While the blog is on summer vacation for one final week, we’re sharing past posts about the many ways City Connects helps students thrive.
This week’s post highlights posts that focus on how City Connects engages families and their communities. From giving parents a voice to opening the door to opportunities with a library card, City Connects provides deep levels of family engagement.
City Connects & Shore Collaborative Back-To-School Event
City Connects organized a back-to-school event at Shore Educational Collaborative featuring Olympic-style games, food, and ice cream for students in the fall of 2024. This event, led by Coordinators Antonio Martinez and Brianna Mancino, was the first of its kind at Shore, which serves students with complex special educational needs. Families had the chance to meet teachers, tour classrooms, and connect with about 15 resource agencies, including the Parent/Professional Advocacy League and MassHealth Ombudsman.
The event aimed to build stronger connections between the school, students, and their families, while also linking families to community resources. With over 50 families and over 100 individuals attending, it was a great success in fostering a sense of community and engagement as the school year begins.
Read more here.
A Library, llamas, and City Connects
With one little card, families in Minneapolis can unlock a world of castles, llamas, and “crafternoons.” That’s why City Connects coordinator Maggie Longsdorf is on a mission to ensure the families in her school have library cards.
It’s easy to forget how much libraries have to offer, Longsdorf says. But a library card is a passport to a world of new opportunities. At nearby Hosmer Library, the building looks like a small castle outside and holds tons of resources and opportunities inside.
Learn how this valuable community partnership between City Connects and the local library can offer possibilities to students and families alike.
Read more here.
Food, fun, and family engagement at Belle Haven Elementary School
Anderson, the coordinator at Belle Haven Elementary School in Dayton, Ohio, teaches students about nutrition using her own upbeat energy, a cooking competition, and the help of a community partner.
Anderson worked with Donna Kuykendall to ensure that an afterschool nutrition program was both informative and fun. Kuykendall works as a Regional Program Assistant for Central State University Extension’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
When Anderson and Kuykendall put their heads together, they came up with two culminating events: a “Chopped” competition and a family dinner.
Read more here.
Raising parents’ voices in Gary, Indiana
When Valerie Oliveras started as the City Connects Coordinator at Banneker at Marquette Elementary School in Gary, Indiana, there was no parent-teacher organization at the school. So Oliveras set out to get to know families and elevate their voices in the school, creating a system that worked for the community.
How did she start? By simplifying what she did at the school. “I’m just here to be helpful,” Oliveras told parents. “That’s my job. I’m the Banneker school’s helper, and that will look different for every family.”
Read more about how she helped increase parent involvement here.
