What's New at FACE?
The FACE Office not only has a new Executive Director, but it also has many new team members! We are excited to announce the addition of 20 Family Engagement Liaisons and 5 Family and Community Engagement Coordinators to our team.
Family Engagement Liaisons serve in a similar function and capacity as the former Parent Coordinators. Each Liaison has been assigned 8 - 9 elementary and middle schools, meaning that they will visit each school 2 - 3 times per month. The Family Engagement Liaison is the designated individual based at a school whose primary function is to connect the home and school in a positive, respectful, and welcoming manner. Some of the roles and responsibilities of Liaisons include:
Building relationships with family members
Promoting family engagement events at the school
Supporting the creation of a School Advisory Council
Facilitating parent workshops and trainings
Developing bulletin boards, flyers, and resource tables
Meeting with parents to mediate school-level situations and concerns
The Liaisons are grouped into five teams, each of which is led by a Family and Community Engagement Coordinator. The Family and Community Engagement Coordinators are responsible for managing their teams of Liaisons and working with one another and the Executive Director to create effective, engaging training materials and resources for Liaisons to take to schools. The Coordinators will work out of the Central Office, but they will also be responsible for visiting high schools three times per year.
Other programs and services that live in the FACE Office include:
Family and Community Support Center: We answer general inquiries from families calling the District’s main number (215-400-4000), and we also provide face-to-face support in the Parent and Family Resource Center, located at 440 N. Broad in Suite 131.
Multilingual Family Support Services: Our 57 Bilingual Counseling Assistants (BCAs) provide on-site interpretation and support in 36 languages and dialects throughout the District. We also host Welcome Wagon activities for families new to our country, which include workshops and trainings relevant to the experiences of new Americans in schools and cities, and Circles of Literacy, which provide informative and empowering trainings, resources, and supplies to complement literacy development and language acquisition at home.
Translation and Interpretation Center: We have dedicated Language Access Service Coordinators who translate School District-wide and school-specific documents into various languages. Commonly translated documents include: Student Code of Conduct; Pre-Kindergarten Enrollment Packet; event flyers; parent letters; school calendars; and school handbooks. The School District of Philadelphia also provides telephonic interpretation free-of-charge for all schools—just ask your school principal for the school’s access code. All translation and interpretation requests can be made on the Translation and Interpretation Center’s webpage: www.philasd.org/offices/translation under “Requests for Services.”
Pregnant and Parenting Teens Services: Our Pregnant and Parenting Teens program is called ELECT, which stands for Education Leading to Employment and Career Training. The primary purpose of the ELECT program is to assist expectant, custodial, and non-custodial young parents (both male and female) under 22 years of age stay in school, attain a high school diploma or GED, and become self-sufficient. Our program staff provide one-on-one case management, conduct home visits, assist with benefits applications, run monthly education workshops, and host an incentive-based Baby Boutique and Car Seat Program for active ELECT participants.
Supporting School Advisory Councils: We are supporting active and engaged SACs by creating new resources, guidelines, and accountability measures to ensure that SACs are implemented in all schools with fidelity. Specifically, we are revising our webpage (www.philasd.org/sac), writing a new guidebook (SAC Launch Guide, available on our webpage in November 2016), and planning comprehensive professional development trainings for families and staff alike. We will also gather SAC performance data and report summary information to the superintendent of schools and the SRC; advise on conflicts within SACs in regards to membership, election of SAC members, and adherence to the SAC Bylaws in a fair and transparent manner; and facilitate resolutions to disputes within the SAC which cannot be resolved internally. Implementing SACs will be a District-wide effort, and our office will be partnering with other District departments and stakeholders to ensure that SACs get off the ground this year.
Our new Mission Statement: The Office of Family and Community Engagement will build capacity, and develop programs and strategies to support meaningful district-wide engagement and partnership among schools, families, and communities that results in shared responsibility in the creation of thriving schools where every child succeeds.
Our new Vision Statement: Through full partnership, all schools embrace a collaborative culture for students, families, staff, and community that sustains quality family engagement and promotes school improvement and the social, emotional, and academic success of every child.
Our Theme for the 2016 - 2017 School Year: Strong Families, Successful Students!
