Cultivating and sustaining powerful parent partners

The Family and Community Engagement Services (FACES) Department reached over 100,000 family members during the 2018-19 school year through the University of Family Learning (UFL). FACES works hard to support and leverage all stakeholders with increasing student achievement and attendance.

The UFL offers family members an opportunity to access bilingual (and free of charge) workshops, resources, and information focused on increasing both family and student success. Workshops are held at school sites, the 10 FACES Family Engagement Centers, libraries, recreation centers, and other sites throughout the community.

The Fifth Annual Ceremony of Achievement, recognizing family members, schools, and community partners who went above and beyond to engage with FACES during the 2018-19 school year, was held on May 15 at Valley High School. There were 209 family members honored with a Certificate of Achievement for their deep-rooted commitment in engaging in over 50 hours of UFL course work.

Marta Castro and Diana Lozano, honorees who were recognized for their participation in the UFL for five years, credit the UFL for helping them support their children’s learning at home. Castro, recently featured on the Vegas PBS website, said that through “the Ready to Learn Program workshops, I learned that I can teach my children a lot of things that have a huge impact on their learning in school.” Lozano thanked the FACES staff for encouraging her to participate in classes to practice English. She said her children, Kerry and Joel, are the biggest reason she attends workshops.

The three schools recognized as the FACES School Partners of the Year, based upon the family-school partnership model, were Berkeley L. Bunker Elementary School (Region 1), Valley High School (Region 2), and C.C. Ronnow Elementary School (Region 3). Each school received a plaque to signify the shared responsibility of cultivating and sustaining powerful parent partners within their schools.

With parent and community support as one of the five priorities within the Focus: 2024 strategic plan, FACES will continue to work with families, schools, and the community to be #1forKids.

For more information about FACES, contact us at (702) 799-0303 or visit us at faces.ccsd.net.