Our Work

Nationwide	Early Childhood
Statewide	K-12
Selected Awards and Participation in Policy Making Groups

Nationwide

Founding member of the National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group, a leadership collaborative whose purpose is to inform the development and implementation of federal policy related to family, school, and community engagement in education.

Selected curriculum models:“Opening Math and Science Filters: Our Schools Did It, So Can Yours!” and “A Nine Step Guide to Increasing Minority Student Participation in Math and Science” are used nationally to further gender, ethnic, and cultural equity in STEM classes.

Statewide

Developed and sponsored Parenting Matters Regional Conferences that bring together educators, low-income and diverse families, community members, and students for a day of enrichment, skill building and training on a variety of topics including: home support for learning, advocacy, leadership, efficacy, and college- and career-readiness. Over 1,300 participants have been served through our conferences.

We have served almost 140,000 individuals through our monthly electronic newsletter and bilingual website.

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Early Childhood

Trained 60 Statewide HIPPY Home Visitors to improve school readiness through family engagement.

Delivered Entre Nosotros, Between Us: Transitions to Elementary School, Schools and Families Together to Judy Center staff and families in Wicomico and Montgomery Counties, MD.

Trained 600+ early childhood teachers, child care providers, and ethnically and linguistically diverse parents in early childhood development and school readiness in MAEC’s Informed Parents - Successful Children curriculum. Trainings were held in English, Spanish, Korean, and Chinese.

K-12

Trained over 6,500 low-income and diverse parents impacting approximately 143,000 children. Parents are trained to be leaders in their children’s schools by promoting learning at home, taking part in school-wide decision making, improving communication and collaboration with school staff, advocating for their children, and taking advantage of educational opportunities to enrich, strengthen, and support their children’s career and college readiness.

Trained over 2,300 educators impacting approximately 50,600 students. Educators are trained to promote family engagement and increase cultural competency and student engagement, and improve school planning to increase student achievement, through Title I school-wide programs and School Improvement Grants.

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Selected Awards and Participation in Policy Making Groups

MAEC President, Susan Shaffer, provides national leadership as a founding and current member of the National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group, a leadership collaborative whose purpose is to inform the development and implementation of federal policy related to family, school, and community engagement in education.
MAEC staff also provides current statewide educational policy leadership through membership in Maryland State Department of Education’s Advisory Councils including: Title I Practitioners, English Language Learners, and Superintendent’s Parent Involvement councils. These advisory councils are charged with identifying best practices and effective policies, making policy recommendations to MSDE and the State Board of Education, and sharing information about ramifications of local and state policies.
MAEC President, Susan Shaffer, also sits on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center (MWHC), the only state-based women’s heritage center in the nation. The MWHC’s mission is to preserve the past, understand the present and shape the future by recognizing, respecting and transmitting the experiences and contributions of Maryland women to shape a better future for the girls and boys, women and men in Maryland.
In 2010, MAEC’s partnership with MSDE was highlighted in a national webinar series sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, United Way Worldwide, SEDL, and the Harvard Family Research Project entitled, A New Day: Family, School, and Community Engagement in Education Reform.
In 2007, 2008, and 2010 MAEC received Certificates of Special Congressional Recognition, from Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) and from House Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD) for our Parenting Matters Regional Conferences. Conferences bring together the Maryland State Department of Education, local school districts, educators, families, students and community members for a family day of enrichment, learning, training, skill development, and empowerment.
In 2009, awarded the Partnership Organization Award from the National Network of Partnership Schools, Johns Hopkins University.
In 2009, the Parenting Matters Regional Conferences were recognized as a national Promising Best Practice by the National Network of Partnership Schools, Johns Hopkins University.
In 2008 and 2009 MAEC received official citations and commendations from the Board of County Commissioners and the Maryland General Assembly from St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles Counties in honor of the collaboration between families-schools-communities to address closing the achievement gap.
In October 2009 in collaboration with the Maryland State PTA, the Maryland State Department of Education, and Governor O’Malley’s Office launched October as Maryland Parent Involvement Month. This is an intra-governmental effort to emphasize the importance of parental involvement in education throughout the state and recognizes parents and caregivers as their children’s first teachers.