The Plan/The Promise

The Family and Community Engagement Plan and all other Title I information are available on our school’s website at https://www.gcpsk12.org/BerkeleyLakeES under the Title I Section. Families can also find paper copies of this Family and Community Engagement Plan in our Parent Center.

It is reviewed and revised at least annually during the Planning Meeting in the spring. All feedback forms from the Planning Meeting are submitted to the Office of Federal Programs for review.  Families who are not able to attend the Planning Meeting have the opportunity to review draft documents and provide input during the draft document review period.

Berkeley Lake Elementary School communicates with families through the school’s website, parent-teacher conferences, parent portal, emails, phone calls, ParentSquare, weekly newsletter (Bear Essentials), and progress reports. Parents may schedule a classroom observation by contacting a member of the school’s administration team.
Written communication is available to all parents in both English and Spanish with additional languages available upon request. In addition, interpreters are available in multiple languages for parent-teacher conferences.

Berkeley Lake Main Office: 770-446-0947

• Empathy
  • Cultural competence, staff and student wellbeing, educator diversity.
• Equity
  • Multi-tiered system of supports, opportunity and access, equitable resource allocation.
• Effectiveness
  • Results-Based evaluation system, talent management, educational return on investment.
• Excellence
  • Preferred education destination, post-secondary and workforce readiness, world-class communication and engagement.  

We will provide all students with high quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment to meet high academic standards.

Berkeley Lake Elementary School students will increase student achievement on Georgia Milestones and improve reading proficiency school-wide.

• Literacy Foundational Learning Skills
  • Kindergarten – Phonological awareness – pronounce initial, medial vowel and final sound
  • 1st Grade – Phonics - blend, isolate vowels, and decode
  • 2nd Grade – Read for fluency and comprehension
  • 3rd Grade – Read and understand stories, dramas and poems
  • 4th Grade – Understand theme, characterization, structures of poetry and drama
  • 5th Grade – Compare multiple texts
• Math Foundational Learning Skills
  • Kindergarten - identify, write, and represent numbers to 20; compare two sets of up to 10 objects each
  • 1st Grade – Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction within 20
  • 2nd Grade – Use place value understanding to represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction within 100
  • 3rd Grade –Solve problems involving multiplication and division within 100
  • 4th Grade – Solve problems involving addition and subtraction through the hundred-thousand place, as well as multiplication and division of multi-digit whole numbers
  • 5th Grade - Understand the place value system and solve problems involving customary measurements, metric measurements, and time and analyze graphical displays of data to answer relevant questions

It is a plan that describes how our school will provide opportunities to improve family engagement that will support student learning at school and at home. All students and their families are invited and encouraged to fully participate in the opportunities described in this plan. The school will provide information and as many opportunities as possible for the participation of all family members.

It is a written agreement that outlines how the school, the students, and the family will work together to ensure your child’s academic success. An effective School-Family Promise contains the following elements:

• Clear learning goals that are linked to the school’s improvement plan
• Specific skills students will learn during the year
• Strategies that staff, families, and students will use to improve student learning
• Ways to extend learning at home
• Methods teachers and family members will use to communicate about student progress
• Opportunities for family members to observe and participate in the classroom
• Jointly-developed by families, school staff, students, community business partners, and other stakeholders during our Planning Meeting
• Reviewed and revised throughout the year. We will review the School-Family Promise throughout the school year during parent-teacher conferences and parent workshops.

ENGAGING AND EMPOWERING FAMILIES WITH…

• Title I Program Information: Program information is available during the Title I Planning Meeting in the spring and Annual Parent Meetings in the fall, on the school website, and in the Parent Center.
• Curriculum Information: Knowing what your child is learning at school is important. We will keep you informed throughout the year about what your child is learning during parent meetings, conferences, eCLASS, and on our school website.
• Student Progress Monitoring: The Parent Portal is an online resource that allows families to view grades, attendance, schedules, assessment, and your child’s results, course history, and much more. Monitoring your child’s progress in school is an important way to be engaged.
• Parent Resources: We have many resources available for checkout to use at home with your child. We also host several parent workshops to empower you as you work with your child at home.
• Staff Training: We will train our staff to effectively communicate with you. Your input on how we train our staff is valuable.
• Communication: We will communicate, to the extent feasible, all information with you in a language and format you understand. Whenever possible, we will provide interpreters during parent workshops, and academic events. Translation is available for most documents.
• Transition Support: Entering a new school can be scary for both students and families. We will host events to make sure both you and your child are aware of what is expected and how you can prepare as your child transitions to a new school level, college, and career.

Berkeley Lake Elementary will…

• Offer workshops to teach parents how to help their children learn
• Provide information and resources for families to practice at home to strengthen students’ reading fluency, comprehension, and problem-solving skills.
• Communicate with families in additional ways through school newsletters, ParentSquare, and the school website.

Please ensure all activities engage families in the education of their children.

Principal’s Signature  Ashley Coughlin                Date April 22, 2024

As Students, we will…

• Read every night to practice reading with accuracy, fluency, and understanding
• Learn math facts appropriate to the grade level to support math problem solving
• Practice organizational and study skills to complete assignments and study for tests

• Attend school workshops and events to learn strategies to help children at home.
• Encourage nightly reading and math fact practice at home
• Maintain open communication with my child’s teacher to help with academic success

For any questions, concerns, or feedback about your child’s progress, please contact your child’s teacher by writing a note, sending an email, Class Dojo, or leaving a message with the school office. Please allow 24 hours for a reply.

If you need interpretation and/or translation services, please contact: Sandra Olvera Infante at 678-291-4232.

Please join us for the following events:

• Curriculum Nights
• Title I Planning Meeting and Title I Annual Meeting
• Parent Workshops
• Family Nights
• Grade Level Programs and Events
• Parent-Teacher Conferences
  • October 23 and 24, 2024
  • March 5 and 6, 2025

• Title I is a federal program designed to support school reform efforts to improve teaching and learning for all students.
• Title I programs are based on effective means of improving student achievement and include strategies to support family engagement.
• The Title I Office reserves at least one percent of the district’s allocation to fund family and community engagement programs. The use of these funds is based on suggestions gathered at our spring Planning Meetings from families and community members. Funds are distributed equally to all our Title I schools.
• Childcare and/or transportation may be provided for meetings and school events.

Our Parent Center has learning games, books, and many other resources available for families to checkout and use at home. Our Parent Outreach Liaison is Sandra Olvera. She is available to help you find resources, navigate the Parent Portal, connect with teachers, and learn about ways you can help your children at home. Our Parent Center is located across from the Main Office in room 1.194.

Hours of Operation – 7:45 am to 2:45 pm

Please contact Sandra Olvera for additional information about our Parent Center and resources available for check out.

678-291-4232
Sandra.OlveraInfante@gcpsk12.org

Parents may schedule a classroom observation or a time to volunteer at our school by contacting a member of the school’s administration team.