and other parent organizations that support advocacy, translation and equitable hiring work, special education navigation, and family resource programming.

At both district and school levels, Dr. Rich tied policy expectations to the dual capacity‑building framework she attributed to Dr. Karen Mapp: engage families in multiple roles (co‑creators, supporters, advocates), provide leadership training for parent leaders, and align family engagement activities to academic and social‑emotional goals. She emphasized "link to learning," saying that district materials and trainings should let families practice learning activities with students at home rather than simply sending tasks home.

The district will support parent rooms in each school—basic meeting space with a computer and phone—and said IT has provided a computer in every parent room this year. Dr. Rich also said the district will allocate budget resources to parent and family engagement initiatives, help establish parent organizations in each school, and ensure compliance with Title I and other state and federal parent engagement requirements.

Dr. Rich noted an evaluation requirement in the policy to identify barriers to participation—particularly for economically disadvantaged families, people with disabilities, limited English speakers, those with limited literacy, and racial or ethnic minority households—and pledged to use findings to design outreach strategies, including going into the community to reduce participation barriers.

The review included announcements of upcoming events tied to engagement and budgeting processes—consolidated application (Title I) meetings and a districtwide summit—and invited ongoing feedback through an online survey and the chat. The session closed with thanks to participants and acknowledgement of Dr. Tonja M. Williams Knight, the superintendent. The department said additional opportunities for comment will follow and that materials are available on the BPS Family and Community Engagement pages and buffaloschools.org.

Next steps: the department will accept survey responses and chat feedback, continue outreach through parent engagement liaisons and forthcoming meetings, and use evaluation results to amend policy language and district practices.