DPAC DISTRICT PARENT ADVISORY COUNCIL

In August, the District announced a first-time Parent Advisory Council. A council comprised of parent/guardian representatives to serve as true partners in public education.

“We are looking for parents and guardians from all school communities that represent our diverse population of students, ” said the council leads Victoria Brunn, Director of Community Outreach, and Dr. Lisa Herrin, Director of Compensatory Education when MUSD first launched the search.

The District received nearly 70 interested applicants eager to represent their communities and assist in matters such as planning, implementation and evaluation on the District’ s operational, learning, and business plans, including community engagement.

Applicants were selected through an application process and needed to meet all qualifications as well as provide a thoughtful explanation on why they ’d make a proficient PAC representative.

On October 1st, twenty members were invited to serve on the PAC in a two-year term capacity. Dr. Herrin and Ms. Brunn are also part of the council serving as District representation.

When asked about his commitment to the council, Oscar Munguia, a parent council member, stated, “I joined to have a voice for my family and friends. I look for opportunities to be involved in our community, because I choose to be a part of the evolving solution for our youth.”

Nathalie John, another parent council member, commented, “Being part of this committee is a great opportunity to thought-exchange with fellow MUSD parents and collectively discuss the objectives at hand.”

The council has held two meetings thus far. Their latest meeting discussed Title 1 schools district-wide and their need to have a parent and family engagement policy per the District’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), among other parent engagement ideas to support successful school/family interactions.

Various members of the council compared methods of communication and shared which channels were most effective from a parent perspective.

The council also viewed the current data from California School Dashboard as it pertains to MUSD. This dashboard measures equity academic performance/engagement, English learner progress, college/career ready students, chronic absenteeism, parent engagement and more district wide. Some council members were concerned with the chronic absenteeism and inquired how, as a District, we can improve student achievement if students are absent.

At their upcoming meeting, the council will decide a chairperson, vice chairperson, and other officer positions. In its first year, the council will work to establish its governance and adopt bylaws. Next year, we will really begin to see the council’s implementations,” described Victoria Brunn.

Parent Advisory Committee membership includes:

Angel Medina Arun Manoharan Carmen Perry Cherish Nieto Eliseo Becerra Jeffrey Zellner Jennifer Spellman Jeremiah Kelley John Thomson Joshna Basant Katrina Davis Laura Scarborough LaWana Bluford Liliana Valadez Mellisa Risano Nathalie John Oscar Munguia Pardeep Singh Patricia Cerritos Valerie Cleveland