How to partner effectively with Seattle Public Schools and

This parent guide is intended to:
Support families of children from birth to PreK and through high school. It
also is designed for teachers, educators, community members and school
staff to encourage our children to enhance their potential as life-long
learners.
How to partner effectively with
Seattle Public Schools and
advocate for your child
Printed guides are available on the Ombudsman Website at:
http:bit.lySPSombudsman.
–
For families: How to support your child
from birth to Pre-K through high school
For teachers, educators, community members
and school staff: How to support our children
to enhance their potential as lifelong learners.
Participating Sponsors:
City of Seattle
Seattle Early Education Collaborative
Empathy is a journey,
not a destination!
Enjoy the journey.
This project is funded in part by Title I
Head Start
Child Care Resources
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Last updated version: 08/1/13
Photographs © Susie Fitzhugh
References
From “The rock will wear away”
Can we be like drops of water falling on the stone
Splashing, breaking, disbursing in air
Weaker than the stone by far but be aware
That as time goes by the rock will wear away
And the water comes again
-Holly Near
Singer-songwriter,
Teacher, and activist
For social change
Stanford, John, 1998. Victory in Our Schools. John Stanford with Robin
Simons.
McCaleb, Sudia Paloma, 1994. Building Communities of Learners: A
Collaboration among Teachers, Students, Families, and Community.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Communications and Outreach,
Parent Power: Build the Bridge to Success, Washington , D.C., 2010.
To parents: We can’t tell our kids to do well in school and then fail to
support them when they get home. You can’t just contract out
parenting. For our kids to excel we have to accept our responsibility
to help them learn. That means putting away the Xbox and putting
our kids to bed at a reasonable hour. It means attending those parent
-teacher conferences and reading to –our children and helping them
with their homework.
–
----President Barack Obama, July 17, 2009
Things to remember…
Begin talking to your child from infancy. Make sounds, call attention to sounds and connect them with objects and events. Explain
activities as you perform them. Listen and encourage conversation.
Every parent knows how important it is to spend “quality time”
with children, but always remember to take time out for yourself,
too. Enjoy the Journey!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Where should I go for additional resources?
General education information
A Welcome Message from: District Ombudsman,
Director of School Climate, and City of Seattle
Youth and Family Strategic Advisor
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How can I support my child?
6
Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs)
How can I effectively advocate for my child at home?
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Assist parent with special education, early intervention, and related
services.
http://www.taalliance.org
Here’s what you can do at home — More Tips
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Here’s what you can do at school
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Parental Information and Resource Centers (PIRC)
Here’s what you can do at school — More Tips
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Here’s what you can do at school — More Tips
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Here’s what you can do at school — More Tips
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Additional advocacy steps to take
13
What do I need to know about SPS?
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Who can help me find preschool and child care services?
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How do I learn about other services/programs for schools?
16
What other programs should I know about?
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What other resources are available for my family?
18
What are my student’s rights & responsibilities?
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How can I learn more about advocating?
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Where do I go for support?
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Where should I go for additional resources?
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References
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For more information and participating sponsors
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U.S. Department of Education
www.ed.gov or 1-800-USA-LEARN (toll free)
Resources for Parents
PIRCs help implement successful and effective policies, programs and
activities.
http://www.nationalpirc.org
Help with homework or school projects
Free Resources for Educational Excellence
–
http://www.free.ed.gov
Schools
Public and private schools. colleges and
libraries and locate information on schools,
colleges and libraries.
http://www.nces.ed.gov/globallocator
Reading
Literacy Information and Communication
System
An interactive online social learning space
for adult educators. http://Lincs.ed.gov
Preschool
Ready to Learn TV is a national literacy campaign that focused on building
reading skills for children.
www.pbs.org/readytolearn
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The content of this pamphlet comes from a collaboration of early childhood
educators, classroom teachers, school directors, former principals, community
members, family advocates, administrators, program managers, PTSA members
and parents. Parent focus group conversations took place throughout the summer/
fall at various Seattle Public Schools/community and involved several languages
including: Chinese, English, Spanish, Somali, and Vietnamese. Here are some of
the questions we asked:
How can we at Seattle Public Schools partner best with you?
As a new or an existing parent/guardian, what hopes or excitement do you
have for your student?
What does it mean to advocate for your student?
In what ways do you now advocate?
What concerns do you have?
What do you see as systemic patterns of inequity in Seattle Public Schools
that may prevent you from developing a partnership?
Lead authors
Ronald I. McGlone (SPS District Ombudsman) and Sonja Griffin (Strategic
Advisor Youth and Family Empowerment, City of Seattle)
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Contributing editors/members
Dr. Beverly Davis (Director of School Climate, SPS); Kimberly Kinzer
(Director for Early Learning, SPS); Bob Westgard (Director, Transportation,
SPS); Laura Garcia (Manager, Head Start, SPS); Bernardo Ruiz (Manager,
School-Family Partnerships, SPS); Janet Preston (Manager, Family Support
Workers Program, SPS); Jerry Sera (Coordinator, Head Start, SPS); Ellen Reye
(Manager, Transportation, SPS); Susan Hall (Coordinator, Alignment
Partnerships, SPS); Caryn Swan Jamero (Executive Director, CDSA); Tilman
Smith (Manager, CCR); Cikeithia Pugh (Early Learning Program Manager,
SPL); Acquinetta Williams (FSW, SPS); Arlan Neskahi (Program Manager,
Native American Program, SPS); Dinah Ladd (McKinney-Vento Liaison,
SPS); Narcita Eugenio (Student & Family Advocate, SPS); Lauren McGuire
(Co-president, SCPTA); Paola Mizrahi (Manager, Readiness to Learn, SPS);
Lynn Van Deventer (Parent/Family Volunteer); Mary Fickes (Coordinator,
Carmen Maymi-O’Reilly ( FSW/RTL Parent Leader Trainer, SPS); Early
Learning, SPS); Doris Patin (Teacher-Elementary, Emerson/SPS); Julia
Matthews (Teacher-Elementary, Rainier View/SPS); Huyen Lam
(Kindergarten Teacher, Gatzert/SPS).
This parent guide is based on the best information available at the time of
publication. District policies are subject to revisions and changes. If you have
any questions about any topic in this guide or need more detailed information.
Call the District Ombudsman Office at (206) 252-0529 or
visit: http://bit.ly/SPSombudsman.
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Where do I go for support?
Seattle Public Schools (Street/mailing address)
John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence
2445 Third Ave. S., MS 33-160
P.O. Box 34165
Seattle, WA 98124-1165
Website: www.seattleschools.org
Telephone: (206) 252-0000
Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors
The Seattle School Board directs School District operations and supervises the
Superintendent. There are seven Board members representing various areas of
the city. School Board members are elected by Seattle voters. Visit:
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/board/agenda.htm.
The Superintendent
Hired by the School Board to manage funds and oversee School District staff
and schools. He or she reports to the School Board. Over 8,000 people work
in schools and in the School District offices. Email the superintendent at
[email protected].
Principals or Program Managers
School principals provide vision and instructional direction and manage the
day-to-day operations of the school, the school budget and the staff.
Assistant Principals
Assistant principals aid principals in their duties and help develop and
administer the school discipline plan.
School Secretary or Administrative Assistant:
They are your first point of contact when you call or come into a school. They
can answer many questions about school rules, schedules and activities.
Seattle K-12 Arts Learning Collaborative
The goal of the collaborative is to ensure Seattle is a city where all students in
all Seattle Public Schools have opportunities to learn through the arts...
Website: http://bit.ly/SPSartsplan. Or, call (206) 252-0782
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How can I learn more
about advocating?
Welcome to Seattle Public Schools
Decisions are made every day that affect
families — and I have no doubt with good
intentions and fairness in mind. As a public
school district, SPS has a special obligation to
provide excellent service to our customers.
Websites to visit:
State Board of Education http://www.sbe.wa.gov
K12 Learn From Home http://www.k12.wa.us/
Department of Early Learning http://www.del.wa.gov/
Washington State PTA www.wastatepta.org
The Office of the Education Ombudsman: www.parentslearn.org
The more responsive we are to helping our
families and community, the more aware
families are about student support.
We are pleased to have so many partners
collaborate on this project and would like to
thank everyone.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.) Provide a parent
access to their child’s educational records.
Visit: www.Fafsa.ed.gov.
Learn about College Bound scholarships for seventh-grade students at
FERPA.
Communicating with the school:
Good record-keeping is the basis of effective communication.
Supporting your student will many times involve attending meetings at
the school.
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We believe this parent information guide will
become a useful tool for families — not only
for those with students attending SPS — but
for new families considering SPS.
We particularly would like to thank the City of Seattle and Sonja Griffin, the
city’s Strategic Advisor, for their contribution to this project.
Ronald I. McGlone
SPS District Ombudsman
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Copy everything you send.
Put things in writing.
Keep a log.
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How can I support my child?
What are my student rights
and responsibilities?
Students attending Seattle Public Schools have these rights: freedom of
speech, right to assemble, right to petition, freedom of the press, freedom
from unreasonable search and seizure and equal education opportunity. They
also have responsibilities to maintain these rights. To learn more visit: http://
bit.ly.SPS-StudentRights
School-Family Partnerships/Equity & Race Relations
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Seattle Public Library
The Seattle Public Library provides free services for students, including
homework help, SAT test preparation, music downloads and more. Get started
at www.spl.org/teens or www.spl.org/children. Need help starting a class
project? Ask a librarian. Chat, email or call them for accurate, reliable answers
at: (206) 386-4636 or visit www.spl.org/ask.
Seattle Council Parent Teacher Association (SCPTA)
The PTA is a national, non-profit, membership, children’s advocacy
organization that works with schools but functions independently from the
school system. School PTAs are members of the Washington State PTA and
the National PTA.
They are organized and directed by parents. PTA members pay an annual fee
and are invited to participate in various roles, such as PTA officers, committee
members, and school volunteers. To learn more visit:
http://www.seattlecouncilptsa.org or phone (206) 364-7430.
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This department teaches schools how to –integrate and institutionalize best
practices of family involvement into their academic and building goals. The
partnership seeks to have equitable relationships between schools and families
in order to eliminate disproportionality and ensure that all students succeed.
To learn more, call (206) 252-0693.
Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying
Bullying hurts everyone. It can have lasting effects on the victim, the bully,
the school and the community. Be prepared to stop any bullying you see or
hear about. To learn more, call Safety and Security at (206) 252-0623.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning (LGBTQ)
Seattle Public Schools believes that all students, staff, and families deserve
safe and supportive learning environments regardless of
sexual orientation or gender identity. To learn more, contact the LGBTQ
Advisory Committee at (206) 252-0982.
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What other resources
are available for my family?
McKinney - Vento Homeless Assistance Act
This legislation allows services for homeless students and their parents, or
unaccompanied youth. To learn more call: (206) 252-0857.
Center for Children & Youth Justice (CCYJ)
CCYJ is a nonprofit organization that partners with parents, advocates and
policymakers to develop and advance innovative approaches that will
support children, stabilize families and strengthen communities.
For more information, contact (206) 696-7503 or email [email protected].
Native Americans, American Indians, Alaskan Natives
Seattle Public Schools receives a Title VII Indian Education Formula
Grant that allows the District to offer programming to meet the unique
educational and culturally related academic needs of Native American,
American Indian and Alaskan Native students. To learn more call: (206) 252
-0948
Family Support Workers
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Family support services are available for families Pre-K through Grade 12.
Working directly with families, these support workers help students meet
their basic needs to succeed at school. They also coordinate programs for
parents. To learn more call: (206) 252-0950.
Before- and after-school programs
About 90 percent of elementary schools at Seattle Public Schools have onsite care programs. Programs offer fee-based, before- and after-school,
school break, and (usually) summer care for elementary school-aged
children. Many also offer pre-school for 3-5 year olds (full day or part day).
For information on other programs, call Child Care Resources at
(206) 329-5544 or www.childcare.org
How can I advocate for my child?
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME
Read to your child every night … every single night. Work your way
through the classics or through the newspaper. Just read. The experience of
reading together is integral to helping your child learn. If you choose to do
just one thing, this should be it.
As a parent, you are Ground 0 in your
child’s education. Everything you do
influences how your child will learn. You
may be surprised how much the little
things can help.
Read, read, read. Not only should you
read with your children, you should
openly encourage them to read by
themselves. Start a reading campaign
right in your own home. Reward your
children for every book they read (a little
bribery here isn’t a bad thing, considering
the results). Get creative. Do your
children like adventure?
Turn them on to
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the great books about Daniel Boone, Tom Sawyer, Annie Oakley, and
anything by Jules Verne. Do they like animals? Show them books on
dinosaurs, horses, dogs, and alligators. Are sports popular in your house?
There are hundreds of great books about baseball players, the history of
soccer, or figure skating.
Get a library card for each of your children. Show them how to use it and
talk to them about the incumbent responsibilities. Make a plan for regular
visits, particularly during the summer, when libraries have such wonderful
reading programs for children.
Oversee your children’s homework. Set aside time each night. Spread the
books around the family dinner table. And get down to work. If they don’t
need help on a particular night, be on call.
Welcome children into adult conversations. How will they ever spread their
wings if they are not challenged to think at higher levels and develop their
own opinions?
Discover your children’s own intellectual curiosity by simply talking to
them. Encourage them to ask questions. If you don’t know the answer,
work together to find it.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO AT HOME — MORE TIPS
If your children like to cook,
welcome them into the kitchen.
There are lots of great educational
tools to be found in the kitchen —
cookbooks to read, measuring to be
done, directions to follow, and
fractions to be worked out.
Make every effort to watch TV
with your children. You will be
surprised by what they are
watching. Talk to them about the
issues.
The next time you plan a trip or
family vacation, get out the map.
Show your children where you’ll be
going. Tell them you’re going to
need a tour guide in each state.
Have your children read up on
places you’ll be visiting, so they’ll be able to educate the entire family
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along the way.
When you go to the grocery store, ask your child to help you make
change.
If you’re looking for a cool spot on a summer
Saturday afternoon, head for a museum or a library,
or take them for picnic in the park--and bring a book.
If you want to know how your school is doing,
and if you hope to influence its operation, you need
to be visible at the school. You need to spend time
there, get to know the principal, the people who work
in the office, and some of the teachers. Parents who
are visible are the ones who are asked to join
committees and give their opinions when the school
is making decisions and setting policies.
Call your child’s teacher and ask how you can help. Does she need help
in the classroom? Preparing materials? Chaperoning a field trip? Let
her know you’re available. If you don’t hear from her for several
months, call again to remind her.
What other programs/services
should I know about?
All-day kindergarten program
Washington state only provides school districts with enough funding to pay for
half-day kindergarten. To make full-day kindergarten available at all Seattle
schools, the District must recover the costs for the non-funded portion of the
kindergarten day by charging families a fee. For active-duty military families,
all-day kindergarten is free. To learn more email:
[email protected]. For payment questions, call (206) 252-0275.
Enrollment/Bilingual Services
Department of English Language Learners (ELL) and International Programs
provide a range of academic and support services that assist English Language
Learners, migrants, newcomers, immigrants, refugees and international school
students. To learn more, call: (206) 252-0072 or (206) 252-0760.
Transportation
For information about riding the school– bus or riding the bus for after-school
activities, call (206) 252-0900.
Disciplinary Appeals Office
By law, children must attend school regularly. Good attendance is important
for learning. When students are absent, truant or suspended from school, they
miss critical instruction and quickly fall behind. To learn more call: (206) 2520820. To find out information about truancy, call the Truancy Office at (206)
252-0825.
Transfer School Appeals:
Most assignment appeal requests will fall under the Transfer Appeal process.
However, some assignment-related requests may require a different process
with a specific office/department. To learn more, call (206) 252-0760.
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How do I learn about other services and
programs for students?
Special Education Services
District office (206) 252-0058
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO AT SCHOOL
Form a teachers support committee. Organize a committee of parents
from your child’s classroom who are also interested in getting involved.
Select a committee head and give that name and number to the teacher.
Tell him that whenever he needs help to call the head of the committee,
who will in turn recruit committee members for the job.
Records requests FAX (206) 252-0895
Students in private school (206) 252-0823
Child Find for preschool (206) 252-0805
Speech only referral (206) 252-0803
Infants and Toddlers, ages birth to age 2 (800) 756-5437
504 Student Disability Accommodations
SPS recognizes and supports the right of students to enjoy equality of
treatment and access to opportunities in education. Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) guarantees that students with
disabilities have the ability to access a free appropriate public education
(“FAPE”). To learn more, call (206)–252-0118.
Advanced Learning (206) 252-0130
Seattle Public Schools has three programs for advanced learners:
Advance Placement Program (APP)
What can you offer?
Classroom and hallway
decorators; field-trip
chaperones; fund-raising
help for books, materials,
and special supplies;
assistants for school plays.
Working through a
committee spreads the
burden. You can raise
money or solicit donations from local businesses much easier than a
teacher can. And by taking the pressure off the teacher, you are
allowing him to put all his energy into teaching.
–
Call your child’s teacher or principal. Offer to be a publicist for her
classroom or school.
What can you do? Contact local media — newspaper, radio, TV,
magazines — with information about a great teacher, a super student, a
school achievement.
Spectrum Program
Have the school’s math grades
gone up? Have a record number
of students made the honor roll?
Did the science club’s rocket
actually worked? Do you have
news about upcoming school
events, such as fund-raisers,
plays, field trips?
Advanced Learning Opportunities
SPS Early Learning Department (206) 252-0186
Through professional development, partnerships and collaboration within
and beyond the district, the Early Learning department seeks to increase
the quality of education of our youngest learners from PreK through 3rd
grade. It aims to create an equitable system of early education which is
anchored in cultural relevance, effective instruction and whole-child
development.
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Get in touch with other parents
and have them write letters to the editor. Inform your local media that
you're willing to be a liaison to the school. Even publicizing the projects
and accomplishments of the school or classroom to other parents is
worthwhile.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO AT SCHOOL — MORE TIPS
Call your child’s
teachers and offer to
write a biweekly
newsletter about
what the class is
doing. This will take
very little effort.
Who can help me find
preschool and child care services?
SPS Head Start
Head Start is a federally funded Preschool program serving children ages 3 to
5 years. The program is designed to prepare children to enter kindergarten
excited about school and ready to learn. To learn more, call: (206) 252-0960.
Things to include:
schedule of
upcoming quizzes
and tests, news about
recent class trips, updates on the biology project (green things growing
in egg cartons), fate of the class hamster, winner of the spelling
contest, or a Student of the Week.
There are terrific benefits to this: It gives the teacher a venue for
speaking to the parents. It lets parents know what to expect in terms of
tests. And it involves you in your child’s classroom.
Contact your child’s teacher and volunteer to be the class historian.
Working in conjunction with her–curriculum and collaborating with
students, lead a discussion on what is meant by primary source
material.
Archive the class’s activities for that year. Ask the question, What is
history? What makes history? At the end of the year, invite all the
parents in for dinner and a show-and-tell of what their children
consider to be their own contributions to history.
City of Seattle Early Education Collaborative (SEEC)
SEEC is a community collaborative of stakeholders and partners working
together to create a shared vision for early learning in Seattle and to achieve
greater gains for children by aligning outcomes, strategies, and sharing
expertise. The SEEC programs honor family and home culture, and language
and support your child get ready for kindergarten—academically, socially,
and physically. SEEC programs are administered by the City of Seattle’s
Human Services Department. To learn more, call: (206) 386-1050.
Child Care Resources (CCR)
– child-care questions. CCR assistance
CCR helps all families find answers to
is especially valuable to families in challenging situations. These may include
families who work evenings or weekends, have children with special needs,
struggling to manage the cost of care, and who are homeless. All can find
personalized and in-depth information by calling (206) 329-1011 (Press ‘0’
for Operator).
Some teachers don’t
readily use parent volunteers.
If your teacher doesn’t, call the
school office and ask which
teachers do, then call those
teachers and offer your help to
them.
You won’t be helping your
child directly, but by helping
another teacher, you will be making yourself visible at school … and
perhaps encouraging your child’s teacher to use volunteers.
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What do I need to know about SPS?
OUR SCHOOLS
Seattle Public Schools is the largest
school district in the state of
Washington. It has 96 total schools:
60 elementary, 12 high schools, ten
K-8 schools, nine middle schools,
and five service schools.
OUR STUDENTS
We have an enrollment of more than
49,000 students. Students speak more
than 120 languages; 43 percent are on
free or reduced-price lunch; 11 percent
are English Language Learners; and 13
percent receive Special Education
services.
–
OUR STAFF
We have more than 8,000 total staff:
about 3,100 teachers, 835
paraprofessionals, 660 certified
instructional staff and 150 principals and
assistant principals.
You may learn about our schools, programs, departments, Superintendent
Office, Seattle School Board, school principals, teachers, schools and many
other departments, programs/offices by visiting: www.seattleschools.org
HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO AT SCHOOL — MORE TIPS
Join the PTA and become an active member.
Read the school bulletin carefully. Volunteer to help when the school
asks for it. Most schools recruit volunteers for fund-raising events,
science fairs, and other activities. If there hasn’t been a formal call for
helpers, call the volunteer coordinator (most schools have one). Ask
what you can do for the school.
If you work full
time and can’t be at
school during the
day, call your
teacher or the head
of the PTA and ask
what you can do on
evenings and
weekends. Can you
prepare materials?
Research
curriculum topics?
Purchase supplies? A lot of sports
events are held in the evenings and
–
on weekends … go show your school spirit!
Establish a relationship with your principal over the phone. Call them
after special events to tell them how much you enjoyed them. Call
every once in a while to compliment them on something that has gone
well at school. Let them get used to hearing from you and thinking of
you as an involved parent.
Meet with your child’s teachers on a regular basis (no matter what
grade your child is in). To arrange a meeting, call each teacher and
simply request a meeting at her convenience. At the meeting, ask how
your child is doing. Tell the teacher how you think the child is doing,
and ask how you can help support the child’s education at home. If a
teacher balks (most won’t), call the school office and find out when
that teacher’s prep period is and where she is likely to be. Then show
up. Apologize for taking up her planning time, but explain that you
felt it was important to meet her and discuss you child.
Join your school’s governance committee. Most schools have a site
council or a leadership committee made up of parents and teachers
that makes policy recommendations to the principal.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO AT SCHOOL — MORE TIPS
Additional advocacy steps
Be an active participant in
your children’s education.
Get better organized to help
you effectively advocate.
Visit the school with your
child and meet the teacher/
principal.
Put a face with a name, and
make it a happy face.
Talk to your child about
going to school and discuss
your expectations.
Visit the library and
research more effective
ways to advocate.
Identify a study area at
home to support your child
–
When you attend meetings and weigh decisions, always raise questions.
Is this in the best interest of our children?
Will this boost their academic achievement?
Ask for specific answers:
Which children will it help?
How will it help them?
Are there children who will suffer if we choose this course of action?
Are the gains to the children significant, worth the disruption caused by
change?
Are there adults who will benefit from this decision?
Whose interest are we serving with this action, the adults’ or the children’s?
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Establish a routine that
includes meal time, time to read, and study to help your child become
a better learner and support you advocating.
Go to Parent-Teacher Conferences/Join the PTA.
Find the best ways to help your child learn; focus on his/her work.
Stay informed about what your child
is learning and doing in school.
Conflict between parents and
teachers is not in the best interest of the
child. Learn how to partner effectively
with teacher/schools.
Keep calm, know the facts and
advocate for your student.
Ask lots of questions and listen to
answers.
Establish a positive, partnership-based learning approach and team
together with your teacher.
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