Hello everyone,

I was grateful to a colleague who sent me the link to this Community School Coordinators Coalition site. I've already spent time reading fantastic discussions that have inspired me in my future planning. Ours is a Title I Elementary School, in central Florida, like many, who have a low socioeconomic level, high absenteeism, low grade school. The neighborhood/community has changed over the years, and has little parental/family/caregiver engagement with students. We are in year I of a CPS Model, brought to us by a University in Tampa, FL. Our four core partners and Lead Agency has provided a 25 year-commitment to engage these students, support the Teachers, empower the children to be safe, productive, and successful learners.

Our goal is to show encouragement, compassion, and support to encourage our family members to become engaged with students, their children, and the Teachers to develop a strong bond in the school and the community. We invite families, their neighbors, friends to our school for a variety of programs and activities; before and after school activities, parent/family (PTO/PTA activities, an on-site Health Clinic, but most importantly, offer the services they may not even know we can assist them with, if they choose, and that everyone individual deserves to be offered.

The more services we can offer; including an emergency food assistance program, a clothing donation program, access to transportation for attending programs, employment referral assistance, application assistance for health care coverage for everyone in the family, the better our future will be.

Does anyone have any services or programs they have recently added to their school to engage parents to Programs they may say they will attend, but then do not?

Does anyone have any healthy conversation tips speaking with parents, as to how we can offer them these services without giving them the impression they "aren't a good parent" and need to learn how to better engage with their child at home and at school functions?

Bless everyone who is doing this job each day with a heart of servitude!    

I am eager to find the future dates of webinars schedule for March. I was disappointed that I missed those offered in February.