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District presents Goal 4 communications and family‑engagement work; Panorama baseline shows 83% favorable responses
Summary
District staff highlighted communication and family engagement initiatives — including ParentSquare, bilingual story times, an attendance campaign targeting Mondays and family resource tables — and presented Panorama survey baseline results from over 700 parent participants, with an 83% favorable composite score.
District staff presented an update on Goal 4: communication and family and community engagement, describing a combination of outreach, data collection and programming to connect families to classroom learning.
Superintendent/lead (S1) introduced communications staff Nick Jacas (S9) and Erica Martinez (S10). Jacas described attendance and engagement campaigns and the rollout of ParentSquare as a central district communication tool. Martinez summarized parent-facing programs, including bilingual storytimes, family literacy month events in partnership with local libraries, resource tables at parent‑teacher conferences to distribute food and clothing, and a recent volunteer event (Manooka Gives Back) organized with the junior high.
Martinez reported Panorama survey baseline data collected in the fall: "a little bit over 700" anonymous parent participants with an 83% composite favorable rating on the school-family communication component. Item-level response categories showed a range: weekly/biweekly (20% and 38% reported respectively), sometimes 26%, once in a while 13%, and almost never 3%, which staff said they will use as a baseline to reflect on communication practices and to guide building-level improvements.
Board members asked detailed questions about survey wording, the choice to use Panorama's standard instrument for a first administration (to allow national comparison), and whether the district would customize items in future rounds; staff said they chose the standard instrument initially to obtain a baseline and plan to review and potentially customize later. Members also discussed targeted attendance tactics; Martinez explained the Monday-focused effort was data-driven because Mondays historically showed higher absence rates.
Staff also outlined additional engagement efforts under development, including student advisory councils, a downtown Minooka mural project, and exploratory work on a sports broadcasting program. The board expressed support for the communications and family engagement work and thanked staff for the progress.
