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543 Front Avenue
St. Paul
MN
55117

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Family Engagement Plan

2024 - 2025 Family Engagement Plan 

Crossroads is a Title I school. Title I is part of a U.S. education law that provides extra help for students to meet grade level standards. The requirement for Title I is that schools create and implement a plan for working with families. Our school’s plan provides families information on how teachers and families will work together to help students learn. It will include the opportunities, communications, and resources for families to engage in the Crossroads community. 

The Family Engagement Plan (FEP) is organized into four impact areas. The Family Engagement & Partnership Committee will work to build positive and goal-oriented relationships in each area. If you would like to provide input to the Crossroads FEP or would be interested in joining the Family Engagement & Partnership Committee, please contact principal Tracy Buhl. 

 

Welcoming Environment

Our school has staff member(s) available for families to discuss this plan and ask questions

• Principal : Tracy Buhl 

 

• Family Engagement & Partnership Committee Lead: Patrick Thuente

Our school communicates with families in many ways. 

● All student work and important papers come home in a Thursday folder. 

● Principal’s newsletter to parents emailed every other week to support family communications. In the newsletter, parents will have access to learning opportunities, resources, school events and messages from the district. 

● View the school website at crossroads.spps.org for important information and links to classroom teachers. 

● Crossroads staff typically respond to parent requests for information within 48 hours. 

● The School Calendar is available on the school’s website and in the school office. The School Newsletter always lists upcoming events. 

● Family Nights focus on increasing parents’ awareness of academic programs, celebrating student successes, and community building. 

● Automated calls, emails, and text messages regarding upcoming events are sent out on a regular basis. 

● Crossroads’ website provides multiple types of information on both school and district events. 

● Staff use a variety of ways to communicate with families: class newsletters, phone calls, e-mails, text messages, Seesaw, Schoology, Class Dojo, and more.

The achievement gap, or rather the “opportunity gap,” between students of color and white students in Saint Paul Public Schools is unacceptable. 

 

Our school is working to change practices and systems by 

identifying the barriers that make it harder for students of color to succeed and for their families to support their learning. 




 

Transitions between schools can be challenging, and we work to help families as their children start and leave our school.

● The School Continuous Improvement Plans (SCIP) for both Science and Montessori buildings have specific “Complementary Goals” stated to support monitoring and implementation of practices that target the achievement gap. 

● Parent Teacher Conferences are used as a platform for teachers to share individual student progress and current goals with families. Teachers share ways families can support their child’s academic goals at home. 

● Communication in the family home language is done through contacting people in the building who speak particular languages. We will work toward having audio recording or links within the Family Newsletter for these contacts. School newsletters are written as succinctly as possible to support multiple language speakers. 

● For more about our work on racial equity, contact: 

o Principal: Tracy Buhl 

 

For new students and families, we support the transition by: 

● Inviting all families to stop in to meet their child’s teacher and to visit the classroom during our Open House in the Fall 

● Offering Pre-K and K opening week conferences in September 

● Engaging families through a family picnic, meet and greet, personal phone calls to introduce oneself and answer any questions families may have in the transition 

For Pre-K students transitioning to Kindergarten we support the transition by: 

● Participating in multiple transition events during the spring prior to attending Kindergarten. This may include an end-of-the-year family celebration and Kindergarten information night. Crossroads invites Pre-K students and their parents to visit Kindergarten classrooms. Additionally, Pre-K classes may visit the Kindergarten classrooms towards the end of the year. Crossroads support staff are available to answer questions from Pre-K care-givers regarding Crossroads's Kindergarten program by calling 651-767-8540. 

For students and families moving to the next school in their pathway, we support the transition by: 

● Counselors from both schools support 5th grade with Transition to Middle School lessons in June and July. 

● Montessori students prepare during 5th grade year, for moving to Middle Schools, including non-Montessori environments. 

● Virtual tours are provided for all students transitioning to Middle School; specifically to Washington Secondary, and Humboldt Secondary complexes.

 

Family Partnerships

Our school-parent compact 

establishes the shared 

responsibility for student success between the school, families, and students. Families and teachers work together to develop the compact.

Copies of the compact are available: 

● Parents/guardians can access an online version on the school’s website, crossroads.spps.org, and upon request in the Main Office 

● At Fall Parent conferences where they are given and reviewed with families by their child’s teacher. 

● On the bulletin board outside the office.

 

The compact will be updated: 

● In the fall, compacts were displayed at Title I night and families were encouraged to provide feedback. 

● Every spring families and staff are invited to participate in updating the home school compact through the Family Engagement & Partnership committee.

There are many opportunities for families to build connections to the school and to each other. 

We work to make these meetings and events available for every family in the school.

● October 17, 2023, we have our Title I Annual Meeting. At this meeting, the school shares information about Title I, its implementation at our school, its requirements, and opportunities for family engagement. 

● Family nights which focus on increasing parents’ awareness of academic programs, supporting academics at home, and celebrating student successes. 

● National African American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID) occurs in February 2024. Finalized day TBD. 

● Parent-Teacher Conferences held in the Fall, November 2, 9 (evening) & 10 (day) and in Spring, April 30 (evening), May 2(evening) & May 3 (day). This affords the opportunity for families and teachers to communicate about their child’s growth and successes academically and socially emotionally. 

● Volunteering at the school in classrooms, attending field trips, and at other special events and performances.

 

● Interpreters are available for Parent-Teacher Conferences and special education due-process meetings. We have bilingual staff on site to support Karen for families and students. Due to the wide range of languages, Crossroads is unable to have bilingual staff on site to support all families. Therefore, we utilize district identified interpreters to connect with families when we know they need language support. We also utilize district-translated materials to communicate information with families along with interpreter connection cards for families to use.

● In 2023-2024 we will continue to refine our outreach efforts for those families for whom English is not the primary language. The number of students and families of English language learners is growing and we are working to develop consistent resources to be able to meet their communication needs. 

● Childcare, food and transportation is offered for in-person family meetings. 

● Meetings and conferences are offered in person or via Google Meet to support attendance and eliminate barriers of attendance. 

● Transportation is available for parent conferences in November and April/May. 

● In the parent newsletter, emailed every other week on Mondays to families, there is a paragraph offering translations for written documents and interpreters for all events, as needed. 

 

● Families are invited to events throughout the school year planned by the family engagement committee.

Our school supports families as advocates and provides opportunities for parent leadership.

● There are several ways that parents/guardians can ask for help with their child’s learning. First contact should be made with the child’s teacher. The teacher can help answer questions about the academic concerns, or refer the family to other services. The parents/guardians can also contact the school Principal or main office to be directed to support staff. 

● Families are essential to the planning for school improvement and family engagement. Families participate in the development of the School Continuous Improvement Plan, the Family/School Compact, and the Family Engagement Plan through the Family Engagement & Partnership Team, and in person events. 

● Families are invited to monthly community meetings which have taken place of the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO). 

● Parents are often asked to answer questions, add to discussions, and complete surveys online to give voice and input on school decisions. 

● Teachers communicate with families through class newsletters, Seesaw, Class Dojo, Schoology, Google Meets, Google Voice and student Gmail to let families know how they can work with their children at home to support their academic growth. 


 

Teaching and Learning

Our school shares information about state standards, assessment and student achievement with families in multiple ways

● Report cards and progress reports are updated and provided online in November and May to support conferences. If parents/guardians are unable to attend a conference at school, teachers will hold a phone conference or a Google Meet to ensure each parent has the opportunity to speak with their child’s teacher and ask questions about progress in the classroom. Student report cards are available for families digitally. Here are directions for finding your child's report card: Directions- Click here 

● Parent-Teacher Conferences are held in-person or virtually for Fall, November 2, 9 (evening) & 10 (day), and Spring, April 30 & May 4 (evening) & May 5 (day). Crossroads provides transportation and interpreters for conferences. 

 

● Specific info on a student's reading level will be shared during conferences, through phone calls, and other means. 

● Communication links are shared with families in Seesaw and Schoology to support relationship building and access to the teacher. 

● Support of developing literacy skills at home: 

Students in grades K through 5 are expected to read a specific amount of time at home each day; the exact amount of time is dependent on the grade level and the student's learning needs. Students who are just learning to read are expected to practice letter sounds, memorizing sight words, and listen to others read. Children’s House, Kindergarten and First grade teachers provide information for parents to work on skills at home with their children. 

● Additional opportunities for parents/guardians to be informed and to support their child’s learning: During the Open House in September teachers provide parents/guardians with information about grade level learning expectations, typical classroom activities, and homework expectations. 

● Crossroads maintains an open-door policy and invites parents/guardians to regularly visit the school to observe their child in the learning environment.


 

Our school will engage in 

personalized learning as a key strategy to accelerate student achievement. Parents can get more information using many tools.

● Parent log-in information can be accessed at spps.org/onestop, or by asking the school secretary in the office. Families are asked to keep their contact information updated at this site so that they can receive information from the school and District. 

● Crossroad’s school improvement plan monitors how implementation of small group instruction for math and literacy are progressing for staff and students. Teachers implement differentiated culturally relevant tasks, and support multiple learning styles and background knowledge. 

● Tools that we use at Crossroads to communicate with parents are Seesaw, Schoology, Google Meets, Zoom, Blackboard, and My Conference Scheduling. Seesaw and Schoology are the platforms used to support Distance Learning. Both platforms support parent communication with capabilities to monitor instruction, email, and communicate directly with the teacher

After-school enrichment and support 

opportunities are available for students

● Lego League – This is a robotics program offered after school for 4th and 5th graders. Students learn coding skills and build a robot using Lego Mindstorms technology. Our team(s) compete in the St. Paul School’s tournament in December or January. 

● Intersession – The Intersession program provides a strong academic curriculum during breaks from the regular instructional calendar in November, February, and May. Attendance is optional during these two-week intersessions, although students who are performing below grade level are strongly encouraged to attend. Intersession serves learners from Kindergarten through 5th grade, with particular emphasis on reading, writing, and math and priority given to students with greatest academic need.

 

Community Partnerships

Our school develops community partnerships to provide additional support for students and their families.

Crossroads has partnerships with the following to provide academic support for our students and families: 

● AmeriCorps 

● Playworks 

● ClassNotes (MPR)

This plan is available on our school website at Crossroads.spps.org, and printed copies are available in the office.    

 

Comment here with any additional feedback about the family engagement plan or our family engagement practices,