Outreach Inspiration Board

Outreach Inspiration Board: Bringing Families In

The most powerful outreach doesn’t begin with a flyer—it begins in the room.

When ELAC feels like a space where families are truly seen, where their voices matter, and where they’re learning something meaningful that benefits their child and family, they come back. And they tell others. That’s the kind of connection that builds community—and lasting engagement. 

This Outreach Inspiration Board includes:

• Real suggestions offered by families through ELAC Listening Sessions (italicized and/or in quotes to honor their voice)

• Winning ideas shared by schools across our region

• These ideas focus on three key areas: Visibility • Family Leadership • Authentic Connection

We invite you to explore and adapt these strategies and to share your own.

Sometimes outreach isn’t about doing more, but about doing things differently. Sometimes it’s not what we’re doing but how we’re doing it. Small, intentional shifts can create big impact. Invite families into something meaningful because what happens in the room is the best outreach of all.

Tried something that worked? Share your best outreach idea with us here so we can grow this resource together!

Visibility – Make ELAC part of everyday school life

• Set up an ELAC table at school events: Back to School Night, Kinder Orientation, performances, popcorn sales, after-school pickup. Pair with a family leader and a small giveaway or flyer.  “Put an ELAC info table by the food—that’s where all the people are!”

• Use yard signs or sandwich boards:“ELAC Meets Tonight!” near pick-up zones or school entrances

• Remind families at pickup the day before and the day of. “Even when parents want to go, we sometimes forget. Those reminders help!”

• Have a short ELAC info session at Back-to-School Night or Kinder Orientation. “Most parents come to Kinder Orientation. Have a session just for Spanish-speaking families to learn about ELAC.”

• Invite students to participate in ELAC meetings—presenting about their English classes, ELPAC testing, or through performances and recognitions.
  “If their kids are presenting, their parents will come.”

• Share meeting topics ahead of time—on flyers, in texts, robocalls, or announcements
  “Families want to know what will be covered. Then we can decide if we should go or not.”

• Record brief social media clips during ELAC—gallery walks, parent reflections, warm welcomes

• Highlight ELAC in school newsletters or social posts using family stories, photos, or poll

• Partner with other events:
  “Host a kids’ movie night during ELAC. To attend, the student must bring a parent to the meeting!”

Family Leadership - Cultivate peer-to-peer outreach

Families are the most powerful ambassadors for ELAC. When they share why they show up and what it’s meant for their children, it resonates—peer-to-peer outreach builds trust like nothing else.

When inviting families to co-lead, present, or share their voice, offer plenty of notice and extend the invitation in a warm, no-pressure way. Meet with them ahead of time to answer questions, prepare together, and offer a chance to practice. These small steps help build confidence—and leadership. For more, visit Honor & Grow Family Leadership and cultivate family leadership, voice, and confidence over the course of the year.

• Launch a “Bring a Friend” Challenge. Ask returning families to personally invite new families (texts, calls, WhatsApp). Have incentives like school swag or other recognition. 

• Create a Buddy Mentor system: pair new attendees with experienced families
  “I don’t know who I would sit with. I wish I had a friend that went—then I would go.”

• Spotlight a Family Leader each month in the newsletter or on social media, sharing why they got involved in ELAC and what it’s meant to them.

• Create “ELAC Welcome Kits” with basic info and a personal welcome note from a current member to give to new families.

• Host a leadership story circle—have a few families share their journey from first-time attendee to active participant to encourage others.

• Recognition at school events: Acknowledge ELAC leaders at awards assemblies or end-of-year events to honor their contribution publicly.

• Ask families to co-facilitate an activity at a meeting—such as reading a quote, welcoming others, or leading a discussion in their language.

• Invite ELAC family members to speak at events and table with staff

• Record short videos of ELAC families sharing why they attend

• To invite participation and leadership, use the Ways to Participate and Lead in ELAC bilingual form. 

Authentic Connection – Create moments of belonging and purpose

• With permission, display a bulletin board featuring ELAC photos and family quotes

• After each meeting, thank attendees individually and remind them of the next date

• Encourage staff invitations—from teachers, coaches, and admin. “If teachers told parents they should go, they would. I don’t think parents really know how important it is—but if a teacher told them, they’d go.” “When a principal walks by you in the hallway and doesn’t even smile, it’s hard to want to go to the meeting.”

• Start each meeting with a community question (e.g., “What’s one thing that made your child smile this week?”) to build warmth and shared identity.

• Send a personal thank-you text or voice message (not just mass reminders) after someone attends a meeting.

• Include student voice by inviting kids to make posters, write thank-you notes, or help decorate the room to welcome families.

• Celebrate milestones—like a parent attending their first ELAC, or a group completing a full year together, with small tokens of appreciation.

• When new students arrive from a feeder school, reach out to their multilingual families with a personal phone call to welcome them, explain what ELAC is, and invite them to join as a place to meet other families.

• At the end of the year, invite the ELAC facilitation team from the feeder school to join in welcoming incoming multilingual families and help introduce them to ELAC.