Aurora East USD 131 reviews 2025–26 family-engagement work and eyes expansion of 'Watchdog' mentoring program
June 16, 2026 | Aurora East USD 131, School Boards, Illinois
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Marissa Martinez, assistant director of the Resilience Education Center, told the Curriculum Committee on June 15 that Aurora East USD 131’s parent and family engagement work in 2025–26 included large-scale events, expanded parent groups and new pilot programs intended to boost family involvement.
"The back-to-school fair continues to be one of our largest family engagement events of the year," Martinez said, noting more than 3,500 families attended this year and volunteers provided roughly 90 haircuts to help students start the year with confidence. She highlighted additional outreach: a fall festival with about 1,200 attendees, a rebranded Bosadas and Beyond cultural celebration that drew roughly 2,700 participants, and a Black History Month event that brought about 350 community members together.
Martinez also described a co‑sponsored mental-health symposium that welcomed more than 800 attendees and included two keynote speakers, multiple adult and student sessions, and district-provided transportation to reduce access barriers. She said the district’s bilingual Parent Advisory Council averaged more than 100 attendees per month and Coffee with the Principal events engaged roughly 2,100 parents across schools.
A new Watchdog mentoring program, rolled out this year at Oak Park and Allen elementary schools, drew more than 60 volunteers and participants during its pilot. "We just wanted to beta test it in a couple schools. It went very, very well," Martinez said, adding that expansion depends on principal buy-in and volunteer clearance processes.
Parent volunteer Javier Solano, who helped launch the Oak Park event, told the committee the kickoff was "very successful" and urged earlier launch dates and stronger outreach next year to boost participation. He also said that fingerprinting requirements caused some parents to delay signing up.
Committee members and staff said they are exploring options to simplify fingerprinting by bringing that service in‑house rather than sending volunteers to the county regional office of education. Staff services representative Julie Schwarzoff was named as the person investigating an in-house fingerprinting option.
Committee members urged clearer communications to families about summer Rec offerings and registration, suggesting social media posts and sharing links directly through principals and classroom communication apps to increase accessibility.
The presentation concluded with Martinez noting parent-liaison professional development (more than 25 hours of training) and plans to strengthen collaboration across parent groups for the 2026–27 school year.
"The back-to-school fair continues to be one of our largest family engagement events of the year," Martinez said, noting more than 3,500 families attended this year and volunteers provided roughly 90 haircuts to help students start the year with confidence. She highlighted additional outreach: a fall festival with about 1,200 attendees, a rebranded Bosadas and Beyond cultural celebration that drew roughly 2,700 participants, and a Black History Month event that brought about 350 community members together.
Martinez also described a co‑sponsored mental-health symposium that welcomed more than 800 attendees and included two keynote speakers, multiple adult and student sessions, and district-provided transportation to reduce access barriers. She said the district’s bilingual Parent Advisory Council averaged more than 100 attendees per month and Coffee with the Principal events engaged roughly 2,100 parents across schools.
A new Watchdog mentoring program, rolled out this year at Oak Park and Allen elementary schools, drew more than 60 volunteers and participants during its pilot. "We just wanted to beta test it in a couple schools. It went very, very well," Martinez said, adding that expansion depends on principal buy-in and volunteer clearance processes.
Parent volunteer Javier Solano, who helped launch the Oak Park event, told the committee the kickoff was "very successful" and urged earlier launch dates and stronger outreach next year to boost participation. He also said that fingerprinting requirements caused some parents to delay signing up.
Committee members and staff said they are exploring options to simplify fingerprinting by bringing that service in‑house rather than sending volunteers to the county regional office of education. Staff services representative Julie Schwarzoff was named as the person investigating an in-house fingerprinting option.
Committee members urged clearer communications to families about summer Rec offerings and registration, suggesting social media posts and sharing links directly through principals and classroom communication apps to increase accessibility.
The presentation concluded with Martinez noting parent-liaison professional development (more than 25 hours of training) and plans to strengthen collaboration across parent groups for the 2026–27 school year.
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