OLMSTED FALLS CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT LAUNCHES NEW FAMILY AND COMMUNITY L.I.N.K. INITIATIVE 
Enhancing Family and Community Engagement is Focus of New LINK (Learn, Inspire, Nurture, Know) Program

Olmsted Falls, OH - June 2019 - Olmsted Falls City School District is excited to announce a new initiative focused on enhancing the critical partnership between school, home and community.  The Family and Community L.I.N.K. program will focus on building high-quality partnerships between the schools, families and community members.  The L.I.N.K. acronym stands for:  Learn, Inspire, Nurture, Know.  

“This new program represents the next logical step in our continued efforts as a district to ensure we are maximizing all aspects of community partnerships in our educational community,” said Dr. Jim Lloyd, Superintendent of Olmsted Falls City Schools.  “Community partnerships are one of the cornerstones of our district’s strategic plan and having a person that lives within the community, has students within the school system and is dedicated to further building and strengthening our district in this area will yield great benefits to students as well as our school community as a whole.”  

Olmsted Falls City School District resident and parent Julianne Allen has been hired as the district’s new Family & Community LINK Coordinator to lead the new initiative to implement programs, practices and policies that encourage strengthened partnerships between families, schools and communities, for the purpose of promoting student success.  A 17-year resident of the Olmsted Falls City School District, Mrs. Allen has been an active volunteer who has held numerous leadership positions and dedicated countless hours to the schools.  Most recently, Mrs. Allen served as president of the Olmsted Falls PTA Council.  Mrs. Allen is pictured (center) along with Board of Education Vice President Linda Parkowski (left) and OFCS Assistant Superintendent Kelli Cogan (right) following their presentation, "A Partnership that Inspires & Empowers," at the 2019 Ohio PTA Convention.

“More than fifty years of research shows that students with involved parents are more successful in school. They earn higher grades, take more advanced coursework, have better attendance, graduate, and go on to higher education or career training,” said Family & Community LINK Coordinator Julianne Allen. “I am proud to be part of a school system that is actively striving to find new ways to link the involvement of parents and community members to student learning.”

“By welcoming partners into our schools, engaging in meaningful two-way communication, and providing parents with resources and tools they can use to support their students at home, we are building partnerships that will help students be successful  in school and beyond,” added Mrs. Allen.  “I am excited to be part of these expanded efforts.” 

Preliminary groundwork on the new L.I.N.K. initiative got underway this spring with a number of information gathering efforts to establish a baseline of the district’s current level of family and community engagement.  Efforts included individual meetings with building principals as well as coordinating volunteers for the “Welcoming Walk-Through” project, which aimed to provide fresh insight into a visitor’s view of each of our school buildings.  A family survey is also in the works to gather further information and plan for L.I.N.K. first official year of activities.  All of these preliminary efforts will help inform and shape the work of the L.I.N.K. initiative.

“While I believe our district does a nice job of connecting with families and places great value on these important relationships, there is always room for improvement,” added Dr. Lloyd.  “We look forward to reaching an entirely new and enhanced level of deeper partnerships with our families and community residents as a result of our new L.I.N.K. initiative.”  

Watch for increased presence of OFCS Family and Community L.I.N.K. opportunities as the 2019-2020 school year gets underway on August.  Follow OFCS L.I.N.K. on Twitter: @OFCSLINK. 

# # #

Media Contact:

Kim Petrina
Director of Communications
Olmsted Falls City Schools
(440) 427-6020 / kpetrina@ofcs.net