MAEC News

July 17, 2025 Dear MAEC Community, I am deeply honored to step into the role of President at MAEC, an organization with a powerful legacy of supporting inclusive and thriving schools and communities. I want to begin by expressing my profound gratitude to my predecessor, Susan Shaffer. Over the last three decades, Susan transformed MAEC… Read More »

July 9, 2025 Dear MAEC Community, After 33 years, I am writing to share with you that I am retiring from my day-to-day role as President of MAEC, an organization I had the profound honor of co-founding. This work has been my life’s calling. I have cherished every chapter, serving first as MAEC’s Vice President… Read More »

MAEC is delighted to announce that Vice President Karmen Rouland, Ph.D., is the organization’s next President, effective July 1, 2025.   Dr. Rouland has served as MAEC’s Vice President since 2021, where she has led strategic initiatives that deepened MAEC’s impact in education equity, family engagement, and culturally responsive practices. With more than 20 years… Read More »

MAEC’s CEFAM and CAFE Statewide Family Engagement Centers recently cohosted Connections, our inaugural virtual event, bringing together educators, practitioners, and families from across the country to strengthen partnerships that support student achievement. Inspired by MAEC’s publication, Building Leaders: An Educator’s Guide to Family Leadership, the event featured 25+ dynamic sessions. Attendees explored topics like: 👉… Read More »

MAEC’s President, Susan Shaffer, on how integrating math into SFEC programs can significantly enhance their impact and empower families to support their children’s mathematical development effectively.

We’re proud to present Melissa Harding, a parent-leader from CEFAM partner organization MeCAP’s Maine Parent Ambassadors Program. She and her colleague, Joni Sprague, presented “Empowering Parents: Strategies for Successful Parent Engagement,” at the 2023 National Head Start Association Parent and Family Engagement Conference. Read below as she reflects on her growth as a leader and experience during the conference. What an… Read More »

The U.S. Department of Education has announced that MAEC will lead the Statewide Family Engagement Center (SFEC) in Maryland and Pennsylvania. This is an exciting new iteration of MAEC’s program, the Collaborative Action for Family Engagement (CAFE). This grant will enable MAEC to expand the work it began nearly five years ago.  MAEC President Susan… Read More »

June 30, 2023 This week, the Supreme Court made disturbing decisions regarding Affirmative Action, LGBTQIA+ rights, and student loan forgiveness. The justifications for these decisions provide a false notion of what is equitable by ignoring the conditions and well-being of our communities. They promote a mindset shift where inequity is not only acceptable but legitimized… Read More »

MAEC conducted an Antiracist Audit of Montgomery County Public Schools (MD) policies, practices, and programs, resulting in the participation of 130,000+ MCPS community members, development of 26 total observations, and identification of 23 recommendations for the district, including cross-domain recommendations. Access the full report.   MAEC, Inc. announced the completion of its Antiracist System Audit… Read More »

MAEC is thrilled to announce that it was recently awarded the Region I Equity Assistance Center by the U.S. Department of Education. The Center for Education Equity (CEE) provides technical assistance and training services to public schools and other agencies, in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), SRI International, and WestEd. CEE builds… Read More »