ACPS Celebrates Families During Family Engagement Month and Beyond

Family engagement holds the key to success within every school system, and its importance is celebrated in November during Family Engagement Month. Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) believes in the value of working with our families in a partnership to advocate for all schools and students.

“Strong family-school partnerships play such an important role in positive student outcomes and vibrant school communities. ACPS' long-standing investment in family engagement staff, resources and professional learning contributes to students feeling welcome, connecting to staff and being encouraged to actively participate in learning,” Office of Community Partnerships and Engagement Executive Director Taneika Taylor Tukan said.

The benefits from family engagement are numerous. Students exhibit improved self-esteem and self-discipline, which help reduce risky behaviors. Student achievement and regular attendance increases, as do graduation rates and enrollment in post-secondary education. Families also show increased confidence in their school-related decision making and develop a trusting relationship with their student’s school. This, in turn, improves communications between our families and schools, increasing community support.

The ACPS Family and Community Engagement team (FACE) works to strengthen family-school partnerships by connecting our families to resources that support educational achievement and overall quality of life. At the FACE Center, our families, volunteers, staff and community members come together to advocate for all ACPS students. Families can take advantage of workshops and learning resources as well as meet one on one with our bilingual family liaisons. The ACPS FACE center is the only one of its kind in Northern Virginia, as it is completely dedicated to family engagement.

Families are necessary partners with the educational community throughout a student’s school years. “By recognizing the important role that they play, and by assisting families to understand curricula and ways they can support children, students benefit,” Family and Community Engagement Center Assistant Director Krishna Leyva said. Leyva further explained that the division’s respect for its families and commitment to partner with families lets our students know that we value them.

The Anne R. Lipnick Special Education Parent Resource Center (PRC) is also instrumental in establishing cooperative partnerships between our families and schools. PRC promotes training parents to be advocates for their child and provides families of a child with a disability essential information on services available and how to navigate ACPS.

Family engagement is what the Alexandria Parent-Teacher Association Council (PTAC) is all about. The PTAC serves to connect our 17 ACPS PTA units to share best practices, resources and financial support to promote meaningful family engagement. PTAC advocates for quality public education, increased public school funding and a nurturing environment for all ACPS students.

Family engagement is critical in carrying out the mission laid out in the 2025 Strategic Plan. It is through family engagement that our school division can best address barriers to learning and ensure each and every students’ success in the classroom and beyond.