2022-2023 Family Engagement Plan

At Mississippi Creative Arts, we provide for students a school community where they can be creative, inspired, achieve academic success, and they can perform, as well as celebrate their accomplishments.

 The Family Engagement Plan (FEP) is organized into four impact areas. We will be working together this year to build positive and goal-organized relationships in each area. Families and staff at school developed this plan together.

Welcoming Environment

Our school has staff member(s) available for families to discuss this plan and ask questions

·Family Liaison: Cierra Mendez and Timothy Dopson    

Dr. Lydia Kabaka- Principal

Concha Fernandez Del Rey, Assistant Principal

Our school communicates with families in many ways.

·Parent/ Guardians phone calls/emails, or notes are answered within 24 hours. Interpreters in Spanish, Hmong and Karen are available to families.

·Principal makes sure that information is communicated through Connect Ed. School’s Quarterly Newsletter, SY 22-23 Calendar, Website and Virtual meetings: spps, Mississippi.org

The achievement gap, or rather the “opportunity gap,” between students of color and white students in Saint Paul Public Schools is unacceptable. Our school is working to change practices and systems by identifying the barriers that make it harder for students of color to succeed and for their families to support their learning.

· For more about our work on racial equity, contact:

  Ms. Cierra Mendez, Mr.  Timothy Dopson Cultural Specialist

 Dr.  Lydia Kabaka-Principal

  Ms. Concha Fernandez- Assistant Principal

  Inclusion Task Force

Transitions between schools can be challenging, and we work to help families as their children start and leave our school.

For new students and families, we support the transition by:

Meeting with families as they transition into the school by providing:.

· An informational table  will be available to answer questions during the Fall Open House. The Open House date will be published in the SY 22-23  Family and Community calendar.

· Providing guided visits by staff personnel.

· Outline specific coordination with Head Start and other preschool programs. 

·     Annual Meeting in the Winter/Spring of 2022-23

We work with our OEL parent liaison to plan parent visits to schools and collect feedback.    

  Take Your Parent to School Day TBD 2022-23

For students and families moving to the next school in their pathway, we support the transition by:

· Orientation visits to the pathway schools and family night with staff from pathway schools..

                                    Family Partnerships

Our school-parent compact establishes the shared responsibility for student success between the school, families, and students. Families and teachers work together to develop the compact.

·Copies of the compact are available:

· Main Office: To be distributed when parents/guardians register their child.

· Open House for parents/guardians to discuss as it relates to the individual child’s achievement.

During open house  and conferences compacts are shared  with parents Compacts are available .on  the MCAS website.

Parent/Guardian survey will be sent out to families in October  to provide feedback about their school experience

· The compact will be updated: October 22-23  by staff and parents

 - Monthly Virtual  MPO/PTA Meetings 

Discussed at  Fall conferences, Spring conferences, Home visits

There are many opportunities for families to build connections to the school and to each other.

·  Title I Annual Meeting where we will share information about school programs      October 18, 2022  (MPO) meeting

·       National African Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID)  February TBD 2022-2023  school year

·       Arts Crawl

.        Arts Integration Night

·       School Gatherings/ Achievement Awards Celebrations

·       Monthly Parent Organization (MPO) Nights

·       PTA (Parent Teacher Association)

·       Parent Teacher Home Visit Project 

.        Art Residencies

.        Showcases 

We work to make these meetings and events available for every family in the school.

·       Transportation and childcare is provided for some events depending on the activity.

·       Most  documents will be translated into Karen, Hmong and

Spanish via Newsletters, Flyers and Blackboard Connect

·       Karen, Hmong and Spanish interpreters will be present at all the school events.

·       We will hold a monthly Family Night (MPO) 3rd Tuesday of the month that includes  activities to inform, engage and/or assist parents raising their child’s academic achievement level. We will also offer MPO to families using google meets on-line format.  

·       Bilingual Educational Assistants will reach out to families by phone to remove barriers to parents/guardian participation

.         Communication around the Arts will be available at conferences.

Art showcases will be announced via newsletters, flyers and blackboard connect.

     Mississippi Creative Arts is committed to communicating regularly with families about children’s learning. These are some of the ways:

-  Weekly/Bi-weekly School to Home  communication Folder

- Communication log between home and school. Data collection shows three types of communication and how often they communicate with families.

-  Quarterly (trimestral) communication goals. Goals must reflect a higher ratio of communication on positive student behavior to negative.

-- Parent Teacher Home Visit

Our school supports families as advocates and provides opportunities for parent leadership

Mississippi Creative Arts will provide professional development to teachers and service personnel and staff in the value and utility of contributions of families, in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with families as equal partners, implement and coordinate family programs, and build ties between families and the school. Equity team and speakers will be provided.

·       Mississippi Creative Arts will involve families by providing information in a format and in a language that families can understand.

·       Sharing the documents to seek parent input at different meetings/ activities.

- PTA

-Surveys

-Parent representative on Leadership Team

-MPO using google meets on-line format

·      

Teaching and Learning

Our school shares information about state standards, assessment and student achievement with families in multiple ways.

·       Report cards and progress reports will be distributed:

During Open House  standards will be shared at each grade level with families

During virtual learning information will be shared with families: on school website, conferences and individual teacher virtual platforms

MPO-Monthly Parent Organization meetings

Ø  Fall Conferences (November 17 & 18 2022)

Ø  Spring Conferences (March 9 & 10 2023)

Ø  End of the Year Report-Mailed to families

     Parent-Teacher conferences are held

Ø  Fall conferences

November

 Interpreters will be provided for parent-teacher conference

Ø  Spring conferences

March

Interpreters will be provided for parent-teacher conferences.

• Reading Support for Students not at grade level in K-5

Ø  Reading Intervention-Support teacher and T.A.

Ø  Math Intervention

Ø  English Language Services

Ø  Share information with families about how to support students' reading success.

Ø  Provide parents with tools for learning vocabulary, letter and sound

• Instructional  coaches will present on standard based curriculum and standards  at an annual Mississippi Parent Organization Meetings 3rd Tuesdays of the month unless specified starting in October  2021.

October: all grade levels begin arts integration in collaboration with a specialist teacher 

January: all school arts integration in preparation for Arts Festival

Celebrate Me. Celebrate Community! Arts Festival - Families invited to participate in the many art activities hosted by professional and youth artists from around the area. Families invited to watch MCAS children perform along with other professional and youth artists.

Arts Integration Night

Student-Led Assemblies:  student groups perform and awards are given related to the arts, academics, and Mississippi Creative Arts PBIS Goals and Expectations (10/7, 11/4,12/4,1/6, 2/3, 3/3, 4/14, 5,5 & 6/2)

Women and Girls in Sports Events: Virtual meetings for students and families are being planned and will cover benefits of playing sports (teamwork, how to get along, being a good winner and loser), proper nutrition, sleep habits). Students will participate with  area youth who are teaching a skill specific to a sport with a warm up and cool down. Students will view videos from area youth who tell their sport story and what sport has given them. Students will also participate in various Sports Days that will be coached by area coaches.

Artist Residencies - professional artists work with a grade level in a specific art form (4th Grade - Shadow Puppetry,  2nd Grade - Dance from Around the World, 3rd  Grade - Minnesota Birds of Migration) Other grade levels will have the opportunity to participate in Co-led residencies while a professional artist works alongside the classroom teacher.

National African American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID) February, 2022-23.

Our school will engage families in Personalized Learning as a key strategy to accelerate student achievement. Parents can get more information using many tools.

·       Parent Portal is available by contacting the school to get log in information

·       “Family ipad Orientation Event” on September 1, 2022 5:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m.

At the family event, there will be a brief orientation of the “Student and Family iPad Handbook,” which outlines iPad care and safety information. After the orientation, BOTH a parent/guardian AND the student will need to sign the “Student and Family iPad Handbook,” which outlines iPad care and safety information. After the orientation, BOTH a parent/guardian AND the student will need to sign the “Student iPad Loan Agreement” that outlines the student’s responsibilities around the use of the iPad.

Please note that iPads will be handed out at a later date in their classrooms.

-    Parent Teacher Home Visits (PTHV) seeks to build the partnerships between parents and educators that are essential to providing quality education to all students, regardless of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, or ability.

Virtual Platforms Seesaw & Schoology 2022-2023 Primary teachers PreK-2nd are using SeeSaw through Ipads as an additional way to communicate with families. PreK-2nd are using their Ipads to access learning sites through SeeSaw at home. Intermediate teachers 3-5 are using Schoology as an additional way to communicate with families and for student use at home to access educational lessons.

Many before- and after-school enrichment and support opportunities are available for students

·       EDL

·       Tutors

-        Girl Scouts

Community Partnerships

Our school develops community partnerships to provide

Additional support for students and their families

• Family Innovations
• Children’s Crisis Center
• McDonough Recreation Center
• Project Reach
• Keystone (Hmong Youth & Family Program)
• Wilder
• Mn Museum
• Rice Street Library
• East Side Council

Arts Partnerships

• Art Start
• Cowles Center for the Performing Arts
• Connect Orchestra
• Arts Pathways
• Siama’s Congo
• VocalEssence Witness
• Center of Equity and Culture
• In Progress
• Interact
• Heart of Dance
• Neighborhood Bridges
• Coalition of Women and Girls in Sports
• Eastside Arts Council
• Minnesota Institute of Art

This plan is available as part of our school’s SCIP, or School Comprehensive Improvement Plan at scip.spps.org, is on our school website at school.spps.org, and printed copies are available in the office.

Translation Services

• If Spanish translation is needed: Para hacer preguntas en español, por favor llame a Ms. Lorena al 651-293-8840.

• If Hmong translation is needed: Yog koj muaj lus nug thov hu tuaj rau Neng Moua ntawm tus xov tooj 651-293-8840.

• If Karen translation is needed: