The Annual Family Involvement Conference will be held October 28-29, 2024 at the Renaissance Hotel, Allentown, PA. In keeping with the exemplary standards of the Family Involvement Conference, four prestigious awards will be presented at lunch on Monday, October 28th.

The Nicole "Nikki" Hines Award: Nikki Hines was an active parent volunteer in her children's schools and longtime Family Involvement Conference advocate.  The award is in memory of her whose unbridled enthusiasm, endless compassion and unwavering commitment to student success symbolized the heart and soul of parent involvement. This award is established as a lasting tribute to Nikki Hines and her relentless support of family, school and community engagement. The recipient of this award will be a parent selected based on his or her extraordinary efforts to make a positive impact on their community through volunteering in their neighborhoods, faith communities, schools, or social service agencies.

The Bonita Allen Leadership Award: Bonita Allen engaged with education systems as a mother when her children were young. Gaining confidence in her own ability to advocate for her children she saw a new focus for herself to help all parents to be partners with educators and education systems and to address inequities in the systems; to advocate for justice. The Award will be presented to someone who began their journey in leadership as a family leader in the local community. The candidate's impact will include mentoring other family members to feel confident in their role as their child's most influential advocate.  Candidate's experience will include providing guidance and professional learning with school staff to understand and appreciate family members' contributions in family-school-community partnerships and to go beyond the checklist, but truly embrace families as partners particularly involving Title I programs or schools. 

The Caroline Allen Advocate Award: Caroline Allen touched the lives of innumerable parents/caregivers with her amazing positivity and strength. She acted with a "can do" energy to address issues of concern at first in her children's school community, then as a more formal volunteer leader. Caroline represented the concerns of parents in multiple settings as she began a professional career promoting family-school-community partnerships and out-of-school time programs. The Award will be presented to someone who began their journey in leadership as a family leader in the local community. The candidate's role as a leader in family-school-community partnerships is that of a relationship builder and advocate for an equitable education system (early education through college). The candidate's impact will include advocacy activities that promote family strengths as partners in work with family members, community, and school staff.

Paul Rinaldi Principal Award: Paul F. Rinaldi will always be remembered as the epitome of a true child advocate. He began his career as a teacher and later became the enrichment coordinator at the Franklin Township School in Broadway, NJ. Recognizing his deep commitment to working with children and parents, he was promoted to Principal and later Chief School Administrator of the same school. Throughout his career as an educator, Paul was actively involved with the PTA of NJ. Upon his retirement, the Warren County PTA established a scholarship in his name for a student who demonstrates outstanding respect and character-building traits. In 2003, Paul joined the Pennsylvania Coalition for Parent Involvement which hosts the annual Family Involvement Conference. Candidates will be principals who go above and beyond to demonstrate strong servant leadership skills and passion for advocacy that supports students and their families.