Family Engagement Policy
2024 - 2025
Families play an important role in a child’s education. At J.F. Kennedy MS, we believe that the success of our students depends on a partnership between the family and educators. Family engagement contributes significantly to student achievement, and we want to encourage our families to be active participants in our school.
Communication
- The school sends home a welcome packet (MNPS handbook) to families prior to the start of school.
- The school posts school news and events on the marquee, Remind App, grade level newsletters, and website.
- The school keeps the website up to date with current events and activities.
- Teachers call or email regarding positive and/or corrective updates on student academics and behavior.
- The district and school contact families by phone and Remind App to relay school closings and other important notices.
- The school informs families about programs and services offered, i.e. social worker, school nurse, school counselors, Community Achieve liaison, Title I, etc.
- The district and school provide families with a description and explanation of the current curriculum in use, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.
- The school provides progress reports, report cards, and Notice of Concerns to update families about student academics and behavior.
- Families and teachers communicate about grade and/or behavior concerns.
- The school counselors, administrators, and teachers assist families in understanding the curriculum, student achievement standards, and how to effectively monitor a child’s progress and work with teachers.
Family Participation
- Families attend teacher conferences (virtual when necessary) to discuss child’s progress.
- Families communicate changes in contact information to the school.
- Families actively seek information, provided by the school, on events and activities.
- Families are invited to be in the school to attend school activities and events.
- The school offers varied times and methods for parent conferences, for example, before and after school, teacher planning times, phone conferences, Microsoft Teams, etc.
- Families are invited to IEP, 504, and S-team meetings to plan and discuss future programming for their child.
- Families complete the district and school survey to provide feedback to the school.
- Families are involved in other feedback opportunities, such as revisions of the school improvement plan, writing the parent-teacher compact, and creating the parental involvement policy.
- Families schedule times with the school/teacher to visit their child’s classroom.
- Families are encouraged to become members of the JFK family engagement group.
Meeting Opportunities
- An information meeting/open house is held at the beginning of the year to welcome families, meet teachers, and review classroom procedures.
- A Title I annual meeting is held at the beginning of the year to inform families about our Title I program.
- Parent meetings are held to give families an opportunity to help with and provide feedback on the School Improvement Plan, Family Engagement Policy, School-Parent Compact, Title I Program, and the development of the School-wide Program Plan.
- Families are invited to events to celebrate student achievements.
- Two days are spent entirely on parent conferencing during the school year.
- The school hosts an information meeting for rising fifth graders from our feeder schools.
- The school holds an open house in the fall for all incoming students.
- Title I money may be used to help with expenses associated with family engagement activities.
- Community businesses work with our school to assist in family engagement activities.
Parent Education
- Various workshops/classes are planned throughout the year on a variety of topics based on responses to the survey.
- Helpful parenting tips are included in Remind throughout the year in several languages.
- The district offers a Family Information Center at Family Information Center - Metro Nashville Public Schools.
- MNPS offers parental access to their child's district dashboard to access up-to-date information on their child.
- The school hosts family nights to model math and reading activities for parents to use with their child(ren).
Notes
- Some activities will be held virtually.
- All parent information is provided in Spanish and Arabic.