Services & Advocacy
Our Advocacy
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Sit on decision making councils (School Site Councils, district wide Parent Advisory Councils, and DESE boards)
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Create and coach parent leaders in education advocacy through school councils
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Offer workshops to families & schools
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Partner with schools to co-design programs, activities, and other matters regarding school culture and climate.
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Partner with other organizations and coalitions working towards education equity
Our Intended Impact
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Increased parental engagement in school and policy decision-making processes.
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Build on the leadership skills of active members of district level Parent Councils
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Improved relationships between families, educators, and policymakers.
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Tangible policy reforms and systemic changes addressing educational inequities.
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Enhanced educational opportunities and outcomes for historically marginalized students.
Our Core Services
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Workshop Design & Facilitation
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Family Capacity Building
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Leadership Coaching
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Parent Perspective in Speaking Engagements
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School Strategic Projects
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Semantic Translations for schools and organizations
Powerful Parents Workshop Series
The is a transformative program designed to empower parents with the knowledge and skills they need to become active leaders in their children’s education. This series is tailored to foster collaboration between educators, schools, and parents by addressing critical challenges that affect student success, especially among marginalized families. Each session focuses on helping parents understand the education system, advocate effectively for their children, and build meaningful partnerships with schools.
For educators and school leaders, partnering with offers a unique opportunity to bridge communication gaps and build trust with parents, fostering a stronger, more inclusive school community. By participating, educators gain insights into the real needs and perspectives of families, helping shape school policies and practices that support student equity and achievement. This workshop series is a valuable step towards creating a collaborative, empowered, and inclusive school culture where all voices—especially those often unheard—drive positive change.
Community Conversations
CPLAN is often invited to facilitate conversations between leaders or administrators in education and community members. Our Executive Director, Ivelisse Caraballo, interview the Superintendent of Brockton Public Schools- Michael Thomas. They discussed the importance of a healthy school culture and climate, strategies for effectively communicating with families, and how we can work together to create a school system that works for everyone.
Founding Member and CPLAN leader, Dr. Gayl Crump Swaby of New Generation Consultants & Associates offers a workforce development program pilot that will train individuals on how to have mental wellness discussions. Gayl is pouring into this combined curriculum the teachings on mental wellness, clinical mental health, mindfulness, embodiment, and racial healing/decolonization that replicates their respective holistic approaches to mental wellness and dialogue facilitation.
Objectives: Participants will address these key areas in the training -
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Barriers of addressing mental wellness
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Emotional intelligence – leading with empathy
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Feelings and emotions
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Communications
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Activated triggers & traumas
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Decolonization and racial trauma
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Determining when to send referrals throughout the topics (identifying line of demarcation/scope of practice)
Education Equity for Marginalized Families
CPLAN is committed to amplifying the voices of those often marginalized. There is a series of events for Spanish Speaking families hosted entirely in Spanish, to teach parents/caregivers how to navigate the education system in various capacities such as:
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Accessing and navigating the parent portal
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Understanding their child's report card
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Identifying the inequities in education and learning how to advocate for equity in education.
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Special Education series for beginners, experienced families and those with students in the transitional period.
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How to have productive and effective parent councils in parnership with schools and much more.
Our Success
Piloted our Workshop series in Worcester
CPLAN partnered with Worcester Education Collaborative to launch the pilot of our "Powerful Parents Program" (P3), also known as "Padres Poderosos for a condensed version of our workshop series tailored to their specific priorities.
78% Boston voters voted YES
for Elected School Commiittee
In partnership with the Boston Coalition for Education Equity, we achieved a significant milestone by garnering the support of 78% of Boston voters in favor of an elected school committee. Although this outcome holds no legal obligation, it does authentically reflect the sentiment of the Boston electorate.
50+ Schools and Counting with Water Filtration Systems
CPLAN collaborated with Boston Public Schools to continue replacing water bubblers with filtration systems so all students have access to clean drinking water. This work was supported by Mass DEP and the Shlomo Foundation. Currently, water filtration systems have been installed in over 50 schools, with a scheduled plan in place to complete installations in the remaining schools. Additionally, we have donated 400 water bottles to the Madison Park Technical Vocational High School athletics department.
2,000
Stakeholders in Education
CPLAN events have reached over 2,000 parents, educators, students, providers and community leaders since our founding.
