The Family and Community Engagement Plan and all other  Title I information are available on our school’s website at www.gcpsk12.org/DuluthHS under the Title I Section. Families can also find paper copies of this Family and Community Engagement Plan in our Parent Center. This plan can also be reviewed any time on your child's eClass page.

It is reviewed and revised at least annually during the Planning Meeting in the spring. All feedback forms from the Planning Meeting are submitted to the Office of Federal Programs for review.  Families who are not able to attend the Planning Meeting have the opportunity to review draft documents and provide input during the draft document review period.

Duluth High School communicates with families in a variety of ways. We regularly update our school website and send weekly newsletters home via email. Additionally, we highlight upcoming events on our social media pages and our electronic message board. When possible, this information is translated into multiple languages.

If you would like to schedule a meeting with your child’s teacher(s), please contact him or her directly. If a large group meeting is required, you may contact either your child’s counselor (contact information located on the DHS website and on your student’s eClass page) or Kirsten Lombardo, the ParentInstructional Coordinator.

Mrs. Lombardo can be reached via email at Kirsten.lombardo@gcpsk12.org or via phone at 770-814-5562

Empathy: Cultural competence, staff and student wellbeing, educator diversity.
Equity: Multi-tiered system of supports, opportunity and access, equitable resource allocation.
Effectiveness: Results-Based evaluation system, talent management, educational return on investment.
Excellence: Preferred education destination, post-secondary and workforce readiness, world-class communication and engagement.  

Duluth High School will continue on its trajectory of increasing the percentage of our students who graduate. With this goal in mind, we will provide all students with high quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment to meet high academic standards.

Teachers across all content areas will incorporate reading and writing strategies in an effort to prepare students for successful completion of their required courses and earn credits toward graduation. These strategies will focus on reading comprehension and vocabulary development.

Additionally, we will utilize a variety of targeted academic interventions to support students at all levels (NTI Room, lunchtime intervention, Advisement, etc.) and in all grades

It is a plan that describes how our school will provide opportunities to improve family engagement that will support student learning at school and at home. All students and their families are invited and encouraged to fully participate in the opportunities described in this plan. The school will provide information and as many opportunities as possible for the participation of all family members.

It is a written agreement that outlines how the school, the students, and the family will work together to ensure your child’s academic success. An effective School-Family Promise contains the following elements:

• Clear learning goals that are linked to the school’s improvement plan
• Specific skills students will learn during the year
• Strategies that staff, families, and students will use to improve student learning
• Ways to extend learning at home
• Methods teachers and family members will use to communicate about student progress
• Opportunities for family members to observe and participate in the classroom
• Jointly-developed by families, school staff, students, community business partners, and other stakeholders during our Planning Meeting
• Reviewed and revised throughout the year [Tell how your school will review the School-Family Promise with families throughout the school year. Include examples such as reviewing the Promise at building parent capacity activities and parent-teacher conferences.]

ENGAGING AND EMPOWERING FAMILIES WITH…

• Title I Program Information: Program information is available during the Title I Planning Meeting in the spring and Annual Parent Meetings in the fall, on the school website, and in the Parent Center.
• Curriculum Information: Knowing what your child is learning at school is important. We will keep you informed throughout the year about what your child is learning during parent meetings, conferences, eCLASS, and on our school website.
• Student Progress Monitoring: The Parent Portal is an online resource that allows families to view grades, attendance, schedules, assessment, and your child’s results, course history, and much more. Monitoring your child’s progress in school is an important way to be engaged.
• Parent Resources: We have many resources available for checkout to use at home with your child. We also host several parent workshops to empower you as you work with your child at home.
• Staff Training: We will train our staff to effectively communicate with you. Your input on how we train our staff is valuable.
• Communication: We will communicate, to the extent feasible, all information with you in a language and format you understand. Whenever possible, we will provide interpreters during parent workshops, and academic events. Translation is available for most documents.
• Transition Support: Entering a new school can be scary for both students and families. We will host events to make sure both you and your child are aware of what is expected and how you can prepare as your child transitions to a new school level, college, and career.

Duluth High School will…

• Plan and implement engaging instruction (classroom and workshops) with a literacy focus across content areas.
• Provide parent workshops and school-wide events to communicate literacy across content for instructional practices in reading, writing, and math.
• Provide space, resources, and communication that equip parents to support their student's academic progress at home (parent portal, parent center, interventions, etc).

Please ensure all activities engage families in the education of their children.

 Eric Davidson           5/17/23

Principal’s Signature                  Date

As Students, we will…

• Actively engage in the daily learning activities in all classes
• Be informed about our own progress, strengths, weaknesses, and academic opportunities through eClass, conversations with teachers, Advisement, DHS Website, social media, etc.
• Practice academic skills with parents at home

As Families, we will…

• Attend Parent Workshops.
• Use reading, writing and math strategies learned in the workshops to practice skills with students at home.
• Monitor student progress using the parent portal and other tools made available by the school.

At Duluth High School, we communicate with families in easy to understand language by providing translated forms and materials in our Family Center. We foster two-way communication through the school website, email, mail, parent-teacher conferences (by request), our weekly school newsletter, social media and our school marquee. We also use social media, eClass and Parent Portal to reach our students and families.

If you need interpretation and/or translation services, please contact: Kirsten Lombardo, Parent Instructional Coordinator, at Kirsten.lombardo@gcpsk12.org or via phone at 770-814-5562.

Spanish speakers may contact Milagros Lockhart, our Hispanic Outreach Coordinator, at Milagros.lockhart@gcpsk12.org or via phone at 678-473-6249.

Families are encouraged to get involved at Duluth High School. We offer many opportunities for you to learn more about our school, our curriculum and our community. Join us at Open House, our annual Title I meeting, ESOL Night, International Night, Senior/Junior/Sophomore Parent Nights, and connect with teachers anytime using our Virtual Curriculum Night! We also encourage families to enjoy our fine arts performances and join our PTSA. Please visit our website, follow us on social media and sign up for our weekly newsletter. We also encourage you to reach out to your child’s teachers for dates of these events as well as additional ways to get involved this year.

• Title I is a federal program designed to support school reform efforts to improve teaching and learning for all students.
• Title I programs are based on effective means of improving student achievement and include strategies to support family engagement.
• The Title I Office reserves at least one percent of the district’s allocation to fund family and community engagement programs. The use of these funds is based on suggestions gathered at our spring Planning Meetings from families and community members. Funds are distributed equally to all our Title I schools.
• Childcare and/or transportation may be provided for meetings and school events.

Our Family Engagement Center has learning games, books, computers, printers and many other resources available for families to checkout and use at home. Our Parent Outreach Liaison or Parent Instructional Coordinator is Kirsten Lombardo. She is available to help you find resources, navigate the Parent Portal, connect with teachers, and learn about ways you can help your children at home.

Our Family Engagement Center is located in room 6-106, right next to the main office.

Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday 6:45am-2:45pm

Please contact Kirsten Lombardo for additional information about our Family Engagement Center and resources available for check-out.

770-814-5562

Kirsten.Lombardo@gcpsk12.org

We would love for you to get involved! Please check our weekly newsletter or stop by our Family Engagement Center for information on upcoming volunteer opportunities