• Blue Ridge Elementary School Pre-Kindergarten

    Family Engagement Plan

    2017-2018

    HIDE

    In support of the High Quality PreKindergarten Grant program, Blue Ridge ISD will develop and implement a comprehensive family engagement plan to assist the district in achieving and maintaining high levels of family involvement and positive family attitudes toward education as outlined in TAC 103.1003(f) .  The family engagement plan will be designed to support the six components. The six components with examples of ways BRISD will implement are:

    (a) facilitate family-to-family support:

    Parent meetings without students - develop parent to parent communication and parent to teacher communication.  This will allow parents to network with each other and share resources and ideas.

    (b) establish a network of resources:

    “Family Education Night” - Educate parents, not about education but about opportunities that are available in the community and/or surrounding communities that would positively affect their parenting/family in general (ie: local libraries, car seat safety checks, other health opportunities available through the county)

    (c) increase family decision making;

    Partner with parents to increase communication in the decisions regarding their child’s education.  ESL teacher and aid to interpret when needed.

    (d) equip family with tools to enhance and extend learning;

    • Create activities at home (flash cards, links to educational websites/boards, etc.)
    • Provide parents individualized curriculum activities in order to push high achieving learners
    • Send home brochures in English and Spanish for good reading practice
    • Partner with ESL Coordinator for adult classes in childhood literacy initiatives, training on programs for home use, etc.

    (e) develop staff skills in evidence-based practices that support families in meeting their children’s learning benchmarks;

    • Guide parents to appropriate books to improve/begin reading
    • Encourage more parent volunteers to help with reading, small groups, activities

    (f) evaluate family engagement efforts and use evaluations for continuous improvement.  

    • Home visits - establish the “open door” between the school and the family

     

    Blue Ridge ISD will include the family engagement plan including resources and/or activities on the district website.

    Purchased materials from the grant would include components that support initiatives aimed at increasing family engagement. The Frog Street Curriculum, through online access and forums for parents, take home materials and much more, this excellent resource will encourage families to partner with the school to promote a culture of learning that is child centered, age appropriate and family driven.