October is in the United States. Let’s deepen our understanding of this language-based challenge and try to raise awareness in our community.

 Eight-year-old Evan is one of the brightest children in his third-grade class. He has a wonderful vocabulary and knows everything there is to know about baseball—he can even tell you who played in each of the last ten World Series games and who won. But when it comes to reading about baseball—or anything else—Evan has a lot of trouble. It takes him a long time to read each word, and even longer to read whole sentences. He often has to guess at how you say a word—and sometimes his guess is wrong. Reading out loud is especially stressful and embarrassing. His teacher recently told Evan’s parents that she thinks he might have dyslexia.

 Most people assume that part of being smart is being able to read well. About 100 years ago, though, doctors figured out that some people, even some very smart people who do really well at many other things, have trouble learning to read. This difficulty with reading is called dyslexia.

 Excerpt from: http://dyslexia.yale.edu/resources/dyslexic-kids-adults/on-being-dyslexic/

Useful Links:

What is Dyslexia? – Kelli Sandman-Hurley

https://improvingliteracy.org/brief/defining-dyslexia

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/child-learning-disabilities/dyslexia/videos-about-dyslexia

https://dyslexiaida.org/

https://dyslexiaida.org/fact-sheets/

http://www.dyslexia.yale.edu/resources/parents/

https://tea.texas.gov/sites/default/files/texas-dyslexia-handbook-2021.pdf

Recommended Movie:

Taare Zameen Par- Every Child is Special https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z14uE7U0HY

Ishaan, a student who has dyslexia, cannot seem to get anything right at his boarding school. Soon, a new unconventional art teacher, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, helps him discover his hidden potential.

Dear Parents,

Your child’s progress report card is ready on your family access in the student’s portfolio. This is a progress report, not a quarter grade or a semester grade. October 14 is the last day of Quarter 1. Students will receive Quarter 1 report cards after October 14^th.

Harmony School of Excellence-Sugar Land-Elementary 

Campus Parent and Family Engagement Policy 

2022-2023

Harmony Public Schools Mission Statement

“Our mission at Harmony is to prepare each student for higher education by providing a safe, caring, and collaborative atmosphere featuring a quality, student-centered educational program with a strong emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.”

Statement of Purpose

The success of Harmony Public School students based on a program emphasizing academic excellence while motivating student achievement. The Harmony School model is:

• Rigorous (prepares student for college);
• Relevant (reinforces math and science skills); and,
• Relationships (a strong culture of meaningful personal relationships, reinforced by teachers and parents)

Harmony attributes the strong performance of its schools and students to three core principles within the school model: 

• A challenging math and science curriculum supported by theory; 
• A focus on assessment across the school system; and,
• A culture of constructive competition, discipline and parental engagement.

Harmony School of Excellence – Sugar Land – EL  works to implement our core character values into all aspects of school life and partners with parents through engagement programming and communication to help ensure values are in place at home as well. These core values are as followed:

• S-Service– How can you be helpful?

• I-Integrity – Do your best work

• L-Leadership –  Inspire and motivate 

• V-Valor – Be brave, encourage other to do the same

• E-Empathy – Be aware of how your words and actions affect others

• R-Resilience – Bounce back after challenges and tough times

To this end, we want to establish partnership with parents and with the community. Parents play an extremely important role as the children’s first teachers. Their support for their children and for the school is critical to their children’s success at every step of the way. 

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, Harmony School of Excellence – SL -EL , receives Title I, Part A funds and develops jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written Parent and Family Engagement policy that contains information required by section 1118(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (campus wide Parent and Family Engagement policy). The policy establishes Harmony’s expectations for Parent and Family Engagement and describes how Harmony will implement a number of specific Parent and Family Engagement activities. 

 PART I. GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

The Harmony School of Excellence – SL- EL, agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

• Consistent with section 1118, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level Parent and Family Engagement policies meet the requirements of section 1118(b) of the ESEA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d) of the ESEA.
• Schools will notify parents of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. The policy will be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.
• In carrying out the Title I, Part A, Parent and Family Engagement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school will provide full opportunities 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 the ESEA in an understandable and uniform format and including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in language parents understand.
• If the school-wide program plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1114(b) of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school submits the plan to the local educational agency (school district).
• The school will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for Parent and Family Engagement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the 1 percent reserved goes directly to the schools.
• The school will build its own and the parent’s capacity for strong Parent and Family Engagement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement.
• The school will provide other reasonable support for Parent and Family Engagement activities under section 1118 of the ESEA as the parents may request.
• The school will be governed by the following statutory definition of Parent and Family Engagement, and will 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—

• that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;

• that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;

• 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;

•  the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.”

PART II. DESCRIPTION OF HOW SCHOOL WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED CAMPUS PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

PART III. SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

As a component of the school-level Parent and Family Engagement policy, each school shall jointly develop with parents for all children served under this part a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement.

The education of a student is not only the responsibility of the teacher, but also of the parent and the child. For this reason, a Parent-Teacher—Student Compact has been developed and is utilized in our school. This document serves as an agreement between all parties that they will adhere to certain duties and responsibilities to ensure the success of the student. It is reviewed and signed by all at the beginning of each school year. The signed compacts are kept by the teacher and used in student and parent conferences to remind each participant of their responsibilities. These compacts are also used to motivate students and parents to become more involved in the educational process and to let parents know that they are equal partners in their child’s learning.

PART IV. DISCRETIONARY CAMPUS WIDE PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

The Campus Wide Parent and Family Engagement Policy may include additional paragraphs listing and describing other discretionary activities that the school, in consultation with its parents, chooses to undertake to build parents’ capacity for involvement in the school and school system to support their children’s academic achievement, such as the following discretionary activities listed under section 1118(e) of the ESEA:

• in order to maximize Parent and Family Engagement and participation in their children’s education, arranging school meetings at a variety of times, or conducting in-home conferences between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents who are unable to attend those conferences at school;
• adopting and implementing model approaches to improving Parent and Family Engagement;
• establishing a school wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to Parent and Family Engagement in Title I, Part A programs;
• developing appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in Parent and Family Engagement activities; and
• providing other reasonable support for Parent and Family Engagement activities

PART V. ADOPTION

This school wide Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by sign in sheets and meeting minutes.

This policy was adopted by the Harmony School of Excellence – Sugar Land EL, on September 21, 2022 and will be in effect for the period of 2022-2023. The school will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before September 29th, 2023.