In an effort to strengthen the relationship between parents and the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), the district is launching a parent engagement plan with strategies to increase communication and collaboration between the two.
Presented at the board’s Aug. 9 meeting, the plan’s mission is to “cultivate authentic and inclusive partnerships between families, schools and the community rooted in trust, respect, and recognizing parent and caregiver assets.”
The plan is set to begin in the 2023-24 school year and has three goals:
- Enhance family-school partnerships by addressing perceived barriers
- Increase engagement in parent groups like the District English Learner Advisory Committee and Sankofa Parent Village.
- Build partnerships between parents, school site staff and community groups.
Deputy superintendent Tiffany Brown said that while engagement work was once considered simply “nice to have,” it is now viewed as integral to the district.
“Engagement is oxygen for our system,” Brown said. “The concept of equity cannot exist without engagement.”
The plan was rooted in the portraits illustrated in the Vision 2035 plan—a 12-year plan to reimagine what the future for LBUSD students will look like—that advocated for things like building strong relationships with the community.
Director of Equity and Engagement Partnerships Lucy Salazar said her team took an evidence-based approach when creating the goals and strategies of the plan.
The district staff took into account feedback they received in previous engagement opportunities. Salazar said this approach is meant to foster trust, transparency and a shared sense of ownership.
“This is essential to addressing the academic, behavioral and social-emotional needs of our students,” Salazar said.
Some of the strategies to increase engagement in parent groups include reimagining the district’s Parent University program, which has provided different workshops, resources and parent involvement activities since 2019.
“Engagement is oxygen for our system. The concept of equity cannot exist without engagement.”
Deputy superintendent Tiffany Brown
Salazar said the enhanced program will consist of a series of different videos ranging in topics from “LBUSD 101” to “Thriving Beyond High School.” Workshops will be held in-person and virtually, either live-streamed or prerecorded and will be offered in English, Spanish and Khmer.
The plan highlights the importance of viewing parents as assets and experts on how to best serve their children. Salazar said recognizing this is essential to the plan’s success and creating a culture of open communication.
“We will continue to ensure that we not only keep our community members actively involved and consulted, but we also find ways to increase communication,” Salazar said.
While the plan intends to make sure parents can access district materials and events, board member Juan Benitez emphasized the importance of also meeting parents and the community where they are.
“It shows [that] this isn’t just a one-way street. We’re building [parent’s] capacity to engage with us, but it’s also about building our capacity to engage in communities that have a lot of challenges,” Benitez said.
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