John Nelson Parent Involvement Matters Award (PIMA)

Nominees must demonstrate involvement in one or more of five core areas from Maryland’s PreK-12 Family Engagement Framework:

Welcoming all Families

• Creating an environment where all stakeholders—parents, students, and school staff—feel valued and connected
• Identifying and removing barriers
• Cultivating a positive climate
  

Encouraging partnerships among schools, families, and communities

• Creating opportunities for engaging families and communities
• Connecting students, families, and staff to expand learning opportunities and community services while working collaboratively with schools and community members

Supporting student learning and success

• Ensuring all families have opportunities to advocate for their own and other children
• Engaging community support

Building capacity among school stakeholders

• Providing training and resources to school staff and families to ensure instructional equity
• Enlist parents and parent organizations to recruit other parents to be involved in their children’s education

Promoting effective school-family communication

• Encouraging regular and meaningful two-way communication
• Identifying and removing barriers for family engagement
• Supporting targeted outreach efforts

To be considered for the PIMA award, nominees must:

1. Be an immigrant parent
2. Have a child in a Maryland public school
3. Not be an employee of any Maryland public school system or the Maryland State Department of Education

To qualify for the award, nominees must be a consistent advocate of public education and have had a significant, positive impact with their creativity, innovation, and/or commitment at the school, district, or state level in one or more of the five above areas.