The Family and Community Engagement Plan and all other Title I information are available on our school’s website at
www.gcpsk12.org/BerkmarMS under the Title I Section. Families can also find paper copies of this Family and Community Engagement Plan in our Family Engagement Center. New families will receive copies at registration.

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.

BMS is committed to maintaining clear and family-friendly communication. Here are some key points of our
communication:

* Clear Communication: BMS ensures that all family communications are easily understood. Avoiding
complex language ensures that parents and guardians can quickly grasp important information.
* Translation Services: BMS offers translation services for documents and parent meetings to ensure that
language barriers do not hinder effective communication. This service provides information accessibility to families.

All parents can meet with teachers by contacting the teacher directly via email, leaving a message for the teacher via the receptionist, or contacting the Grade Level AP.

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.

During the 2023-2024 school year, Berkmar Middle School will implement interventions and supports to increase academic achievement for each and every student  in Language Arts, Science, Mathematics and Social Studies as measured by district and state assessments.  Our targeted goals will align with the districts’ strategic priorities: empathy, equity, effectiveness and excellence.

The fundamental skill targeted will be reading comprehension with a concentration on vocabulary skills incorporated in all content areas and grade levels.

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 
• • During Parent Teacher Conferences
  • At Curriculum Events
  • At Title I Events and Workshops
  • Available in the Family Engagement Center

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.

Berkmar Middle School will…

• Provide families with instructional strategies during parent-teacher conferences that can be used to assist their children with reading comprehension of the course content 
• Host workshops for families to focus on reading  and numeracy comprehension across all grade levels.
• Maintain updated communication channels (ParentSquare, webpage, newsletters, etc.) and encourage family involvement throughout the year.

 Felecia Jones           06-30-2023

Principal’s Signature                  Date

As Students, we will…

• Use instructional strategies received by our parents during Parent Teacher Conferences to improve our comprehension in all content areas. 
• Attend Literacy Night and other workshops to practice strategies to assist with reading comprehension across all content areas.
• Utilize e-Class and other educational websites shared by teachers to improve reading comprehension across all content areas.

As Families, we will…

• Attend parent-teacher conferences to obtain strategies to be used at home to improve our
  students’ comprehension of the course content.
• Participate in workshops to support our students’ literacy and numeracy comprehension.
• Maintain communication with the school through the school’s various communication channels and
  participate in schoolwide events.

BMS is committed to frequent two-way communication with families about student learning through ParentSquare, Parent Portal, Parent Vue, Virtual and In-person Conferences, E-mail, and Phone. 

If you need interpretation and/or translation services, please contact: Ms. Pilar Silva, Parent Instructional Coordinator, 770 638-2317 or email at pilar.silva@gcpsk12.org.

The events listed below allow parents to engage in activities that build the home-school partnership. These events include:

Title I Planning Meeting

Curriculum Night

Annual Title I Parent Meeting 

Title I Draft Document Review

Technology Workshop

Literacy Night

STEM Night

Rising 6th Grade Orientation

Coffee with Jones

Fall and Spring Parent Teacher Conferences

• • • • • • • Fall conferences will be held the week of October 21, 2024, and Spring conferences will be held the week of March 3, 2025

• 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.

The mission of Berkmar Middle School is to pursue excellence in academic knowledge, skills, and behavior for each student, resulting in measured improvement against local, national and world-class standards.

Our Family Engagement Center has learning games, books, and other resources available for families to check out and use at home. Our Parent Instructional Coordinator is Ms. Pilar Silva. She is available to help you find resources, navigate Parent Portal and ParentVue, connect with teachers, and learn about ways you can help your children at home.

Our Family Engagement Center is located on the seventh-grade
hallway in room 1.209A. The hours of operation are:

Monday -Friday

8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Scheduled appointments in advance are recommended toprevent delays.

Please contact Ms. Pilar Silva for additional information about our Family Engagement Center and resources available for check-out. 

770-638-2317

pilar.silva@gcpsk12.org

Berkmar Middle School has many opportunities for volunteerism. If you are interested in volunteering at Berkmar
Middle School, please contact the Parent Instructional Coordinator, Ms. Pilar Silva, by phone at 770 638 2317 or via e-mail at pilar.silva@gcpsk12.org.