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Category: Featured FACEs

Parent Volunteer Agnes Parrish Reminds Us About the Power of the Small Things

Oftentimes when we think of the things that can brighten a school environment, we think about many large changes or initiatives, but Ms. Agnes Parrish, parent and volunteer at Samuel Gompers School in West Philadelphia, feels that small gestures can make a big difference. Ms. Parrish has been volunteering at Gompers since 2011, and one...

April SAC Tip of the Month: How SACs Can Utilize and Mobilize Volunteers

This month, we’re showing our gratitude for a group of people our schools cannot do without — volunteers! Our family, parent, and community volunteers make a tremendous difference in our schools, and we don’t know what we’d do without them! As School Advisory Councils work to achieve various goals, there are ways that SACs can...

Low Cost, High Impact Volunteer Appreciation Ideas

Parent volunteers, members of the "Bethune Brigade" We know that everyone in your school is VERY busy, especially as the end of the school year nears! There are many ways to celebrate volunteers that don’t require a lot of time or money but can really go a long way to make your school’s volunteers feel...

Apply to Serve on the District Advisory Council today!

The School District of Philadelphia is proud to announce the creation of a brand new program for the 2019-2020 School Year, the District Advisory Council! The DAC is an opportunity for parents, family members, and caretakers to become more knowledgeable about and provide input on District programs, policies, and materials that affect students and their families....

Reading List for Multilingual Children and Families

Books not only have the power to tell fictional stories, but books can also realistically represent cultures and our personal lives as well. Multilingual families can use books as a vehicle through which they can tell the story of their past, their culture, and their values. Reading books together can become a great family tradition...

5 Tips for Enhancing Your School’s Literacy Events

Families practicing with their children at a Literacy Night at Mayfair Elementary School in 2018. Many schools in Philadelphia are catching wind of hosting literacy events as a way of underscoring the importance of literacy, sharing literacy skills, and bonding the school community together around such an important academic topic. Have you been wondering how...

Come Learn Skills, Not Just for Parenting, but for Life!

Have you ever struggled with modeling good behavior for your children? Do you know the difference between emotional and social intelligence? Self-awareness and self-improvement is tough work, so we’ve brought in The Folke Institute for Transformative Learning to host two different workshops on the subjects as a part of Family Academy: Courses and Training (FACT)....

Getting More Families Engaged in Middle and High Schools

A full-house for a SAC Meeting at Furness High School in South Philadelphia. (Photo credit: @FurnessHigh on Twitter) The FACE Office receives many questions about boosting family engagement but getting more middle and high school families involved tops the list. It’s a tough one; family engagement at ALL grade levels can be challenging work, but family...

Family Leadership Award Winner Haviva Goldman: Stepping Forward with New Initiatives

Oftentimes, parents will express that they want to be more involved in their child’s school, but they don’t know how. Maybe it seems like there are too many possibilities and ways to help, or it can be unclear what the needs of a school are and how to step in. In 2009, Haviva Goldman, a...

Family School Partnership Award Winner Julia R. Masterman: Unifying Diverse Populations

At Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School, there is a convergence of students from all around the city. Masterman has a unique position of being both a middle and high school, and students join the school community at different points. Because Masterman’s population includes students and families from every Philadelphia neighborhood, the student body...

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