District outlines parent partnership growth, migrant supports and family events

Quincy School District staff described a multi-pronged effort to expand family engagement, strengthen parent advisory councils and provide targeted supports for migrant families.

Victoria (S5), introduced at the meeting as the district's director of support services, and outreach coordinator Maria Bai (S6) told the board the district now has parent advisory (PAC) representation in every building, an active Family and Superintendent Advisory Committee that met with the superintendent this year, and a series of family-facing programs designed to improve two-way communication with families. "We start with involvement, and that's critically important, but it's really more of a one way," Victoria said, explaining the district is shifting toward ongoing, two-way engagement that the presenters described as "involvement → engagement → partnership."

Staff highlighted specific programs: Ready for Kinder (a three-session school-readiness series that offered 20 spots this year, 15 filled), Strengthening Families (a seven-session program that graduated 16 families this year) and Love and Logic classes that run alongside Ready for Kinder to boost parent participation. Maria Bai described outreach and survey work, including using Panorama survey data and empathy interviews to design family-facing plans that meet parents' stated needs.

Presenters also reported several public events and targeted supports: a winter resource fair with more than 100 participants, a family festival on April 27 with approximately 536 attendees (including vendors and volunteers), and a migrant-parent advisory council program that will mark a graduation celebration for migrant students on May 30. Ms. Bai named migrant graduation specialists (Nubia Ramirez, Alicia Sanchez and Johan Farias) who work with the program and said staff are coordinating with the regional ESD and community partners to deliver trauma-informed presentations and resource fairs.

Board members asked about grade-level participation; staff said PAC attendance tends to be higher at elementary schools but that the district achieved building-level representation and full FSAC representation this year. The presenters linked the family-engagement work to safety and communication priorities and asked the board to help sustain partnerships that then inform district planning.

The presentation concluded with staff saying they will continue to share survey findings and bring related updates to future meetings.