The Family and Community Engagement Plan and all other Title I information are available on our school’s website at bbharris.org under the Title I Section. Families can also find paper copies of this Family and Community Engagement Plan in our Parent Center, the AP-TI Office, and the Harris Front Office. Documents will be disseminated using Parent Square during the fall semester registration process and curriculum nights. As new students enroll, they will receive the documents during the registration process, also through Parent Square.

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.

Harris Elementary will communicate with families in an easy to understand way by providing school related communication in a language that parents can understand and translated to the extent necessary and reasonable. These communication methods include: School Messenger (email only), flyers, personal phone calls, school website, periodic newsletters, e-mail, marquee, Friday folders, progress reports, report cards, and PTA meetings. 

Parents may schedule meetings at any time by calling the main office number: 770-476-2241.

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.

Harris Elementary School students will increase student achievement on Georgia Milestones and improve reading proficiency school-wide.

Literacy Foundational Learning Skills

• Kindergarten – Phonological awareness – pronounce initial, medial vowel and final sound

• 1st Grade – Phonics - blend, isolate vowels, and decode

• 2nd Grade – Read for fluency and comprehension

• 3rd Grade – Read and understand stories, dramas and poems

• 4th Grade – Understand theme, characterization, structures of poetry and drama

• 5th Grade – Compare multiple texts

Math Foundational Learning Skills

• Kindergarten - identify, write, and represent numbers to 20; compare two sets of up to 10 objects each

• 1st Grade – Represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction within 20

• 2nd Grade – Use place value understanding to represent and solve problems involving addition and subtraction within 100

• 3rd Grade –Solve problems involving multiplication and division within 100

• 4th Grade – Solve problems involving addition and subtraction through the hundred-thousand place, as well as multiplication and division of multi-digit whole numbers

• 5th Grade - Understand the place value system and solve problems involving customary measurements, metric measurements, and time and analyze graphical displays of data to answer relevant questions

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
• At Harris Elementary, we will review our School-Family Promise throughout the year at our Curriculum Nights, Parent-Teacher Conferences, and at Family Engagement Workshops.

Harris Elementary will…                                       

• Offer math workshops for parents to provide tools & strategies for understanding and solving word problems.
• Offer technology components at each family workshop to support reading fluency and comprehension and mathematical problem-solving. 

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

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Principal’s Signature                  Date

As Students, we will…

• Practice reading skills and comprehension strategies, practice high frequency/sight
• words, and read daily to improve fluency and comprehension.
• Practice word problem-solving strategies at home using resources learned by our parents in workshops and taught by our teachers in class.
• Practice reading comprehension and word problem-solving strategies using online resources, including class and other tools at home. 

As Families, we will…

• Support literacy goals by reading nightly and attending parent workshops to learn reading comprehension fluency strategies and high frequency/sight words and practice these with my child at home.
• Support math goals by attending parent workshops to learn math word problem solving strategies and games to use with my child at home. 
• Utilize the Parent Portal and other online resources, including eCLASS, to support my child in reading and math at home. 

Harris Elementary is committed to frequent two-way communication with families about student learning. Some of the ways we can foster effective communication include: Parent/Teacher Conferences, utilization of agendas/Friday folders, Parent Portal, email, eCLASS, phone conferences, Parent Square, school marquee, and flyers, among others. 

If you need interpretation and/or translation services, please contact: Ms. Gina Monteza, Parent Liaison

770-232-5380

gina.monteza@gcpsk12.org

Semester 1

• Title I Annual Parent Meeting 

• Curriculum Night

• Title I Internet Safety Meeting

• Parent-Teacher Conferences 

• Title I Multilingual Learner Workshop

• Literacy Day

 Semester 2

• Title I Multilingual Learner Workshop

• STEAM Night 

• Title I SEL Workshop 

• Parent-Teacher Conferences 

• Title I Planning Meeting for SY 2025-2026 & Document Review Period 

• Title I Kindergarten Transition Workshop

• 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 Harris Elementary is to utilize research-based strategies and innovative tools to develop critical thinkers and effective decision makers.”

We have learning games, books, and many other resources available for families to use at home. 

Ms. Gina Monteza is available to help you find resources, navigate the Parent Portal, connect with teachers, and learn about ways you can help your student at home. 

Our Parent Center is located in Rm. 1.317, near the front office and registrar.

Hours of Operation: 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM

Please contact Ms. Gina Monteza for additional information about our Family Center and resources available for check-out. 

770-232-5380 gina.monteza@gcpsk12.org

 

Parents may contact Ms. Monteza to schedule volunteer hours in the Parent Center, Media Center, and their child’s classroom. 

Parents may also volunteer and participate in the Harris book fair, field day, 5th Grade Finale, Campus Beautification Days, school dances, movie nights and other PTA events. 

Parents may call the school and make an appointment to come and observe instructional practices in the core curriculum.