Important Dates       

Parent-Teacher Conferences                                                 

• First parent conferences held through November 3, 2023
• Additional dates, as needed

Progress Report Distribution

• November 2023
• February 2024
• April 2024
• June 2024

*Interims are sent to each student at the midpoint of each quarter.

School Events

• Summer Playdates for rising Kindergarten students
• Welcome Walk & Open House
• Back to School Night
• Thanksgiving Luncheon
• Math Night
• Winter Strings and Band Concert
• Raise a Reader
• Family/Staff Basketball Game

Ongoing Events

School Events

• FSO Link Up Event – April 2023
• Spring Strings & Band Concert – April 2023
• Multicultural Week – (Date TBD)
• Inclusive Schools Week – (Date TBD)
• Volunteer Opportunity with Kids Give Back (Date TBD)
• Book Bus
• Evening Writing Celebration
• FSO Link Up Event
• Spring Strings & Band Concert
• Volunteer Opportunity with Kids Give Back
• End of year celebrations

Ongoing Events

• Resource Distributions
• Parent Coffees
• Principal Chats
• Afterschool Enrichment
• PTA Meetings
• PTA Community Events

Building Capacity for Involvement

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers are actively involved in the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the school’s Title I program, including the following:

• Provide family members a voice in decision-making on committees, such as the Family Engagement Committee.  This includes coordinating school events with the PTA.
• Engage caregiver input when developing the School Improvement Plan (SIIP), Title I Schoolwide Plan, the Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy and Compact and plans for use of Title I family engagement funding.
• Seek feedback from families on programs within the Title I Schoolwide Plan, offer multiple methods for caregivers to submit comments about programs they may not find satisfactory, and submit any such comments with the Title I Schoolwide Plan to FCPS central offices.
• Invite family members to help in organizing and executing a variety of school events to build collective ownership, such as Raise a Reader, enrichment activities, staff/family basketball game and other events.  This includes seeking community input on topics to be covered at parent coffees and principal chats.
• Provide opportunities for caregivers to volunteer within the school in various ways, such as Raise a Reader guest readers, Career Week presenters, chaperones on field trips, etc.
• Encourage families to take part in annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the division-level Title I parent and family engagement policy to identify:
  • Barriers to greater family participation,
  • Ways to help family members be better able to assist in student learning, and
  • Strategies to support successful school and family interactions.

Effective Communication with Parents

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers receive meaningful communication in a timely manner, including the following:

• Use multiple methods of communication with families including Talking Points, eNotify (text messages/email) Thursday Folders, weekly newsletters from administration, monthly newsletters from grade level teams, Facebook, Instagram, and our school website.
• Encourage all caregivers to attend an annual meeting in September to share information about Title I services, explain Title I grant requirements, and inform families of their right to be involved in the school.
• Share school and student performance data with families in ways that seek their ideas about how to improve performance toward Virginia’s challenging academic standards, such as interim progress reports, report cards, the VDOE School Report Card.  Relevant data will be shared at PTA meetings throughout the year.
• Provide opportunities throughout the year for families to better understand the school’s goals for students and find ways to improve student learning by participating in curriculum sharing nights, parent conferences, and ongoing communication from teachers. Provided targeted engagement around critical topics at PTA meetings.
• Maintain resources for caregivers to review student assignments and ongoing communication about student work, such as monthly newsletters, and work shared in Thursday Folders, through Talking Points, and other modes of communication.  
• Provide ongoing feedback on student progress through quarterly interims and progress reports that show specific areas of proficiency and areas for continued growth.
• Hold “flipped” parent-teacher conferences for all students in the fall and more often, as needed.  Offer both virtual and in-person options for conferences.

Shared Responsibilities for High Academic Achievement

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers receive materials, training, and benefits from school partnerships with social and academic services, community-based organizations, and businesses, including the following:

• Hold workshops connecting caregivers to tools and resources, such as: Structuring your Home for School Success, Technology Support, and Effective Parent Conference suggestions.  We will also connect families with the Fairfax County Public Library, Parent Resource Center, Northern Virginia Family Services, and other county and district resources.    
• Offer regular opportunities for families to learn directly from school staff about the school’s academic, behavioral, and social programming through Parent Coffees, PTA meetings, and parent/teacher conferences.
• Encourage participation in family learning events where caregivers learn strategies to support their child’s learning at home and have a chance to practice targeted strategies with their child.  Events include literacy and math events, arts integration events, multicultural week, and more. We will provide families with activities and resources during these events that can be used at home.
• Provide ongoing access to resources in the school, such as connections with the family liaison, teachers, administrators, school counselors and social services team.  
• Provide community and school-based mentors for students.
• Leverage partnerships with local businesses and organizations to enhance school programs and events, including:  INOVA Health Care Systems, Northern Virginia Family Services, the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra, Family Literacy, Food for Others, Holmes Run Acres, Kids Give Back and others.
• Support parents in accessing county and community resources, such as Fairfax County Department of Family Services, Neighborhood Networks, and INOVA Health Systems.

Welcoming All Families

Efforts will be made to ensure that all parents/caregivers are welcomed and provided opportunities to actively engage within the school, including the following:

• Create a welcoming atmosphere at the school with a warm greeting entering the front office, signage in the halls to label areas and teachers, directions in English and Spanish, and colorful displays.  Students will be greeted daily and engage in morning meetings and closing circles to build positive communities in each classroom.
• Provide interpretation services for parent-teacher conferences, workshops, meetings, and events.
• Translate or provide interpretation of all school documents and communication to make them accessible in the caregiver’s preferred correspondence language and for those with vision or hearing impairments.
• Support two-way communication between families and staff through assistance of a family liaison for Spanish speakers, use of the Talking Points app, ULG line, etc.
• Coordinate visits to the community over the summer and throughout the year to assist families with completing beginning of year forms, engage with families, and participate in local community events.

Compact Provisions

School staff, parents/caregivers, and students must work together to ensure a student success.

The staff will:

Provide a high-quality curriculum and instruction that enables students to meet challenging academic standard through the following actions:

• • Staff will focus on building positive relationships with each student.  They will provide strong tiered instruction and work collaboratively to meet every student by name, strength, and need.
  • Staff will teach all students according to the state’s challenging standards, using approved curriculum resources.
  • Staff will participate in ongoing professional development to ensure effective instructional practices are used in all classrooms.
  • Administration and the leadership team will ensure that classroom teachers have a common understanding of the curriculum, use common practices, and build a common understanding of student’s strengths and needs, through participation in collaborative learning team meetings.

Provide a supportive and effective learning environment for students through the following actions:

• • Provide clear expectations for student behavior and academic learning.
  • Build classroom communities by implementing Responsive Classroom practices. This includes providing time on our master schedule for daily morning meetings and closing circles.    
  • Support the social and emotional learning of students through monthly counseling lessons, counselor led small groups, teacher led lessons using Second Step curriculum, and other approaches.
  • Assess student learning in all content areas. Provide targeted feedback and support to meet all students by name and need.

Provide assistance to caregivers in understanding the school’s program through the following actions:

• • Hold an annual meeting to present information on the school’s Title I program, state and division curriculum and assessments, and the school’s state and federal accountability status.
  • Provide multiple opportunities for caregivers to ask questions and give input into the Title I programs during informal and formal community events.  This will include providing opportunities for families to ask questions and share feedback.
  • Maintain an informative and comprehensive school website.

Build caregivers’ involvement in the school’s Title I program through the following actions:

• • Include caregivers as collaborators in developing the Title I Schoolwide Plan and plans for the use of Title I family engagement funds.
  • Select one or more parents to serve on the Title I Parent Advisory Council.

The parents/caregivers will:

Demonstrate understanding that participation in my child’s education will help his or her achievement through the following actions:

• • Participate in decisions related to school programs and my child’s education and share my questions or comments about the programs in my child’s school.
  • Attend a parent-teacher conference in October or November 2023.
  • Maintain communication with your child’s teacher.
  • Volunteer in my child’s classroom or in school activities, as my schedule allows.
  • Encourage and support my child’s learning at home and at school. 
  • Talk to my child about his or her school day each day, focusing on new information learned, topics of interests, and personal goals.
  • Monitor my child’s progress as noted on report cards, interims, and classroom assignments.
  • Review contents within parent communication documents.

Share the responsibility to improve my academic learning to achieve the state’s challenging standards through the following actions:

• • Attend school regularly.
  • Get enough sleep every night.
  • Follow school and classroom rules.  This includes R.O.A.R. and classroom community expectations.
  • Try my hardest and work with my classmates to complete learning tasks. 
  • Ask for help when I need it.
  • Give my family all communication from my teacher and the school.
  • Read to self and/or ask family members to read to me at least 20 minutes each day.
  • Practice math skills at home by finding real life connections to math content.

R.O.A.R.

R - Recognize my value

O - Other people matter

A - Always ready to learn

R- Respect property