Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) has launched a new targeted program to better connect parents with their respective school communities. Known as FACE, the Family and Community Engagement program brings families into their child’s school to participate in interactive monthly learning sessions. The goal of the FACE Academy is for CCPS to support parents and families in taking an enhanced active role in the academic and social growth of their child.
The program kicked off Jan. 16 at Eva Turner Elementary School, the pilot school site for the 2024-2025 school year. FACE was open for application to all Turner families last fall with a request that participants commit to the program for the entire duration. For the Turner pilot, six monthly sessions are scheduled, and topics will rotate for participants. Fifteen families have signed on to pilot the program at Turner this school year.
Superintendent of Schools Maria V. Navarro, Ed.D., provided the welcome at the FACE Academy kick off Jan. 16 at Turner. In her comments, she thanked the families for agreeing to be part of the program. “You are the first cohort of families to help us launch this program in Charles County Public Schools. As you move through the program, please learn and connect and share with us your feedback so we can ensure that we are offering the best resources and programming for our parents and families,” Navarro said.
Traci Chappelear-Thomas, director of community engagement and equity for CCPS, said the plan is for the school system to launch the FACE Academy at all schools.
“For the 2025-2026 school year, the FACE Academy will have a fall and spring cohort to include all schools. The cohorts will be broken up into elementary, middle and high school groups. Families can choose courses and workshops that are relevant to them,” Chappelear-Thomas said. “The commitment to strengthen our partnership with families is the overall goal of the Academy. We want families to be empowered to take a bigger role in their child’s success.”
The sessions feature childcare and meal accommodations to make it easier for families to attend. This year’s pilot program at Turner will culminate in a family celebration in June.
“We want participants to leave the program knowing more about academic and personal success, the school system, how to better communicate with their child and their teachers, and how to access resources outside of the school system to support their child,” Chappelear-Thomas said.
With the expansion of the program next school year, FACE Academy workshops will be offered in a hybrid format, with some being held virtually and others in person. CCPS plans to host a FACE Academy conference next spring with keynote speakers, workshops and networking opportunities for parents. A webpage on the CCPS website for the FACE Academy is under development, where families will be able to apply for their child’s school program, access resources and view workshop information.
At the Jan. 16 kick off, the agenda featured three workshops for parents led by current CCPS principals, teachers and staff. The workshops were broken down to target families with prekindergarten or kindergarten students, students in Grades 1-3, and students in Grades 4-5. Topics included activities that encourage listening, adapting to structure, and responding and expressing emotions among young learners, teaching qualities of respectful leaders including communication, active listening and goal setting among older elementary school-aged students, and focusing on the excitement and change as families prepare their older elementary school-aged child for the transition to middle school.
The Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium (MAEC), a non-profit organization that promotes equity in education, participated in the FACE Academy kick off, with staff providing resources for families as well as coordinating an ice breaker activity so families participating in the Turner pilot could get to know one another.
Community partners were also on site to provide families attending with resources and supplies, such as new winter coats for their children. Students from the Education Careers and Teacher Academy of Maryland programs helped to support the event by providing childcare for parents and families so they could attend the workshops.
Visit the CCPS website at www.ccboe.com for updates on the FACE Academy as they are posted.
About CCPS
Charles County Public Schools provides 28,162 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.
The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event. CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).