Parent and Family Engagement

As we approach the holiday season, we at Cowan Road Elementary want to extend our warmest wishes to our students, families, and staff for a joyous and restful break. May your time be filled with love, laughter, and cherished moments with loved ones. We are grateful for your continued support and dedication throughout the year, and look forward to welcoming you back in the new year refreshed and ready to learn!

Have you scheduled a conference with your child's teacher?

Do you know what your child needs to work on at home to improve academic skills?

Have you attended a parent engagement event at your child's school?

Is your child a senior this year? If so, have you talked with your child's school about ways they can help with planning college and career readiness?

Have you started to set goals for the new year? Have you reviewed progress toward this year's goals?

Is your child a 5th or 8th grader? Are you aware of transition events to help your child move to middle and high school?

Do you have an upcoming kindergartener? Look for more information to get your child ready for next year coming this spring!

Please review our Fall Parent Survey Results here. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Candy Mann or Katie Hooks. Thank you!

Annual Title 1 Meeting

• Date of Meeting: September 5, 2024

  What was covered: In this meeting, we discussed the topics below

  
  

  • Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
  • Intent and Purpose of Title 1
  • Title 1 Funding
  • Programs/Supports in place to help your students
  • Academic Standards expected of all students
  • Parent Resources Centers
  • District and School Parent and Family Engagement Policies
  • School-Parent Compact
  • If you were unable to attend and have questions, please contact me at katie.hooks@gscs.org

  
  

  Link to Powerpoint with the information from the meeting: Title 1 Presentation

Literacy Night

Date of Meeting: October 3, 2024

What was covered: In this meeting, we discussed the topics below

• Lexile Scores
• How Dramatic Play and puppets can be used with reading to help with retention
• Literacy Presentation
• Supports in place to help your students
• Academic Standards expected of all students
• If you were unable to attend and have questions, please contact me at katie.hooks@gscs.org

Math Night

Date of Meeting: November 14, 2024

What was covered: In this meeting, we discussed the topics below:

• Math Strategies
• We did activities with parent's and students to go over the current math standards being taught in the classroom.
• If you were unable to attend and have questions, please contact me at katie.hooks@gscs.org

The goal of the parent-teacher conferences is to help form a partnership between school and home to promote academic success for all students!

Getting Ready for the Conference

• Review work samples, report cards, progress reports or other items sent home by the teacher
• Review school policies and the handbook
• Talk with your child about why you are having the conference and what you hope to learn at the conference. Get your child's input as to strengths, weaknesses, and areas of concern.
• Determine a list of questions to ask your child's teacher:

After the conference:

• Talk with your child about what you and the teacher discussed
• Talk about any plans or goals for improvement you might have
• Talk to your child about building on strengths and improving weaknesses
• Keep in touch with the teacher on a regular basis to find out about progress your child is making

Ways to set up a parent teacher conference:

• Email the teacher you would like to have a conference with.
• Call the school at 770-229-3790

December 9th- Christmas Chorus Concert at Carver Road Baptist at 6PM

December 10th- Traveling Tom's Hot Chocolate (Cash sales end December 5th, online December 6th)

December 11th- Spelling Bee for 4-5th (students only)

December 12th- Skate Night at Griffin Skate Inn 6pm-8pm

December 19th- Class Christmas Parties (Grade Level Specific Info will be sent through Dojo)

December 23-January 7- Christmas Break

January 23rd- Family STEM Night

February 27th- Title l Critical Needs Assessment (CNA)

April 3rd- Fine Arts Night

Researchers have found that student success in the classroom is most heavily influenced by a parents’ ability to:

1. Encourage learning and education
2. Set high – but not unrealistic – educational standards and goals
3. Become involved in school and community activities

Researchers have also found that students who do benefit from strong parental involvement have:

• Higher overall achievement, regardless of socioeconomic, ethnic or racial background.
• A higher completion level on homework.
• A higher level of self-esteem in all aspects of life.
• Better social behavior and lower probability that they will get into trouble outside of school.
• Greater comfort navigating different cultural environments between home and school.
• Less likelihood of being placed in special education courses.
• Less probability of dropping out of high school.

We encourage you to get involved and to take advantage of resources available to you as a parent. Each month, you will receive a newsletter with helpful information to help you to help your child become more academically successful! Together as partners in your child's education, we can do great things!

If you would like to be more involved at Cowan Road Elementary we have several things you can do!

• Contact Candy Mann or Katie Hooks to become involved in our Parent Engagement Events.
• Get on our volunteer list, to do so you can either email tasha.smith@gscs.org or call the office at 770-229-3790

Did you know that the Griffin-Spalding County School System also has a Parent Resource Center? Find hands on activities, books and brochures for your student in our District Parent Resource Center. The center is designed to provide educational resources for parents to help your student succeed academically. Parents can also find computers with internet access at the center. The best part is resources are FREE! You can find the Parent Resource Center located in the Parent Services Building, Room 121 on 234 E. Taylor Street, Griffin, GA 30224. If you would like more information or want to make an appointment, please contact LaJuana Love at 770-229-3700, ext 10321 or at Lajuana.love@gscs.org.

Our parent resource center's revamp is complete and we would love for you to come and check it out! We have various brochures and flyers on information important to you as parents! If you visit our center and do not find what you are looking for please reach out to us! Or if you need any other types of assistance or have any questions, please reach out to Katie Hooks or Candy Mann, Cowan's Parent Liaison Team! You can reach us by email at katie.hooks@gscs.org or candy.mann@gscs.org.