Parent & Community Engagement

overview

As the GATE Coordinator for Mendez High School, I held a parent informational meeting during the first semester of the school year.  I wanted to bring parents together to facilitate a conversation around the needs and resources associated with students identified in the GATE program.  About 12 families attended the meeting, which was held in the Library of our campus.  Our assistant principal attended and translated the information for parents who spoke Spanish.  We answered questions about neurodiversity and the different needs of our students.  Parents gave me their contact information so I could send them follow up information.  We also had refreshments for the parents and students.  Per some parent requests, I facilitated some communication between counselors and teachers regarding needs of specific students.  My plan was to track GATE identification requests throughout the year and facilitate communication for parents who wanted to request information or support for their students.  

main activities

I generated the GATE roster report to create letters to be sent home to the families with flyers detailing the date and time of the meeting in English and Spanish.  We held the meeting and had a discussion with parents about resources and opportunities for their students.  I also sponsored the National Honor Society club as a resource for students, including GATE students, to be given leadership and engagement opportunities on campus.  Throughout the year, I tracked student names who were submitted to be considered for GATE.  I also tracked staff professional development hours for GATE related training.  I communicated with staff about GATE professional development opportunities as well as identification protocols for students with extraordinary abilities in the visual and performing arts.  I completed the year by compiling a report related to GATE students and their support systems within Mendez High School.  The project wasn’t ambitious, but it gave me opportunities to facilitate communication and opportunities regarding access to school resources for GATE students and their families.

reflection

This was my first major meeting to foster parent engagement regarding a District program.  This opportunity allowed me the experience of coordinating a meeting and building resources for parents to be able to utilize.  I created a shareable presentation with clickable resources for parents to access.  I was able to develop and maintain records related to staff and administrator professional development requirements.  I was also able to compile records for the annual GATE report and publish those in LAUSD’s system.  Overall it was a good opportunity to learn about the operations side of running the GATE program.  It helped me connect with many stakeholders and work to facilitate communication so that students, parents and teachers felt supported in their efforts to build and maintain systems for our GATE students.

CAPES

Supporting Documents

Our cafeteria manager arranged for food to be provided at our parent engagement meeting for GATE families.