Orange County Schools highlights family liaisons, translation services to boost family engagement
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Summary
At a Community Engagement Committee meeting, the district outlined expanded family-liaison staffing, two-way referrals with Family Success Alliance, and plans to improve translation and accessibility so families better navigate IEPs, enrollment and school supports.
Orange County Schools officials on Friday described efforts to strengthen family engagement across the district, including staffing four full-time family liaisons and coordinating interpretation and referral services to help families navigate IEPs, enrollment and other school processes.
In a presentation to the Community Engagement Committee, family engagement coordinator Sandra Blevko said the district views parents as "cultural brokers" whose experience helps shape supports and services for students. Blevko said the district uses family surveys to tailor workshops, resources and outreach and coordinates closely with student support services, including social workers and counselors, to assist families with enrollment, scheduling and accessing community resources.
The report said the district currently has four full-time family liaisons serving 12 school sites, with three liaisons each covering two elementary schools and one middle school, one liaison serving all high schools, and one part-time liaison assigned to a single elementary school. The liaisons maintain a database of community resources and help ensure interpretation and translation services are available for parent‑teacher conferences, IEP meetings and districtwide family events.
Blevko described a two‑way referral system with Family Success Alliance that began in 2020. "This partnership has created seamless connections between school‑based support and community‑based resources," the presentation said, with family navigators and liaisons referring families to each other when additional assistance is needed for enrollment, health or housing services.
Committee members thanked the team for the work and asked whether interpreters held certification specifically for IEP and Section 504 documentation. A liaison replied that the district has interpreter certificate holders but said specialized IEP/504 certification is "not at this moment" (as stated during the meeting). A board member also asked for more liaison staffing given recent stresses on families; presenters said the district is tracking needs and coordinating supports.
The committee asked several practical questions about meeting logistics and accessibility; presenters said interpretation and sign‑language supports are provided at parent nights and family events and that the district aims to make resources available in plain language. The presentation concluded with an invitation for further questions and a note that the family‑liaison work is intended to strengthen connections between home and school so families "feel valued, informed, and supported."