Meaningful Student and Family Engagement (MSFE) provides capacity-building and tools for school staff to meaningfully engage students and families in school improvement. This includes creating the infrastructure and collaborative processes needed to align community partners towards mutual goals and providing scaffolded curriculum for students and families across agencies to prioritize equity challenges, participate in school governance and decision-making, provide input into site plans, and develop policies that reflect student and family perspectives, needs and solutions. There are a number of state and district level mandates requiring student and family input into the LCAP (local control accountability plan), Measure N, the Voluntary Resolution Plan, Local Governance and other equity-based policies. MSFE provides a model for schools to meet these engagement mandates. In its second year, MSFE will continue advocating for schools to adopt the recommendations from students and families into the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA).

Activities include: twice monthly MSFE Committee meetings, monthly coaching for Community School Managers, Parent Leads Ctte meetings, and quarterly Student/Family Forums. The goal is for students and families to not only have their recommendations adopted but to implement and resource them by ensuring the school’s resources are aligned to community-prioritized equity challenges and solutions.

Through the Meaningful Student and Family Engagement initiative, OKF increased district and school capacity to ensure the voices and priorities of over 500 youth and families of color were included in school improvement processes and reform efforts — including development of school plans, budgets, and policies at the district level and at three partner schools.