Parent Liaison Program

Parent liaisons serve as a link between families and schools. They facilitate family-school communication, which empowers families to become more active partners in their children's education.

The Role of Parent Liaisons:

• Orient families to Fairfax County PublicSchools(FCPS) and the culture of the school system.
• Provide strategies parents can use to promote student achievement.
• Involve families that may not traditionally take part in school activities and events.
• Provide information to school staff that promotes understanding of students' families and home cultures.

What Parent Liaisons Do

Parent liaisons work in the schools and community to help families get the information and assistance they need to support their children at home and to ensure their academic success. The parent liaisons represent a variety of cultures, languages, and races and are one component in a school's effort to enhance family involvement.

• Parent liaisons provide a communication link between home and school and currently serve in more than 160 Fairfax County public schools.
• Principals hire parent liaisons to support their schools.
• Parent liaisons are part-time employees; their hours vary depending on the needs of the school.

Parent Liaisons See how one parent liaison bridges the gap between school and home. Play (3:20)

 

Programs and Services

Parent liaisons are a valuable resource to schools, families, and the community. They provide services such as welcoming and orienting families to the school and the community and familiarizing families with the school's culture, policies, procedures, and practices. Typical tasks of parent liaisons include:

• Facilitating intercultural understanding and respect in the school and the community.
• Linking families to school professionals and community resources.
• Helping parents understand ways in which the family can assist student achievement.

Training for Parent Liaisons

Regularly scheduled training is coordinated and conducted by Family and School Partnerships. Individual orientation sessions for new liaisons and their supervising administrators are conducted at their school site.

Recent training topics have included the following:

• Connecting families to community resources
• Parent liaison's role in school transitions
• Exploring the cultures of families FCPS serves.
• The role of parent liaisons in special education

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Questions and Information

For more detailed information, click on Parent Liaison Program Fact Sheet or contact Robin Hamby at 703-204-4330 or robin.hamby@fcps.edu.