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.

Arkadelphia 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.

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

For additional questions, contact the Federal Programs Coordinator or contact the office by phone during school hours:

• Perritt Primary School at 870-246-2260

• Peake Elementary School at 870-246-2361

• Goza Middle School at 870-246-4291

• Arkadelphia High School at 870-246-7373

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.

Locally, we combine these federal PaFE requirements and state FaCE requirements to produce the local plan for Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFaCE).

Therefore, we have one District PFaCE Coordinator who works to support each campus' Building PFaCE Facilitator. These individuals guide the work of the District PFaCE Committee and each Building PFaCE Committee respectively.

Currently, APSD uses the funds from this area per state and federal guidelines.

Personnel, students, their families, and other interested parties are invited to ask questions, to provide feedback, and to contribute to the process as part of our consultation with stakeholders. Therefore, we invite you to use our APSD Federal Programs Engagement Survey (feel free to provide feedback for this and any of the pertinent sections).

Resources from our local district:

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

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

• APSD PFaCE Events

• APSD 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

Please complete any surveys for any campus and for the district

• APSD Federal Programs Engagement Survey (feel free to provide feedback for any of the pertinent sections)

Please consider volunteering by campus

• Each campus trains its volunteers for the specific roles and/or tasks

Please let us know how we can collaborate with you more effectively