Fiscal Year 2015 → Question 1

The superintendent’s recommended FY 2015 Operating Budget adds 5.0 positions to the Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships at a cost of $532,230. Please provide specific details about the nature of these positions, including whether they will be school-based or central office positions and the plan for using these positions.

Question#: 11

BUDGET PAGE REFERENCE: Chapter 7 - 5

ANSWER:

The Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships requests five new positions to provide leadership for two major functions which were strategically identified through alignment with the MCPS Strategic Planning Framework:  Family and Community Engagement and Institutional Partnerships.  The proposed roles of these positions are as follows: 

1.  Director I, Parent and Community Engagement – This position will provide leadership, planning, and oversight to all OCEP efforts aimed at building its capacity to implement new strategies and initiatives.  The position will be responsible for the success of the Community Engagement Teams (one of OCEP’s major initiatives for building capacity in schools and communities).  It also will provide leadership in leveraging MCPS’ family-facing resources, develop community engagement professional learning circles and training models that support student achievement, and oversee the implementation and expansion of Study Circles. 
2. Parent Community Coordinator, Family and Community Engagement – This position will be used to increase engagement capacity at schools, connect parents to MCPS resources, and assist parents in advocating for their children.  The position also will help implement activities of the community engagement teams that work with Intervention and Innovation schools.

3. Director I, Organizational Partnerships – This position will be responsible for developing relationships with businesses to bring in new financial, material, and in-kind resources to support MCPS initiatives.  In addition, the position will be responsible for maintaining and strengthening existing partnerships and interagency programs such as Linkages to Learning, Excel Beyond the Bell, and the Kennedy Cluster Initiative.

4. Administrative Secretary I, Organizational Partnerships –­ This position will provide administrative services support for OCEP’s partnership efforts and also will assist the existing administrative secretary who supports 17 OCEP staff.

5. Parent Community Coordinator, Study Circles.  This position will be deployed in schools as OCEP works to expand Study Circles throughout the district.