African American Parent Advisory Council urges board to match advocacy with accountability

The African American Parent Advisory Council (APAC) presented its annual report, titled 'The power of Black family voice: from advocacy to accountability,' and delivered three core recommendations the board and district should adopt this year: strengthen academic ownership with public progress monitoring, fully fund restorative practices across sites, and institutionalize family partnership infrastructure.

Marisha Robinson, APAC program manager, opened the presentation and introduced parent leaders who described community‑level work spanning literacy campaigns, affinity groups and targeted advocacy. "We are asking this district to continue to walk with us," one APAC presenter said, calling for public reporting and sustained funding to translate advocacy into measurable change.

Commissioners pressed staff for concrete follow‑up. Commissioner Ray asked when staff would return with responses and a timeline; Assistant Superintendent Tony Payne and other staff said updates and operational plans would be provided, emphasizing a need to link data to action. The superintendent and board members signaled support for bringing back budget‑level commitments tied to APAC's recommendations before the June budget vote.

APAC highlighted that restorative practices and targeted staffing contributed to improvements at some sites, and urged the board to scale those bright spots. The board agreed to prioritize data‑driven monitoring and to return with specific plans and budget trade‑offs.