Ontario-Montclair School District
Fostering Cultural Proficiency by Empowering Parents as Forces of Change
Since 2019, the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) has gathered students, families, community partners, educators, educational partners, and researchers to forge meaningful connections across culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The goals of these gatherings have been to share best practices for community engagement and support one another during challenging times—all while peer leading and learning from each other to accomplish these goals. This Spotlight was created from an issue of CEI's Voices from the Field, which highlight stories that offer lessons and models for other schools and districts looking to engage their communities more deeply and effectively.
Overview
As one of the districts in Cohort I of the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI)’s Peer Leading and Learning Network (PLLN), Ontario-Montclair School District (OMSD) had the opportunity to identify and explore a problem of practice related to "[overcoming] barriers to parent involvement based on issues around cultural proficiency in schools, the district, and the community." Of the Six Core Root Causes of Ineffective Community Engagement, OMSD prioritized "lack of inclusivity based on race and culture" and took a systematic approach to ensure all families, including those in marginalized racial and ethnic groups, feel valued, connected, and empowered to support and advocate for their children’s learning.
OMSD focused on building cultural proficiency across initiatives through their 2021-2026 Five Year Action Plan. By embracing the cultural wealth of their community, families began to feel supported, respected, and more connected to their schools. Not only does the district provide resources for meeting basic needs, including access to mental health services, they also provide parents with the tools needed to prepare themselves as partners in their children’s learning. Their actions have led to stronger collaboration between parents and schools, and the inclusion of parent voice in key spaces, such as the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) process and college readiness efforts.
Cultivating Connections with Families & Communities
Based on input from their educational partners, OMSD recognized the need to offer parent workshops and training around academic and social-emotional well-being. In doing so, parents felt that their needs were heard, allowing them to better support the needs of their children. OMSD partnered with the City of Ontario Library, Ontario Reads program to help with de-stigmatization of mental health care, teach strategies to maintain emotional well-being, and inform parents about available community resources (OMSD, 2022-23 LCAP). While the district partners with various organizations to provide comprehensive support for families’ needs, many of their services are also provided internally.
OMSD’s Health & Wellness Services Department, for example, provides services through their district resource centers, including parent presentations on improving parent-child relationships and understanding adolescent development, as well as parent workshops where the Clinical Supervisor shares information and guidance on emotional well-being, suicide prevention, and parenting groups. To ensure parents have access to these resources, OMSD established Outreach Consultants who could provide referrals and triage for mental health services.
To further foster positive connections between the home and the school, the district held a Multicultural Family Festival in October 2022 where students and families celebrated different cultures through student performances, arts and crafts, and food. Engaging families in a welcoming environment helped build trust and allowed for the district to address families’ needs through parent workshops, community resource tables, and free school supplies. OMSD’s efforts to intentionally build genuine connections with families has helped strengthen the partnership between staff and parents, leading to an increase of ‘school connectedness’ from 82% in 2021 to 92% in 2022 (OMSD, 2022-23 LCAP).
Empowering Parents as Community Leaders
OMSD's Family & Community Engagement (FCE) department exemplifies the district’s level of commitment to strengthening relationships, fostering parent engagement, leveraging community partnerships, and encouraging collaboration between all educational partners to support students. Within the department is the Parent Education Center where parents can find resources and attend in-person or virtual classes that meet their educational needs through a curriculum taught by district staff, community partners, and invited professional guests.
The classes cover a variety of topics, such as computer skills, career/workforce preparation, language development, and General Education Development (GED) test preparation (offered in both English and Spanish). It’s evident that OMSD’s mission to “[provide] a world-class education to all students in safe, respectful, culturally responsive, and welcoming environments” extends to their parents as well. To recognize and value parents’ efforts to pursue educational achievements, the Parent Education Center holds a Parent Graduation Celebration every fall to celebrate parents who complete the General Education Development (GED) Program.
Not only does OMSD provide parents with ample learning opportunities, they also empower parents to become leaders within the school community through their Annual Parent Leadership Conference. The conference promotes the benefits of collaboration with workshops on numerous topics for all attendees, along with presentations by community partners such as IMPACTtruth, San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools, and the Mexican Consulate. Community vendors also provide resources during the conference. Furthermore, the district’s advisory groups (e.g., District Parent Advisory Council, District English Learner Advisory Council, African American Advisory Committee, GATE Parent Advisory Committee, and Special Education Parent Advisory Committee), offer various spaces for parents to provide input and actively engage in the decision-making processes that shape programs and services for students. By investing in parents’ learning, OMSD has begun to see more parents in leadership roles within the school community and they hope to continue spreading the work district-wide.
Families as Equal Partners in Students’ Education
Recognizing that families are key partners in providing students with a high-quality education, OMSD developed structures to foster stronger family-school partnerships and ensure families have the tools to be active partners in their child’s education. The district created an online hub for parents to find resources related to curriculum, technology, summer learning, and more — including a HelpDesk Hotline for parents to ask questions and better support their children’s learning.
To emphasize the importance of families as equal partners, OMSD works hard to include their voices in decision-making processes, such as the development of their Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). In addition to meeting with all the district’s advisory groups, OMSD also conducts a variety of surveys to receive interestholder input on the district’s priorities (e.g., Annual OMSD Community Survey, ThoughtExchange LCAP Community Survey, ThoughtExchange Student Survey, English Learner Parent Survey). To address barriers to family involvement and make the LCAP process more “attainable” and “purposeful,” OMSD took a creative approach to make its 120-page LCAP more clear, concise, and easily digestible (January 2023 PLLN CEI Presentation). In addition to its LCAP Plan Summary infographic, OMSD created additional infographics tailored to its parents (available in English and Spanish) and students so that all stakeholders could provide meaningful input.
Collective Efforts to Promote College & Career Readiness
OMSD’s journey to ensuring all students have the opportunity to pursue education after high school began in October 2011, when the first “Promise” agreement was signed. Promise Scholars, a universal college access program, brings together a community of parents, educators, businesses, non-profit agencies, colleges/universities, and local leaders to offer three promises: 1) a guaranteed place in college for all OMSD students, 2) help paying for college, and 3) help in planning and preparing for college. Through the combined social capital of the community, students are introduced to various opportunities that are available to them, as they pursue their interests and goals.
OMSD's work with Promise Scholars not only provides students with increased access to college and career pathways, but also includes parents on that journey. Parents have the opportunity to learn about applying for financial aid, college application processes, and the benefits of post-high school education so that they can better support their children in preparing for their futures. OMSD’s commitment to preparing students for their futures led to growing parent involvement in the work around college and career readiness. Together, they form a network of support that students can depend on as they get ready for life after graduation.
Lessons Learned
Through the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI), OMSD was able to deepen their understanding of engagement, including the importance of ensuring all voices are included in feedback processes, and learn about effective strategies and tools to promote stronger family-school-community partnerships. The district hopes to further reduce barriers to authentic collaboration by learning from their peers in CEI’s growing Peer Leading and Learning Network (PLLN). Although districts across California may be facing similar challenges around community engagement, their different contexts provide opportunities to learn about other innovative models of community engagement.
Learn More About Ontario-Montclair School District's Partners
IMPACTtruth - An organization aimed at inspiring youth and families to make a positive impact in their communities.
Mexican Consulate - OMSD partnered with the Mexican Consulate to provide certification courses for families.
Promise Scholars - Coordinated by the Ontario-Montclair Schools Foundation, Promise Scholars is a program that works to ensure all students have access to an education after high school.
Meet the Team
About the Community Engagement Initiative
The Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) is intended to strengthen California's System of Support by building the capacity of school districts to authentically engage one another. This includes identifying effective models of community engagement, developing metrics to evaluate those models, having difficult conversations, building trusting relationships, and participating in the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) development process.
Since 2019, the Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) has gathered students, families, community partners, educators, educational partners, and researchers to forge meaningful connections across culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The goals of these gatherings have been to share best practices for community engagement and support one another during challenging times—all while peer leading and learning from each other to accomplish these goals. This Spotlight was created from an issue of CEI's Voices from the Field, which highlight stories that offer lessons and models for other schools and districts looking to engage their communities more deeply and effectively.
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