More than an Event: Families Gain Support at Family Engagement Conference

The Tuskegee Airman Global Academy buzzed with energy as the Office of Family Engagement hosted its fifth annual Family Engagement Conference on Saturday, November 16. The halls were filled with children’s laughter, the heartfelt tears of parents who felt truly seen, and the enthusiastic efforts of staff and vendors eager to make a difference.

The conference featured support and resources for every person in attendance. Children enjoyed fun and games in the cafeteria and a special appearance of Clifford the Big Red Dog, while parents and caregivers took advantage of empowering sessions.

“We had the City of Atlanta Parks and Rec that provided resources for families. We had a session for our Hispanic families navigating through the system, and resources outside of the system. Parenting with strengths session. We had a session on single-parent advocacy. We had a session on fatherhood, grandparents, you name it,” said Keasha Copeland, Atlanta Public Schools (APS) Executive Director of Family Engagement.

Two encouraging sessions were led by students, one by two Student Advisory Committee members and another by a middle school student. Siara White, a sixth-grade student at Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy, co-led a session with her mother, informing participants about how students can advocate for themselves in the classroom and overcome academic challenges.

“I got to share my voice and tell others about my journey of completion. [Atlanta Public Schools] has given me many options,” White said.

In addition to the informative sessions, students and parents benefited from the resources provided by the largest number of vendors to participate in the Conference.

“This year, we had 23 vendors, which is the largest we’ve ever had. It was sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, Scholastic Education Resources and Redefine Ed,” Copeland said.

As families engaged with vendors and benefited from the various sessions, the real-time, personal encouragement made this year’s conference special. It was particularly important for Midtown High School parent Sechita McNair to attend the Conference this year to seek support after the loss of her daughter.

“Just having my daughter pass away, she was a Midtown High School student in 10th grade, [the Conference] allowed me to see there are other people out there who actually care versus being in my own space, in my own mind, and not having resources in terms of family. So, this [Conference] allowed me to be engaged in other ways and also encouraging to others,” McNair said.

Although not every APS family was present at the conference, APS Superintendent Dr. Bryan Johnson sees the value of having school representation present.

“I had a chance to engage with a community member who’s on the PTA, and she was sharing that she got really good information, and she was really excited to take that back to other parents and community members, and I think that’s the benefit of the day,” Johnson said.

APS hosts the Family Engagement Conference every year to empower families with tools and resources to support students’ academic progress and the overall quality of life for families. Dr. Johnson also met an APS parent dealing with financial challenges and was evicted. “She has three kids that are in our district, and we were able to get her access to hopefully a connection that’s going to support them with housing…I’m just elated the team was able to provide it.

The Office of Family Engagement diligently works year-round to connect students and families with the resources they need to thrive, guided by its motto: Strong Schools, Strong Communities through family engagement.