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Family engagement team highlights digital tools, volunteer push and free tutoring resource
Summary
At the Oct. 9 DAC meeting San Bernardino City Unified's Family Engagement director outlined programs and data — including ParentSquare outreach, Panorama survey participation and Brain Fuse 24/7 tutoring — and said the department aims to grow approved volunteers and expand parent workshops such as math classes.
Beatrice Gonzalez, director of Family Engagement for San Bernardino City Unified, used the district’s District Advisory Council meeting on Oct. 9 to outline a package of parent supports and outreach tools and to share recent participation figures.
Gonzalez said the department is distributing a one‑page overview of services, QR links to parent guides and a workshop table that lists upcoming family university sessions. She emphasized the department’s mission: to “engage, support, honor and strengthen all of our families” and to use parent partnerships to improve student academic outcomes.
In a series of data points Gonzalez described as reasons for celebration, she said the department recorded more than 720 participants in computer‑literacy classes last year, about 1,500 participants in family university workshops, and roughly 3,000 site visits by Family Engagement staff. Gonzalez also told the council that last year the district completed background approvals for 6,236 volunteers and that, as of Sept. 30, about 5,000 volunteers were approved this school year, with a stated goal to reach 10,000 by the end of the year.
District staff highlighted digital outreach tools parents can use, including ParentSquare and a set of QR codes that link to vetted parent guides, the parent portal (Aeries) and a Resource Hub with early‑literacy tools. Gonzalez said the district will post the QR resources to ParentSquare for wider access and urged DAC representatives to share the one‑pager at school‑site councils.
The presentation introduced Level Up, a tutoring and parent‑engagement concept that pairs family workshops with school‑based supports, and cited Brain Fuse as a district tutoring tool. In response to a virtual question about access, Agnes Kumi, assistant director for secondary instruction, said Brain Fuse is available to all students 24/7; students can log in with their regular student ID via the parent hub or student links the district provides.
Speakers also addressed language access: presenters said computer classes and other workshops are offered in English and Spanish, with interpretation provided and additional languages available where needed. When asked about parent math classes, the presenters said district‑level workshops and site‑based offerings will be scheduled; parents interested in bringing classes to a specific site were told to work with parent liaisons.
The Family Engagement team closed by encouraging volunteers, offering sign‑up help at the meeting and reminding representatives to use burning‑question forms for individual student concerns. Gonzalez and her staff said they would remain after the meeting to take follow‑up questions and to help parents register for resources.
The department did not attach specific dollar amounts to each program during the presentation but said many services are supported through LCAP and Title funding.
