The Family and Community Engagement Plan and all other  Title I information are available on our school’s website at  https://www.gcpsk12.org/AlfordES under the Title I Section. Families can also find paper copies of this Family and Community Engagement Plan in our Family Engagement Center or through MyPaymentsPlus. Feedback can be sent to the Parent Instructional Coordinator, Lisa McPherson, at 678-245-3209 or Lisa.McPherson@gcpsk12.org. 

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.

Frequent two-way communication with families about student learning is highly encouraged. Some of the ways we can foster communication include Parent Teacher Conferences, Agendas, School website (alfordes.org), Email, Parent Portal, Teacher websites through eCLASS, and phone calls from teachers, Parent Instructional Coordinator, and Parent Outreach Liaison.  

Parents may request a meeting with a teacher throughout the year by contacting the teacher through email located on the school’s website, sending in a note with the student, or calling Alford Elementary at 678-924-5300 or Lisa McPherson in the Family Engagement Center at 678-245-3209. 

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.  

We will provide all students with high quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment to meet high academic standards.  
We will provide remediation and enrichment supports to enhance the learning of each student both academically and emotionally/socially. 
Include, within the daily schedule, an SEL time to focus on strategies and activities to promote social and emotional learning.  
Students will score in the Proficient/Distinguished levels on the Georgia Milestone System (GMAS) tests in language arts.  
Alford teachers will target foundational early reading skills and comprehension tasks to develop strong readers. We will use Quality Plus Mathematical Practices and Rich Mathematical tasks to develop expertise in mathematical thinking.  Students will work in small groups and collaboratively to solve real world problems.   

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.

Alford Elementary School will…

• Provide ongoing informational sessions 
  and workshops to increase parental capacity by sharing resources, and strategies to help students become successful learners. 
• Provide remediation and enrichment supports, along with family communication, to enhance the learning of each student both academically and 
  emotionally/socially.
• Will invite and engage with families and business partners during school wide events such as Curriculum, Literacy, Math, and STEM Nights. 

 Dr. Shon Davis             5-19-2023

Principal’s Signature                  Date

As Students, we will…

• Participate in SEL time and restorative 
  practices using strategies to develop my social and emotional learning. 
• Explore Alford’s school website, teacher’s eCLASS page and other school digital resources to 
• Share invitations with family and ask them to take me to school wide events such as Literacy, Math, and STEM Nights. 

As Families, we will…

• Attend parent workshops to learn skills 
  and strategies to support our children in their academic success. 
• Take our children to school wide events such as Literacy, Math, and STEM Nights. 
• Visit the Family Engagement Center to check out resources to help our children at home and frequently check Alford's website and teacher's eCLASS page. 

Alford Elementary School is committed to frequent communications with families about student achievement and learning. Some of the ways we can foster effective communication include, but not limited to: emails, parent- teacher conferences, school website, Parent Portal, Friday folders, teacher’s eCLASS page, school messenger, and Class Dojo.

If you need interpretation and/or translation services, please contact: Isabel Montenegro – 678-245-3209 or 
Isabel.Montenegro@gcpsk12.org. 

•    July – Open House/ Meet Your Teacher

•    August – Title I Parent Meeting

•    August – Curriculum Nights

•    September – ESOL Night

•    October – Math Night

•    October 18-19 – Parent Teacher Conferences

•    November – Literacy Night

•   January - Stem Night

•   March 6-7 – Parent Teacher Conferences

•    March – International Night

•    March – 5th Grade Transition Meeting

•    March – Kindergarten Transition Meeting

•    May – Grade Level Graduations

•    May – Volunteer Thank You Gathering

• 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.

Alford's Mission Statement:

"Building the Bridge from Empathy to Excellence"

Our Family Engagement Center has learning games, books, and many other resources available for families to checkout and use at home. Our Parent Instructional Coordinator, Lisa McPherson, or Parent Outreach Liaison, Isabel Montenegro, are available to help you find resources, navigate the Parent Portal, connect with teachers, and learn about ways you can help your child at home. Our Family Engagement Center is in room 1.108A which is located on the first hallway on the left, first door on the right. 

Hours of Operation
Monday – Friday
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM 

Please contact Lisa McPherson, Parent Instructional Coordinator, or Isabel Montenegro, Parent Outreach Liaison, for additional information about our Family Engagement Center and resources available for check-out. 
Phone Number:  678-245-3209 
Email: Lisa.McPherson@gcpsk12.org 
Isabel.Montenegro@gcpsk12.org 

Alford Elementary provides all parents, guardians, and community members opportunity to volunteer in our school. Call the Family Engagement Center for more details using the contact information above.