Welcome to the Parent and Family Engagement (PaFE) and Family and Community Engagement (FaCE) section of the website. We combine these responsibilities into Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFaCE). Here you will find practices and resources intended to help our district to better connect with the stakeholders in our area.

Gurdon Public Schools recognizes that parents, families, and the community at large impact the success of students and the personnel working with those students. We have a PFaCE Coordinator for the district and a PFaCE Facilitator at each campus to support these efforts.

We will try to provide answers and insights to better communicate some related big ideas in education:

• What is the difference in involvement versus engagement?

• Who are the stakeholders?

• Why do we talk about collaboration?

• What is a professional learning community (PLC)?

 

We invite our various stakeholders to navigate this portion of our website, to access the resources, to suggest improvements, and to help us to meet the needs of all stakeholders for the benefit of our students.

Please give us your feedback on this and our other federal programs: GPSD Federal Programs Survey

By federal requirements, we must address Parent and Family Engagement (PAFE). Parent and Family Engagement is addressed in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Public Law 114-95 Section 1112, Local Educational Agency Plans; Section 1114, Schoolwide Programs; and Section 1116, Parent and Family Engagement.

Parent and Family Engagement, formerly Parental Involvement under No Child Left Behind, has been retitled under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), enacted on December 10, 2015. Parent and Family Engagement reflects the four principles upon which the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the nation's national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students, is based. These principles provide the framework through which families, educators and communities can work together to improve teaching and learning:

•  accountability for results

•  local control and flexibility

•  expanded parental choice

•  effective and successful programs that reflect scientifically-based research

Parent and Family Engagement also focuses on accountability between schools and parents for high student achievement, while offering parents important insight into their children's education, the professional qualifications of their child's teacher and the quality of the schools they attend.

Parent and Family Engagement (PFE) means the participation of parents and family members in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:

1. That parents play an integral role in assisting their child's learning.

2. That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child's education.

3. That parents are full partners in their child's education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child.

4. The carrying out of other activities, such as those described in Section 1116 of the ESSA

By state requirements, we must address Family and Community Engagement (FaCE).

The Arkansas Department of Education recognizes and supports families, the child’s first and most important teachers, as essential partners for student success through engaging in meaningful communication to provide an effective learning experience for each student.

The Arkansas Family and Community Engagement Coalition will foster partnerships among students, families, schools, and community assets across the state to minimize barriers (academic, personal, social, and health) through the creation of birth to grade 16 framework.

Our school receives federal funds for programs that are part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended (2015). Throughout the school year, we will continue to provide you with important information about this law and your child's education. Based on current education law, teachers must have earned State certification and licensure. State certification and licensure is the training required to be a teacher.

We are very proud of our teachers and feel they are ready for the coming school year. We are prepared to give your child a high- quality education. You have the right to request information about the professional qualifications of your child’s teacher(s) or paraprofessional(s). A paraprofessional provides academic or other support for students under the direct supervision of a teacher. If you request this information, the district or school will provide you with the following as soon as possible:

• if the teacher has met State certification and licensing requirements for the grade levels and subjects for which the teacher provides

  instruction;

• if state certification and licensing requirements have been waived (is not being required at this time) for the teacher under emergency

  or other temporary status;

• if the teacher is teaching in the field of discipline for which they are certified or licensed;

• if the teacher has met State-approved or State-recognized certification, licensing, registration, or other comparable requirements. These requirements apply to the professional discipline in which the teacher is working and may include providing English language instruction to English learners, special education or related services to students with disabilities, or both; and

• if your child is receiving Title I or Special Education services from paraprofessionals, his or her qualifications.

Our staff are committed to helping your child develop the social, academic and critical thinking he or she needs to succeed in school and beyond. That commitment includes making sure that all of our teachers and paraprofessionals are highly skilled.

If you would like to request information about your child’s teacher(s) or paraprofessional(s), or if you have any questions about your child’s assignment to a teacher or paraprofessional, please use this form to contact our campus for more information.

Resources from our local district:

• GPSD PFaCE Folder in the State-Required Information Section of the Website (grouped by year)

• Gurdon Public Schools Parent Right-To-Know Letter / La Carta sobre el Derecho de Saber

• GPSD PFaCE Events

• GPSD Parent Family and Community Volunteers Go Here to Register

Resources from the Arkansas Department of Education: Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE):

• Parent and Family Engagement Page

• Family and Community Engagement Page

• Family and Community Engagement Framework and Toolkit

• Statewide Community Resources Portal

Resources from the United States Department of Education (USDOE):

• Parent and Family Engagement

Students and families can access the Home Access Center (HAC) for grades, communication, etc. using the following link...

https://hac20.esp.k12.ar.us/HomeAccess20/Account/LogOn?ReturnUrl=%2fHomeAccess20%2f

• Accessing Google Classroom

• How to Join a Google Classroom

• Turning in Assignments in Google Classroom

• How to Unsubmit/Submit Work in Google Classroom