Thursday, September 28, 2023 Volume 18 Issue 3
Family Connectors University is now enrolling for the spring term! All SPS families are invited to join North Seattle College’s (NSC) Family Connectors University (FCU). This is a family-focused online course designed to help parents and caregivers support their child’s learning and growth.
FCU topics include:
Helping your child with learning
Social Emotional Learning ideas for home
Becoming a supportive partner at your school
Helping your child with ‘big emotions’
Supporting your child with reading and math
Talking to kids about race, racism, and antiracist actions
Take this course in real-time or attend offline at a time that works for you. The class takes place online via Zoom for 10 weeks beginning Tuesday, Oct. 4, 6–7:30 p.m. You can participate synchronously or asynchronously, as sessions will be recorded. The course is facilitated by NSC Parent Education Instructor Lea Evans, SPS Family Partnerships Coordinator Asosa Sailiai, and special guest speakers.
Check out our FCU video and course details for more information.
Please join us for a quick orientation on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 6:30 p.m. Link to Zoom session.
We’ll answer your questions, give you details on how to sign up through North Seattle College, and tell you how to apply for a need-based scholarship. If you can’t make it live, a recorded version of the orientation will be available. The cost for the 2-unit class is $37.08 and some scholarships are available. Email Asosa Sailiai to enroll or find out more information.
Looking forward to meeting you soon!
Contact: Asosa Sailiai, family partnerships coordinator, amsailiai@seattleschools.org
Affordable Connectivity Program for Family Home Internet Access
DoTs is highly recommending that students and families in need of internet access apply to the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
The ACP provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. This can make many plans no-cost for internet access.
A household is eligible for the Affordable Connectivity Program if the household income is at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, or if a member of the household meets at least one of the criteria below:
Based on your household income
If you or your child or dependent participate in certain government assistance programs such as SNAP, Medicaid, WIC, or other programs
Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Schools, please use the provided family letter template to confirm student enrollment. Letters should be copied onto school letterhead for families to include in their application when prompted. ACP Eligibility
Letter
More information available on the MySPS Student Device Support webpage
Contact Student TechLine: laptops@seattleschools.org
Tutoring Opportunity!
Thurgood Marshall has hosted an afterschool tutoring program called Invest in Youth at our school for over 10 years! This program is coordinated by Ms. Damitio and Ms. Egelhoff and it serves students in grades 3rd-5th in our school who need a little extra tutoring, and it meets once per week after school.
Our goal is to be able to serve at least 20 students, and we currently have just 12 tutors signed up. Tutors do not need to be parents! Last year, we had business people, high school students, grandparents, retired teachers, and yes—a parent or two. If you are curious about this and could commit to working 1:1 with a student once a week for this school year, please check out this link: https://www.investinyouth.org/.
If you, or someone you know, is looking for a way to engage more deeply in our school community—this could be the opportunity for you!
Making Connections
If you are new to our school, you may not have heard of Academic Parent Teacher Teams. This is our family engagement program at Thurgood Marshall. We bring families together with the teacher several times each year so that you can build connections with your child’s teacher and other families in the class, and so you can learn more about what your child is learning this year and to see data about how they are doing. You will also get to learn fun games you can play at home with your child to help them grow their academic skills. The goal of the APTT model is to promote family teacher collaboration to drive student achievement. Working together, school and home in partnership, we can all help to move our students forward!
Based on parent and teacher feedback, this year our Academic Parent Teacher Team (APTT) series will include Making Connections (Curriculum Night), Family Conferences, and 2 sessions of the traditional APTT Sessions (with learning games). Each session is an important part of our engagement plan, and we hope that you will attend each event.
Please save the date for September 21. This is our first APTT session, Making Connections. From 5–6 PM, families with students in PreK, Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade will meet with their classes. From 6:10–7:10, families with students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade with meet with their classes. Students are encouraged to attend with their family. We will have a connection activity to get everyone warmed up and you will get to hear about content that will be covered in your child’s class this year. A small snack will be served.
Your attendance at APPT meetings is important to us! It is also one way that we measure if we are being successful in our goals as a school. This year, we are hoping to have 80% of our families attend APTT meetings. Last spring, we worked with a focus group of parents to learn more about what made them want to attend APTT, but also what made it difficult. We are making adjustments based on this feedback to make this program work for you, so please keep that feedback coming!
Please let us know that your family will be joining us by signing up on our list.
Enrichment Classes for Fall 2023
FTME is pleased to announce afterschool Enrichment classes for Fall 2023 will be returning and enrollment will start soon. We have a wide range of classes for all grade levels.
Enrollment begins on September 22nd, more information can be found in our online catalog.
Questions? email enrichment@tmlink.org
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