Elementary Resources

Tips for Encouraging Kids to Read

1. "Read me a story!" 
   • Nearly every suggestion sent in by our tip-sters had this message at its core. Whether snuggled under the covers with peanut-butter sandwiches, or following along with a book on tape while on a road trip, reading together is a powerful tool in motivating your child to read.
2. Beyond books
   • Our tip-sters were quick to point out that reading material comes in many different shapes and sizes, some of which may be more accessible to a new reader. Video games, magazines, and comic books all provide opportunities for reading practice. Other suggestions for sneaking under a wary child's reading radar include playing board games that involve written instructions, corresponding with a pen pal, and turning on the closed captioning on your television. To illustrate the practical side of reading, have your child help you with the grocery list, or leave reminder notes for your child to discover throughout the day.
3. Keep it fun, for everyone
   • Another message that came through loud and clear was that if kids are going to enjoy reading, the experience has to be enjoyable. As you read with your children, keep them involved by asking questions about the story, and let them fill in the blanks. You can also create activities related to the stories you're reading. In one household, reading Little House on the Prairieprompted lively games of "wagon-train" and discussions about life on the frontier. Another family likes to create mini-plays, acting out the stories they read. While her grandson "helps" in the garden, one grandmother spells words for him to write out using a muddy stick. Once the word is complete, the two of them sound it out together, wipe the word away, then move onto the next. This reading game keeps her grandson occupied for hours.
4. "Look at what I did!"
   • Another successful approach to motivating your child is to use some sort of visible record of achievement. A chart or graph that marks the number of books a child has read gives him or her a sense of accomplishment. To spice it up a bit, choose a theme that goes along with your child's interests. One example would be a Reading Olympics, where the child goes for the gold by reading a certain number of books.
   • A similar method can be used to help expose your child to the wide variety of genres available for exploration. Create a Bingo card or Passport where each space can be filled in by reading a mystery book, or a piece of non-fiction, to give a few examples. Once the goal has been reached, reward your child with something to celebrate his or her special achievement. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate – one-on-one time with a parent or teacher, or an ice cream cone are suggestions from our tip-sters – just something that lets your child know how proud you are of his or her accomplishment.
5. "I want that one!"
   • Reading should be a choice, not a chore. Make sure there are a variety of books, magazines, and other materials available for your child to choose from, wherever your child may be. Let your child's interests guide his or her reading choices. While it's fine to make suggestions, don't force your conceptions of what your child should be reading onto your child. And, keep an eye on the reading level of the books your children choose. Let them stretch to the best of their ability, but be ready to help if they get discouraged.
6. Something to talk about
   • Reading doesn't have to stop when you put the book down. Talk to your child about books you've read and books you think he or she might enjoy. Point out similarities between everyday events and stories you have recently read. If your child has a favorite author, help your child write him or her a letter. For a more structured discussion, consider joining, or starting, a parent/child book club.
7. Hey, kids! What time is it?
   • Regardless of how motivated your child is, he or she will not read if there isn't any time to do so. Carve time out of the busy day and dedicate it to reading, both together and on your own. By setting aside specific times, rather than trying to squeeze it in between soccer and dance lessons, you send the message that reading is an important activity, and something your child will enjoy.

TitleIParentComplaintProcedures.pdf

TitleIParentComplaintProceduresForm.pdf

MKVParentStudentHandbook_v2_12-13-2022.pdf

THOMAS W HOLTZMAN JR EL SCH

Steering Committee

Vision for Learning

World Class. Every Day. In Every Way.

Summary Of Strengths and Challenges

Strengths

Challenges

Analyzing Strengths and Challenges

Strengths

Challenges

Goal Setting

Priority: We need to continue our curriculum structure and better support our educators with more resources to create effective and engaging lessons for our learners.

Action Plans

Professional Development Action Steps

Professional Development Activities

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, the Thomas W. Holtzman Elementary School receives Title I, Part A funds and must jointly develop with, agree upon with, and distribute to parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy that contains information required by section 1116(b) and (c) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The policy establishes the school’s expectations for parent and family engagement and describes how the school will implement several specific parent and family engagement activities, and it is incorporated into the school’s plan submitted to the district.

The Thomas W. Holtzman Elementary School agrees to implement the following requirements as outlined by Section 1116:

• Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review and improvement of programs under Title I, Part A, including the planning, review and improvement of the school parent and family engagement policy and the joint development of the targeted assistance or schoolwide program plan.
• Update the school parent and family engagement policy periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school, distribute it to the parents of participating children and make the parent and family engagement policy available to the local community.
• Provide full opportunities, to the extent practicable, for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under Section 1111 of ESSA in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
• If the schoolwide program plan under Section 1114(b) of ESSA is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency.
• Be governed by the following statutory definition of parent and family engagement and carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this definition:
  • Parent and family engagement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:
    • Parents play an integral role in assisting their children’s learning;
    • Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their children’s education at school;
    • Parents are full partners in their children’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their children; and
    • Other activities are carried out, such as those described in Section 1116 of ESSA.

School Parent and Family Engagement Policy Components

This school parent and family engagement policy includes a description of how the school will implement or accomplish each of the following components: Jointly Developed, Annual Title I Meeting, Communications, School-Parent Compact, Coordination of Services, Building Capacity of Parents, Building Capacity of School Staff.

• Jointly Developed

The Thomas W. Holtzman Elementary School will take the following actions to involve parents in an organized, ongoing and timely manner in the planning, review and improvement of Title I programs, including opportunities for regular meetings, if requested by parents, to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible. Parents/Family will be involved in the planning, review, and improvement of Parent/Family engagement programs through:

• PTO Meetings
• Principal Advisory/Leadership Team
• Parent/Family Surveys
• Feedback at parent/family engagement events
• Feedback at the Annual Fall Title I Meeting
• Feedback at the Annual Spring Federal Programs Meeting

• Annual Title I Meeting

The Thomas W. Holtzman Elementary School will take the following actions to conduct an annual meeting, at a convenient time, and encourage and invite all parents of participating children to attend to inform them about the school’s Title I program, the nature of the Title I program, parents’ requirements, the school parent and family engagement policy, the schoolwide plan, and the school-parent compact.

The Annual Fall Title I meeting to inform parents of the requirements of Title I and the school’s participation as well as parents’ rights to be involved will take place during the:

• Back to School Night, or
• Parent/Family Literacy Night

Parents/Families will have the opportunity to preview a short presentation about the Title I program, the nature of the Title I program, parents’ requirements, the school parent and family engagement policy, the schoolwide plan, and the school-parent compact will be provided to parents and families.

• Communications

The Thomas W. Holtzman Elementary School will take the following actions to provide parents of participating children the following:

• Timely information about the Title I programs;
• Flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening
• Information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, and to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.
• Monthly school newsletters
• Infinite Campus/Dojo communication
• District and school website

The Schoolwide Plan, School Parent and Family Engagement Plan, and School-Parent Compact will be linked in all newsletters during the school year and posted to the school website. On the school website, documents may be translated, to the extent practicable, a language that parents and family members can understand.

• School-Parent Compact

The Thomas W. Holtzman Elementary School will take the following actions to jointly develop with parents of participating children a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and how the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s standards.

• The School-Parent Compact will be presented to parents and families at the Annual Fall Title I Meeting.
• The Fall Family/Caregiver Survey, PTO meetings, and the Spring Annual Federal Programs meeting will be used to collect feedback to help develop the School-Parent Compact.

• Coordination of Services

The Thomas W. Holtzman Elementary School will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement programs and activities with other federal, state, and local programs, including public preschool programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children with the following resources:

• Pre-K Liaison
• P3 Collaboration Group
• United Way Liaison
• Coordination with CAIU
  • Early Intervention
  • Teacher trainings and support with TEC Services
• Communities in Schools
• Laurel Life
• Big Brothers/Big Sisters
• The Hanna Foundation
• Hanna’s Pantry
• Effective School Solutions
• Care Solace

• Building Capacity of Parents

The Thomas W. Holtzman Elementary School will build the parents’ capacity for strong parent and family engagement to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school and the community to improve student academic achievement through the following:

• Provide parents with a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress and the achievement levels of the challenging state academic standards (Back to School Night, Education Night, Parent/Teacher conferences, PreK Night);
• Provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), as appropriate, to foster parent and family engagement (Literacy/Math/STEM Night, PreK Night); and
• Provide assistance to parents of participating children, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following (Back to School Night, Literacy/Math/STEM Night, Parent/Teacher Conferences):
  • The challenging state’s academic standards;
  • The state and local academic assessments, including alternate assessments;
  • The requirements of Title I, Part A;
  • How to monitor their children’s progress; and
  • How to work with educators to improve the achievement of their children

• Building Capacity of School Staff

Thomas W. Holtzman Elementary School will provide training to educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents and in how to reach out to, communicate with and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school through the use of:

• Professional Development
• Curriculum Development Teams
• Professional Learning Communities
• Data Meetings
• Team Meetings
• PTO Teacher Principal Representatives
• State Parent Advisory Council (SPAC) Skits

Please come back in the Spring for the new Compact/Parent and Family Engagement Policy Survey.

August 23^rd: Back to School Night (3:30pm-6:30pm)

October 19^th: ELD Night (6:00pm-7:30pm)

October 26^th: Trunk or Treat (5:00pm-8:00pm)

November 1^st: Math and Ice Cream Night (6:00pm-7:30pm)

February 13^th: Literacy Night (6pm – 7:30pm)

March 13^th: TWH ELL Night (6pm – 7:30pm)

Title I Parent Right-to-Know Letter

• Whether the teacher met state qualifications and certification requirements for the grade level and subject he/she is teaching,
• Whether the teacher received an emergency or conditional certificate through which state qualifications were waived, and
• What undergraduate or graduate degrees the teacher holds, including graduate certificates and additional degrees, and major(s) or area(s) of concentration.