Supporting Our Families
This month at Main Street we are putting a spotlight on family engagement. A key tenant of our programming, we believe that active and engaged families set children up for greater success in kindergarten and beyond.
This summer, Main Street held its first in-person, outdoor family event since before the pandemic. With over 120 people in attendance, children and families created artwork, explored nature, played games, and enjoyed a snack together. This was a great reminder to us all how important active and engaged families are to a child’s education.
A recent article by the Human Development Institute at the University of Kentucky emphasized the difference between passingly involved families and engaged families (really working together with families as an equal partner to ensure the best education for their child). Engaged families have a bigger impact on school success in the future[1].
At Main Street we already encourage this level of commitment from families through multiple parent-teacher conferences, opportunities to volunteer and participate in classroom activities, special events throughout the year, and family learning (such as parenting and nutrition classes). But now, Main Street is excited to take another step in helping families and their children succeed.
In creating a new role, Family Engagement and Programming Coordinator, we will boost family engagement opportunities and help families connect to other community resources. This could include connections to food pantries, ESL classes, housing resources, and so much more.
Jennifer Perez will take on this new role. She has been at Main Street for more than two years – most recently as the Education Assistant working with virtual learning in our school-age program. A graduate of George Mason University in Human Development & Family Services, Ms. Jennifer is excited to provide families with more tools for success and new opportunities for family engagement activities as well.
If your family needs support, whether you know what you’re looking for or don’t know where to turn, Ms. Jennifer is available to help you take the next steps. You can reach her at jperez @ mainstreetcdc.org or by calling 703-273-1192.
[1] Family Involvement vs Family Engagement https://www.hdilearning.org/topic/family-involvement-vs-family-engagement/