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Avery, Winter Park HS Student: Hi, my name is Avery, and I'm a student at OCPS at Winter Park High School. This is Mondays with Maria.

Student Announcer: Presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Here's our OCPS superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez.

Dr. Vazquez: Hi, everyone. I am often asked by parents, "What can I do to help my child be successful in school?" And one of the things that I tell them is to stay engaged. It can be challenging at times when there's so much going on, but I believe we make it as easy as possible in our district. And one of the reasons for that is our Family and Community Engagement Office. Mariel Milano is the director who leads the team. Welcome back. 

Mariel Milano, Director of Family Engagement and Digital Outreach: Thank you.

Dr. Vazquez: Well, you and your team plan all of the parent academies every year. You just held your first one. Howard Middle School, was it August 15th?

Mariel Milano: Yes, it was terrific.

Dr. Vazquez: I'm sure it was. But you also have virtual events that are coming up. Tell us how to join, and what some of the topics are.

Mariel Milano: Absolutely. So this year we have over 40 topics available to our families throughout the year. In September and August, we're going to be talking about Xellow and how to work with that tool to plan for post-secondary education, an AI guide for families, and -

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah, that's a hot topic right now.

Mariel Milano: How can you work with that with your child? We even offer admissions panels for those seniors getting ready to go off to public and private universities. You can join with your child and ask questions. And then at the end of August, we're going to be doing a tutorial on Financial Aid, how to read fast reports, and how to get your child into bilingual education. So, something for everyone. 

Dr. Vazquez: So, that's quite a range of topics. And I'm, I'm still wrapping my head around 40. So, can you share some of the feedback that you have received from parents who have attended the Parent Academies?

Mariel Milano: Absolutely. So this year we surveyed all of our parents, and one of the biggest pieces of feedback we got was that there was a need for more language support. So now, every Thursday, we're repeating the virtual mini academy that was offered in English on Tuesday in Spanish, which is our largest language group.

Dr. Vazquez: Every Thursday.

Mariel Milano: Every Thursday. And parents can log in at noon and be able to ask questions in Spanish and hear the content in Spanish, thanks to a fantastic partnership with multilingual services.

Dr. Vazquez: Wow. What would you say are the most frequently asked questions?

Mariel Milano: Well, this time of year, it's always about the parent portal and Skyward and how you can monitor your child's progress. But later on in the year, we hear the most about college and career planning. That's why our college and career fair on September 27th is such a great resource for families. They can come out and get resources to help right away.

Dr. Vazquez: So, what if a parent is reluctant or has scheduling conflicts and they're not able to attend? There are ways families can still get the information and the resources, correct?

Mariel Milano: Absolutely. We have resources like tip sheets at ParentAcademy.ocps.net.

Dr. Vazquez: So online resources.

Mariel Milano: Yes, online resources.  Also, my favorite online resource is our OCPS Families' YouTube channel. Every single virtual mini academy we do is curated there. You can watch it at night, at soccer practice, wherever you are, so that you don't have to be there only at 6:00 PM or noon. You can get those resources anytime. 

Dr. Vazquez: I love that because not everybody's schedule aligns with ours. All right. So, we can't forget to mention ParentSquare, right? If parents can't attend some of the events that are mentioned, we have ParentSquare, correct? And you are able to contact your child's teachers directly as well.

Mariel Milano: Yeah. I sent my first direct message this morning to my daughter's fourth grade teacher. Wow. ParentSquare is awesome. You can reach out directly to your child's teacher, or you can use the directory to find any employee in the building- a School Counselor, a Social Worker, an Assistant Principal- and be able to ask them a question directly. And they can reference any of our Parent Academy resources and send them right back to you as an attachment or a link.

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah, and I love that you can do it on your phone. On the computer. And then if a parent has questions about how to use it, they can also go onto the family portal. That has information from your, from your department, correct?

Mariel Milano: Yes. We have resources to help on our OCPS parent portal for Skyward, Canvas Parent, and ParentSquare.

Dr. Vazquez: Well, I, I really am amazed at all of the resources and support your department has offered. I'm thinking back to when we first started Parent Academies. I think we were doing three or four a year - Yeah. In person on a Saturday. And you and your team have just blown it out of the water. So thank you so much. And we appreciate you and all that your team does. Coming up on our podcast, more information on how Multilingual Services partners with our Family and Community Engagement Office. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe. Have a great week.

Student Announcer: For an extended conversation on today's topic, listen to the Mondays with Maria Podcast, available wherever you get your podcasts. Mondays with Maria is presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Count us in for every step on your financial journey. Learn more at auditionfi.com. For more OCPS news and information, visit TheSlice.ocps.net. I'm your announcer, Jamir Jones, a student at OCPS. Thanks for watching, and have a great week.