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California Family Engagement Network
Our History
CA-FEN members first came together in 2017 to help the California Department of Education develop the Family Engagement Local Indicator. This tool helps school districts measure their implementation of effective family engagement practices. While that formal state committee disbanded in 2019, we continue collaborating on initiatives that empower families and elevate their voices in education. In 2023, CA-FEN formalized our network and relationships to coordinate statewide efforts to make schools more welcoming places for families, especially BIPOC families.
Our Network
CA-FEN brings together diverse nonprofits, government agencies, foundations, and education leaders across California who share a commitment to family engagement. This includes:
● Parent organizations
● Educator associations
● CBOs serving specific cultural/linguistic groups
● County offices of education
● Statewide education nonprofits and networks
Together, we leverage our collective experience, resources, and connections to transform California's education system in partnership with empowered families and communities.
Staff
Araceli Simeón
Exective Director
Araceli is a dedicated advocate for family and community engagement, a champion of sound policy-making, and a skilled bridge builder and network weaver. As Executive Director of the California Family Engagement Network she promotes policies and practices that put families at the heart of student success. She co-founded the Parent Organization Network in 2005 with Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, MALDEF, and Los Angeles Urban League and led it from 2013 to 2025. Previously, she directed the National Parent School Partnership program at MALDEF for a decade and consulted for the Center for the Study of Social Policy on First 5 LA’s Best Start initiative. Araceli holds a B.A. in Sociology from Cal Poly Pomona and an M.P.P. from USC. She is a mother of two multilingual children, one in a public high school and the other in Cal Poly Pomona.
Advisory Board
CA-FEN is a fiscally sponsored project of Charitable Ventures. The Advisory Board provides strategic advice and support to CA-FEN, and the Charitable Ventures Board of Directors provides ultimate direction. The Advisory Board’s current focus is fundraising and governance.
* Membership is individual. Affiliated organizations are noted for reference only.
Planning Team
CA-FEN’s Planning Team is an advisory committee focused on program and network development. The members provide strategy, lead projects, and help plan meetings and our annual event. The Planning Team is representative of the network’s members including family-serving and advocacy nonprofits, professional development providers, county offices of education, and higher education.
* Membership is individual. Affiliated organizations are noted for reference only.
Our Partners
We are grateful for the visionary funding we receive from foundations and family engagement champions who share our deep commitment to elevating families as partners in improving outcomes for children and youth. Support from prominent national and regional foundations focused on education, youth development, and family well-being has been essential in growing our capacity to advance the field of family engagement. The trust and teamwork demonstrated by this diverse array of funders continue to allow us to lead the adoption of evidence-based family engagement principles statewide.
