The FACE Forum

Happy September! We hope the school year is off to a great start and that you and your teams are settling in well! We know it's been busy and filled with some added challenges, so THANK YOU for all you're doing! We appreciate you!

In this month's September FACE Forum for school staff and district departments, you'll find practical family and community building tips, high-leverage engagement strategies, upcoming family workshops, staff professional development opportunities, district community events, resources, school shoutouts, and more! Additionally, our Family & Community Engagement (FACE) team is excited to soon be sharing our brand-new Family & Community Engagement (FACE) Framework-- which consists of six family and community engagement standards, an assessment tool to help sites and departments assess and strengthen their family and community engagement practices, and helpful resources for schools and departments to use as they continue becoming even more effective in the six core FACE standards:

• Welcoming Families
• Effective Communication
• Student Success
• Community Partnership
• Family Voice
• Shared Decision Making

We'll be sharing the digital version of the FACE Framework in next month's FACE Forum, so stay tuned! In the meantime, we've geared this month's FACE Forum towards resources to help you with the first FACE standard-- Welcoming Families!

Thank you for taking a moment to read our newsletter each month and please feel free to share it with your site/ department teams. While our FACE Forum monthly newsletter is an internal newsletter intended to only be shared with district staff, you are invited to take any applicable parts of the newsletter that may support your families and add to your own site/classroom newsletters and family messaging.

Thank you for all you're doing to welcome, engage, and support our students, families, and community! Our FACE team is here to help you, so please reach out to us at any time!

Have a great September ahead!

The FACE Team

At the beginning of each month, every site receives a package from our team with the new monthly Family & Staff professional development calendar and resources to share with your staff and families, as well as a monthly Morale Booster idea that administrators can opt to do with their own school community. We hope this FACE Fan Mail helps remind you how much we appreciate you and all you do to help build family and community engagement!

We know the start to this school year may have had some things that didn't as well as we each had hoped, and it can become very easy to fall into the trap of deficit thinking and pessimism. Once we get into that mindset, it can be challenging to get ourselves out. Therefore, it's important to shift our focus to instead think about what's going WELL... and you'll be amazed at how that one little question really does change everything! (And, of course, candy also helps... so we've included an extra helping of that in this month's FACE Fan Mailer!)

WAYS TO USE THIS QUESTION TO BOOST MORALE WITH YOUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY:

• Create a bulletin board/ whiteboard space in your staff room where staff can write down something that's going WELL, whether it's in their classrooms, on the playground, arrival/dismissal, family engagement, new site procedure, leadership practice, colleague support, etc. Make time to share some of these positive shout outs during a staff meeting or in your staff newsletter.

• Use the "What's Going Well" prompt to lead a community circle in class or as your morning icebreaker with students. By helping them to intentionally start their days focusing on the good, you'll help them warm up that optimistic mindset for the rest of the day.

• Create a "What's Going Well" QR code to share with your families and encourage them to use it as a way to give positive feedback and appreciation shout outs to staff, students, and fellow parents who are helping make this school year the greatest that it can be! If the shout out includes the family member's name who submitted it, follow up with a thank you email letting them know how much you appreciate them taking the time to let you know what's going well. You'll be amazed at the difference these small but mighty positive interactions make for everyone!

September celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, a month-long celebration of Hispanic and Latino history and culture. While we celebrate Hispanic and Latino communities beyond this month, from September 15 to October 15 we give extra recognition to the many contributions made to the history and culture of the United States, including important advocacy work, vibrant art, popular and traditional foods, and the incredible impact Latinas and Latinos have had on the United States for generations. Check out some great Hispanic Heritage Month resources below!

https://latino.si.edu/learn/teaching-and-learning-resources/hispanic-heritage-month-resources

https://nationaltoday.com/hispanic-heritage-month/https://www.pbs.org/about/about-pbs/blogs/news/celebrate-hispanic-heritage-month-2025-with-pbs/

This month also includes observances that promote mental health, safety, and equality.

September 1 – Labor Day

Celebrated in the U.S., Labor Day honors the contributions and achievements of workers, recognizing the importance of labor rights.

September 10 – World Suicide Prevention Day
Raises awareness about suicide prevention.

September 18 – International Equal Pay Day
Promotes the fight for equal pay for equal work.

September 23 – International Day of Sign Languages
Celebrates sign languages and their importance for deaf communities.

Direct to Teacher Grants San Juan Education Foundation

Parent/Family Hub www.sanjuan.edu/parents

Student Hub www.sanjuan.edu/students

FACE Outreach requests (Face Mobile, mini clinics and more!) https://bit.ly/FACEoutreach

FACE Lending Library of Fun https://bit.ly/FACElendingfun

Staff Digital Resource Library (community/district flyers) https://bit.ly/FACEresource

San Juan Unified Volunteer information www.sanjuan.edu/volunteer

FACE department Intranet! (Field trip forms, volunteer flyers and more!) intranet.sanjuan.edu/face

Community Resources www.sanjuan.edu/communityresources

• Food

• Clothing

• Diapers

• Utilities & Housing

• Social & Recreational

• Academic

• Disability & Special Education

• Employment

• Mental Health

• Refugee, Immigrant & Newcomer Supports

• LGBTQIA+

• Domestic Violence

• and more!

Important Upcoming Dates for Families & Staff

College Week 2025

A variety of opportunities to help K-12 students explore educational options and prepare for post-secondary success! Explore in person events, virtual college visits and more at www.sanjuan.edu/collegeweek.

• Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Recruitment Fair

Thursday, September 18

1:30 - 3:30 pm, El Camino High School (4300 El Camino Ave, Sacramento)

• College Night 2025

Thursday, September 25

5:30 - 7:30 pm, Rio Americano High School (4540 American River Dr, Sacramento)

September Community Care Hub

• Thursday, September 18 1:30 - 3:30 pm, Ralph Richardson Center (4848 Cottage Way, Carmichael)
This monthly event is open to all families across our school communities seeking support with essential tools and resources to help their student’s success. Families can access tangible resources such as food boxes, diapers, learning tools, and explore a resource fair to learn about community and district resources! This month’s Care Hub highlight: College/Career Readiness, Special Education. For details and other resources, visit the sanjuan.edu/communityresources webpage.

Family Engagement Video Library

Check out our new pre-recorded learning videos for parents/caregivers/school staff in our NEW Family Engagement Video Library at www.sanjuan.edu/familyed under the "Family Engagement Video Library" tab.

Staff Professional Development Opportunities

On Zoom - Register through the Staff Portal portal.sanjuan.edu

Mini-Clinics at sites by request (10-15 minutes at staff meetings) https://bit.ly/FACEoutreach

• Field Trip Process
• Volunteer Process & Recruitment
• Conflict Resolution Process
• FACE Resources

Find resources, including monthly parent newsletters, family workshops and volunteer information, as well as staff resources, such as our Lending Library of Fun, Outreach Requests, and Digital Resource Library, on our website at www.sanjuan.edu/familyed.

Find additional internal staff resources & forms on our Intranet at https://intranet.sanjuan.edu/familycommunityengagement

Supports for Students with Disabilities

IEP Trainings & Support Groups. FREE Year Round!

https://warmlinefrc.org

https://health.ucdavis.edu/mind-institute/resources/family-resource-centers

Having a family engagement event? FACE offers items for checkout at no cost to support family engagement efforts! Staff and volunteer leaders (PTO/PTA, etc) are welcome to request items on behalf of school family engagement events. We will follow up and confirm in 2-3 business days. Pickup and return of items is at the San Juan Unified District Office during pre-scheduled hours.

For more information, visit our Lending Library of Fun Catalog!

Sites can submit requests for the FACE Mobile, FACE information tabling, and FACE Mini-Clinics for the 2025-2026 school year! We would love to attend and support your back to school events, however our schedule fills fast! We encourage sites to submit your request as soon as possible using our FACE Outreach Request form. We look forward to working with you! If you have any questions, please contact Luis Cruz Solache at luis.cruzsolache@sanjuan.edu or call 916-979-8990.

Our FACE outreach team can come out to help support you with the following:

• FACE Mobile visits

• 15 minute staff trainings on various processes:

(Problem Resolution, Volunteers, Field Trips, Partnerships, Community Resources, Family Ed, Staff Ed, general FACE overview, etc.)

• 15 minute family clinics (parent portal, preparing for parent-teacher conferences, effective school-to-home communication, exploring district and community resources, etc.)

• Volunteer recruitment (fingerprinting available evenings/weekend events only)

• Family resource center/space/bulletin board consultation

To request a FACE Mobile visit for one of your events or outreach item listed about, please click the link below:

https://bit.ly/FACEoutreach

Thursday, September 18

1:30 - 3:30 pm, Ralph Richardson Center (4848 Cottage Way, Carmichael)

This monthly event is open to all families across our school communities seeking support with essential tools and resources to help their student’s success. Families can access tangible resources such as food boxes, diapers, learning tools, and explore a resource fair to learn about community and district resources! This month’s Care Hub highlight: College/Career Readiness, Special Education. For details and other resources, visit the sanjuan.edu/communityresources webpage.

Copy and paste Family Workshop info direct from www.sanjuan.edu/familyed for Smore, Social Media, Class Dojo, Talking Points and email messaging! Digital content is translatable and accessible for families.

Building Blocks for Effective Co-Parenting

September 17, September 24, and October 1

5:30 - 7:30 pm

Will Rogers Middle School - 4924 Dewey Dr, Fair Oaks

This three session class series is designed for parents, guardians and caregivers seeking practical, relatable tools for successful co-parenting. Participants will receive a free class curriculum guide for group discussions, activities and skill building. Dinner, child care and interpretation provided.

Free registration at sanjuan.edu/familyed

Tuesday, September 30

6:00 - 7:30 pm, District Office Board Room (3738 Walnut Ave, Carmichael)

For parents and caregivers with a child on an IEP (Individualized Educational Program) in Special Education. Learn about the IEP process, components of the IEP documents, and Parent Rights and Responsibilities. Attendees will receive an IEP binder and hands on guidance to organize IEP paperwork and supplemental documents. Bring your IEP to follow along! Dinner, child care and interpretation provided.

All events are free! For details and registration, visit our website: sanjuan.edu/familyed

Did you know that FACE launched a brand new Family Engagement Video Learning Library on our website where families, staff and community can access pre-recorded learning videos on a variety of topics? These videos are perfect for families who may not be able to attend our regular workshops, but would like to access the learning at a later time, or for colleagues and parent-teacher organizations who want to share the learning with families at their own site meeting or event.

Check out all the videos on our playlist that we've released by visiting www.sanjuan.edu/familyed.

Please help us encourage families to check out this month’s free recorded workshop available in our Family Engagement Video Library after September 8! This month’s featured family engagement video library workshop, Fostering Positive Habits for School Attendance, is presented by the Attendance Improvement Program and focuses on learning about strategies to support school attendance. Topics covered include learning about school attendance policies, how to report absences and ways that families can stay informed about their child’s attendance. We also share helpful tips and strategies to support consistent school attendance and information on valuable district resources available to help families build positive school attendance. To view this workshop and other family engagement workshops, visit our sanjuan.edu/familyed webpage under the Video Library dropdown.

College Week is here! Our College and Career teams have a variety of opportunities to help K-12 students explore educational options and prepare for post-secondary success! Explore in person events, virtual college visits and more at www.sanjuan.edu/collegeweek.

Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) Recruitment Fair

Thursday, September 18

1:30 - 3:30 pm, El Camino High School (4300 El Camino Ave, Sacramento)

College Night 2025

Thursday, September 25

5:30 - 7:30 pm, Rio Americano High School (4540 American River Dr, Sacramento)

High School Voter Education Weeks (September 15–26)

As educators, you play a vital role in encouraging students to participate in our democracy. Early civic engagement practices lead to lifelong civic involvement and strengthen our democracy. We invite your district and school sites to take part in High School Voter Education Weeks, September 15–26. Since California launched its preregistration program in September 2016, nearly 1.4 million students have preregistered to vote, which has resulted in more than 1.1 million eligible voters. For further resources and opportunities, read more in the July 30 letter from the CDE and the California Secretary of State. Civic engagement starts with education and, by working together, we can help prepare California’s students to become informed and active participants in our democracy. For questions about High School Voter Education Weeks or other civic engagement opportunities, please contact the Secretary of State’s Outreach and Education team at SOSOutreach@sos.ca.gov or 916-584-3538 or the CDE High School Innovations and Initiatives Office at HSIIO@cde.ca.gov or 916-319-0893.

Join us online 10/11/25 for college prep workshops, assistance with financial aid applications, one-on-one meetings with advisors, an immigration clinic, and more. Registration is available at tinyurl.com/2025Feria or via the QR code. For additional information, please contact feria@csus.edu or visit www.csus.edu/feria.

We appreciate your understanding and flexibility regarding this unexpected change in format. While we had hoped to gather in person, this shift allows us to continue delivering important services and information in a safe and accessible way.

La Feria Anual de Educación 2025 será virtual este año.

Acompáñenos en línea 11 de octubre para participar en talleres de preparación universitaria, servicios de apoyo estudiantil, clínicas de inmigración y más. Puede registrarse en tinyurl.com/2025Feria o escaneando el código QR. Para más información, comuníquese a feria@csus.edu o visite www.csus.edu/feria.

Agradecemos su comprensión y flexibilidad ante este cambio inesperado de formato. Aunque esperábamos reunirnos en persona, este ajuste nos permite seguir ofreciendo servicios e información importantes de manera segura y accesible.

It's Attendance Awareness Month!

Attendance Works is a fantastic site to access for attendance resources and supports, including this year's attendance awareness campaign-- Here Today, Ready for Tomorrow! Celebrating its 13th year, the Attendance Awareness Campaign broadcasts the message that every day a student is in school is an opportunity to learn, build relationships and access support. Led by Attendance Works and 11 national partners, the campaign urges schools, localities, and states to promote the value of good attendance and to take concrete steps toward reducing chronic absence. It includes the designation of September (or the start of school) as Attendance Awareness Month and the launch of year-long attendance campaigns.

Today 126 national and state-level organizations and state education agencies are working in partnership to support the campaign and spread the word.

• Read our Key Messages
• Review our List of Partners
• See highlights from past years in Community News

Visit https://www.attendanceworks.org/

Thank you for helping to remind students and families that every day counts, every minute matters, and that when students are here today, they're ready for tomorrow!

Whether you have a 7-year-old or a 17-year-old, research shows that students perform better academically and behaviorally if the student knows their parents are involved and have high expectations.

To support this effort, each month we will feature a new "Helping Children Learn" newsletter that is full of ideas to support learning at home. You can share this free newsletter with families directly from our website!

To access the newsletters in English and Spanish for Elementary, Middle School, and High School, visit www.sanjuan.edu/familyed and click on the "Parent Newsletter" tab.

As you reflect on this school year and plan for the next one, are you looking to help build capacity and knowledge with your families around ways they can support their students and improve home-to-school partnership? In the PDF below is a detailed list of engaging family education workshops offered by our FACE team. Workshops can be custom-built and tailored to suit your school’s needs, times, and are conducted in person or hybrid. For more information, contact Luis Cruz Solache (luis.cruzsolache@sanjuan.edu).

Are you ready to grow your knowledge around family and community engagement, while also earning professional development hours? Our FACE Team's lineup of virtual workshops are now open for registration! The workshops take place on Zoom and are open to all certificated and classified staff members in our district. You can register directly on our FACE course page in the PL Tile (click “FACE” in the "Subjects" section on the Home page). Check out the workshops on the PDF attached below.

*Note: If you are a school or department and would like to book a workshop for your entire staff, using your collaborative Thursday time or as part of your Staff Meeting time, please reach out to Amy Rovai Gregory to schedule. (arovai@sanjuan.edu)

Top Ten Practices to Innovate and Elevate Your Family & Community Engagement

Wed., Sept. 10 3:30-4:30 pm, Zoom, #68618

Unlock the potential of authentic and impactful family engagement in education by exploring our top ten proven best practices and strategies! Explore practical solutions and evidence-based approaches that have demonstrated success in elevating family and community engagement effectively. This workshop is designed for those seeking to create a more inclusive and supportive environment by thinking innovatively and fostering strong connections between their families, schools, and community. Join us to gain actionable insights and transform your approach to family engagement, ultimately enhancing student outcomes and strengthening the collaborative partnership between home, school, and community!

Saturday, October 18

9:30 am - 1:30 pm , Arcade Middle School (3500 Edison Ave, Sacramento)

Please help us spread the word about our Fall 2025 Family Conference: Language, Literacy, and Belonging, taking place on Saturday, October 18 from 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. at Arcade Middle School. Families will have the opportunity to attend engaging workshops presented and interpreted in multiple languages—including English, Spanish, Farsi/Dari, Pashto, Arabic, Russian, and Ukrainian—on topics such as supporting literacy and math at home, preparing for college and career, navigating the U.S. school system, mental health, special education, and partnering for student success. A special focus will highlight ways to support English learners. In addition, families can explore a resource fair featuring district and community programs. Free interpretation and child care will be available, along with a light breakfast, lunch, and a family swag bag for the first 150 attendees. There will also be raffle prize drawings! This is a FREE district event open to all parents, guardians, caregivers, and staff. Please encourage your families to register, discover valuable resources, connect with others, and gain tools to support their child’s success. For details and registration, please visit the www.sanjuan.edu/familyed webpage or contact Luis Cruz Solache at luis.cruzsolache@sanjuan.edu.

Are you looking for a way to build trusting, effective, positive relationships with your families beyond the traditional parent-teacher conference? We're excited to launch an incredible opportunity for our San Juan Unified colleagues to become trained on Parent Teacher Home Visits! Parent Teacher Home Visits (PTHV) is a high-impact family engagement strategy designed to build trusting home-school partnerships centered on shared hopes and dreams. Recent studies reveal that PTHV’s model for relational home visits strengthens relationships, shifts mindsets, improves teaching, and bolsters student outcomes.

Through uniquely tailored sessions, teachers emerge with increased understanding of families and respect for their role as children’s first educators. They learn how to build trust with families, and they increase their capacity to better engage students in the classroom. PTHV trainings are interactive, dynamic, and essential to the start of an evidence-based home visit practice.

SCOE is partnering with Parent Teacher Home Visits to offer a free training on October 21 from 8:30 am-12:00 pm in Sacramento. Please reach out to Amy Rovai Gregory (arovai@sanjuan.edu) asap if you or your team are interested in this training opportunity!

Free Community Food Distributions & Resources

San Juan Central Food Closet:

The San Juan Unified food closet is located at the Central Enrollment Center (3700 Garfield Ave. in Carmichael) and serves families, staff and community who are in need of non-perishable food items.

Hours:

Open year round, Monday through Friday, 9:00 am-1:00 pm
Closed on non-school days and holidays.

Need more information on food resources? Visit www.sanjuan.edu/resources/community-resources for more information about our district food closet and community food banks.

Did you know that San Juan Unified has its own Immunization Clinic to help assist uninsured and underinsured families? The clinic is located at 3700 Garfield Avenue (Room 4) in Carmichael. The Vaccines available at the clinic are provided by the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program. The vaccines are available for children 3 years to 18 years of age who have Medi-Cal or are uninsured.

The clinic provides the vaccines required for Pre-Kindergarten which are: Hib, DTaP, Polio, Hep B, MMR and Varicella.

The vaccines required for TK/K – 12 which are: DTaP or Tdap, Polio, Hep B, MMR and Varicella. Optional recommended vaccines that are available: Hep A, MCV4 (meningitis), COVID-19 and HPV.

Students are seen by appointment only. Schedule an appointment. One appointment per child is needed. Please provide copies of immunization records when requested. Clinic days and hours are limited and do fill very quickly. A donation of $10/child will be accepted at the time of the appointment (cash only).

If you need assistance or have questions about immunizations, please contact us at (916) 971-7018.

If there are no appointments available, we have provided additional free and low-cost immunization clinic information for Elica and Sacramento County further below.

Elica’s Health on Wheels (HOW) program brings full-service mobile health clinics directly to schools and communities to provide accessible care for students and families. These state-of-the-art clinics offer services like physical exams, vaccinations, and primary care—especially for those facing barriers such as lack of transportation or insurance. By partnering with select schools, Elica ensures students can receive quality care conveniently on campus. To access services, families must complete a brief intake process and provide insurance and vaccination records. Appointments may be required for certain days and locations. For more information, email mobile@elicahealth.org or call (916) 454-2345.

We know how challenging and time-consuming it is to search for resources for families, so our team has been building a Digital Resource Library for all sites and departments to have access to. In this library, you'll find flyers and links for district and community resources to assist with housing, clothing, food, health, special education, college and career, community service partners, and more. We'll be adding to this library regularly, so keep checking to see what's new! The link allows anyone in San Juan to view the resources, so please feel free to share the link with your site/ department team members!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12Roaab9q0nSbMBTZ6Ef3nzVJ8BRxtgPj?usp=sharing

Looking for an easy way to get more parent volunteers? This new editable Volunteer Opportunities Template in Canva makes it simple to share your school’s volunteer needs in a clear and engaging format. You can customize key details such as your school name and the site designee email, which is the staff member who manages the volunteer spreadsheet. You can also add your school’s logo or mascot using the image box. All school logos and mascots are already available in Canva. The template includes a “What We Need Help With” section where you can highlight specific volunteer opportunities along with dates and important details. The second page provides clear instructions for parents who are interested in becoming volunteers and beginning the verification process.

If you need help using this template, please reach out to vanessa.valenzuela@sanjuan.edu

Volunteer Opportunities Template

Volunteers contribute significantly to our school community. Please encourage families and community members to volunteer at your school. To accommodate schedules, we have after-hours fingerprinting clinics scheduled. Please see the Fall dates below.

Over the last year, our stakeholders designed an online platform to streamline field trip requests. In May, we began accepting field trip requests for next year on the new platform. A series of opt-in training sessions were held at the district office and via zoom to allow teachers and administrators to get familiar with the software. Several more are planned for the Fall. We can also drop in to a staff meeting at your site if you would prefer.

Wednesday, September 3 - 3:30-4:15pm in the District Office Board Room (3738 walnut ave)

FT Training 6 Principals & Designees.pptx - Google Slides

FT Training 5 Self-Guided for Teachers.pptx - Google Slides

40% of field trip school buses for the year are already booked!

Find available dates using the San Juan Unified Field Trip School Bus Availability Calendar.

Remember to finalize your chaperones in the application before your trip!
Provide feedback for a chance to win! Field Trip Resources Feedback Survey

If you have any questions or would like additional information or recommendations, please contact the field trip desk at fieldtrips@sanjuan.edu or via phone at (916)979-8937.

As a reminder, Title funds (including Title I, II, III, etc.) have specific usage guidelines and cannot be used to cover field trip expenses unless the trip is directly tied to academic instruction and approved in advance. Please consult your program coordinator before planning or funding any trips using Title dollars. Let’s ensure all spending remains compliant. Please review the flyer below.

Each year sites have expressed trouble in finding enough Jack O Lantern (small) pumpkins for their students. This year, Wallace Farms is offering discounted prices including drop off to your sites. A minimum order of 60 bins is required but can be split between multiple locations. With 40 pumpkins per bin, the cost of each pumpkin will be about $3.75. For more information please see the flyer below. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Natalia at (916) 971-7929 or via email at Natalia.Aguirre@sanjuan.edu.

Looking for a fun, engaging way to bring agriculture into your classroom? Sign up for a Farm to Future classroom visit from your local Young Farmers & Ranchers (YF&R) chapter! The Farm to Future Literacy Project is a statewide outreach initiative connecting students with the people who grow their food, through interactive read-alouds, hands-on activities, and meaningful conversations about agriculture. YF&R members are equipped with pre-built presentation toolkits featuring agriculture-themed books and matching classroom activities, all curated by California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom.

Whether you're a kindergarten teacher looking to explore garden basics or a middle school science teacher discussing soil health, there's a book and activity set just right for your students. And the best part? Everything is ready to go, just sign up, and we'll match you with a trained YF&R member in your region!

Interested? Fill out our simple interest form today to be matched with a local presenter!

Sign up here

The San Juan Education Foundation is excited to announce the launch of the PROPEL Innovation Grant—an opportunity for educators to bring bold, creative ideas to life in their classrooms and school communities.

These grants provide up to $7,500 to support projects that introduce fresh approaches to teaching and learning, spark curiosity, and expand opportunities for students in innovative ways. From piloting new instructional models to testing creative solutions that engage families and communities, the PROPEL Innovation Grant empowers educators to dream big and take risks that can lead to lasting change. Applications are due on December 12. Apply today and help to propel innovation across San Juan Unified!

https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/82897-San-Juan-Education-Foundation

The San Juan Education Foundation is now accepting applications for PROPEL Achievement Grants of up to $2,500. Open to all school-site staff—including classified personnel—these grants fund projects that spark curiosity, deepen learning, and create inclusive, engaging classrooms.

Use an Achievement Grant to plan unforgettable field trips, equip science labs, enhance arts and music programs, or upgrade classroom technology. Applications are due September 26. Apply today and help propel student success!

https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/82892-San-Juan-Education-Foundation

Use these handy sample scripts to help make a positive connection with all your families! Building positive connections with families is so important, especially as you start off the school year and set the tone for a conducive partnership with families!

Check out this awesome 100 Positive Phone Calls whole staff challenge you can do on the staff room whiteboard! Every staff member who makes a positive phone call home to a student's family initials and dates a box on the grid. Set a whole staff goal to have the grid filled by a certain date and watch positive relationships quickly bloom between staff, students and families!

Communication with families is a pillar of any educator’s REAL Family Engagement practice because it gives families access to the information and connections they need to play Five Essential Roles in their children’s education.

Tracking families’ communication preferences, contact information, and last touchpoint with you can be a lot to manage. That’s why our Ongoing Communication Reflection Tool is here to help! Designed with simplicity, flexibility, and organization in mind, the Ongoing Communication Reflection Tool, available in English and Spanish, can support any educator who has direct access to students and their families.

Use this Tool to reflect on your individual practice of building trusting relationships and meaningful partnerships with families. It provides space to reflect on the quality of your relationships with students’ families, plan next steps for ongoing communication efforts, and/or assess the equity of your communication and relationships with your students’ families.

The Ongoing Communication Reflection Tool is flexible! It can be:

• used in IEP meetings,
• shared with administration as evidence of impact,
• utilized with colleagues during team meetings,
• employed to self-assess if you communicate equitably with families,
• and more!

As you reflect with the Ongoing Communication Reflection Tool, you might want to learn more about your family engagement practice. Use our new Family Engagement Assessment Tool at www.engageyourfams.org to understand where your practice is already strong and get personalized recommendations for how you can improve.

To learn more about The Flamboyan Foundation and all their effective family engagement tools and resources, visit https://flamboyanfoundation.org/

Another great way to create a welcoming environment for students and families is by building relationships right away, and we've got a great tool to help assist you with that! The Beginning of Year Relationship Building Strategy Guide for Educators from the Flamboyan Foundation provides guiding principles for beginning of year relationship building, along with concrete strategies, such as welcome calls, partnered communications, family and student questionnaires, community building meetings, and more!

Communication struggles are often secondary concerns that result from lack of clear and consistent communication with parents. Using simple and respectful language, avoiding jargon and acronyms, and providing relevant and accurate information goes a long way. When possible, explain the rationale behind school decisions, policies, and actions, and how they benefit the students and the school. Be transparent and honest, and avoid making promises you cannot keep. Follow up with regular messages and communication to families to keep them informed of any changes or updates.

There are so many wonderful student, family and community engagement highlights happening around the district! We'd love to spotlight any of those efforts that your site, department, or another team is doing! Send us an email at face@sanjuan.edu and we'll highlight your shoutout in the next FACE Forum newsletter!

Big shout out to Carriage Drive Elementary who used last month's family engagement strategy of Parent Surveys at Back to School Night to engage families as partners in their children's education! This not only creates a welcoming environment, but starts off the year on a positive partnership! Awesome work, Carriage Cougars!

Huge shout out to Whitney Avenue Elementary who hosted their annual Meet the Teacher event a few days before school began, bringing in all their teachers, support staff (and Wildcat Mascot!) to meet excited students and families. They also invited district departments and community partners to join in to share resources with families, and our FACE Mobile assisted families with logging on to Parent Portal and completing AIV forms, SunBucks information and Volunteer applications. Additionally, families wrote their Hopes and Dreams for their children down on the banner that our FACE team provided each school, which will now hang up by the office as a reminder to all students, staff, families and community the valuable role they each play as partners in helping make those dreams come true! Way to go, Whitney Wildcats!

Did You Miss the Last FACE Forum Newsletter?

Click the link below to access August's Back to School newsletter and see all the resources, information and supports for you and your school community!

https://secure.smore.com/n/s48et

Want to receive the monthly FACE Forum newsletters directly to your email inbox during the school year? Our newsletter is now being emailed directly to recipients who have opted in to receiving the monthly newsletter. For those who choose not to opt in to receiving the newsletter via email, you will still be able to access the newsletter in Behind the Scenes (all San Juan Unified employees), Leadership Reflections (administrators), Secretary Scoop (secretaries), and Elementary/Secondary Updates.

To opt in to receiving The FACE Forum newsletter directly to your Inbox, please complete this brief opt-in here: https://forms.gle/3DQ62CUCZy4HjzGt6

Email: face@sanjuan.edu
Website: www.sanjuan.edu/face

Intranet: intranet.sanjuan.edu/face
Location: 3738 Walnut Avenue, Carmichael, CA, USA
Phone: (916) 971-7929

Facebook & Instagram- @SanJuanUnifiedFACE