Deputy Superintendent Jose Escribano told the school committee the district is shifting toward what he called “family empowerment” — a bi-directional approach that treats parents as partners in instruction and supports.

Escribano said the district completed 119 home visits last year and trained 51 new teachers to conduct home visits as part of an effort to co-create plans with families and reduce chronic absenteeism. “We were intentional about ... working with families that really need that support,” he said, and noted the district has seen a downward trend in chronic absenteeism.

On enrollment, Escribano described a new balloting and enrollment platform intended to improve transparency and communication; the district plans outreach and in-person support at a Jan. 7 middle- and high-school fair at Putnam High School and will provide videos, screen shares and counselor-led assistance. He said automated texts and emails in the new system will alert families to missing documents, a frequent cause of incomplete enrollments.

Escribano also described a pilot of translation hardware funded with state legislative support that provides automatic in-room translation without ongoing subscription costs; staff said the district will pilot the technology in a limited number of schools this year so principals can speak into microphones and families will hear translated messages.

The presentation highlighted parent academies (workshops on IEP processes, attendance and mental health) and a January ESOL cohort for migrant families launched through the district’s adult-education partnership. Escribano thanked partner organizations and donors, including Cradles to Crayons, which the presentation said donated roughly 10,000 backpacks and approximately 2,280 winter coats, plus clothing and hygiene kits, for distribution to families.

Escribano said FACE (Family and Community Engagement) acts as a hub to triage parent concerns, verify guardianship when necessary and route families to the appropriate advisory councils or services. He told the committee the preferred first step for worried parents is a phone call to FACE so staff can triage and provide a direct link to a parent-concern form when appropriate.

Next steps: staff will post presentation materials on the district family-engagement web pages, finalize pilots for translation hardware and enrollment software, and launch parent-academy offerings in January.