FSA 3: Parent and Student Communication
FSA 3 is Parent and Student Communication. AEDY Programs will deliver information to assist students and parents in understanding their rights in the AEDY process, including the Local Level Complaint Process and PDE Review Process, and will communicate in a language that is accessible to Limited English Proficient (LEP) Parents and ELs, and in a manner that is accessible to parents and students with disabilities.
To complete this section of the FSA in Leader Services, do the following:
Answer all FSA questions, making sure to address the Standards to be Met/Procedures to Follow embedded at the top of the page
Upload documentation of trainings (in-person, virtual, synchronous, asynchronous) offered to parents within the past 2 years
Upload any additional procedures that support Parent/Student engagement
Resources for Parent & Student Communication
Note: This video series was originally created for use in Schoology. While the video mentions Schoology, everything is now publicly available in the Monitoring module here on the website.
Video Transcript
FSA 3 is Parent and Student Communication. In this section of the FSA, your team will look at your communication structure and how it is working for your families. There are three specific areas that are reviewed: Trainings, procedures, and engagements. You will answer the open-ended questions in the FSA and upload evidence of your communication practices. Along with your FSA responses, parent and student survey engagement and responses will be considered in this area of the FSA. Programs can encourage participation in the survey by sending out the available Parent & Family Interviews one pager, available in English and Spanish in [this module, linked above].
The first area to consider is trainings. You will upload documentation of trainings and opportunities for trainings (in-person, virtual, synchronous, or asynchronous) that have been offered to families in the last two years. Next is procedures, you will upload procedures that support family, parent, and student engagement.
Here are some items to consider and possible evidence as you begin to reflect on the practices utilized by your program for family engagement. Parent and family input is crucial in the formal periodic review or FPR meetings, including the initial meeting. Does your formalized FPR procedure include explicit information ensuring parents have sufficient notice of meetings? Are parents provided with flexibility in platforms and times to ensure their voice is heard? This could include having parents attend via phone or Zoom, offering transportation, child care, or offering times where parents are available. You may also consider the participation rate of families in the FPR meetings.
Next, think about how you elicit family input. Do you survey your families to elicit information on their child's behavior progress, what training they might need, what would be most helpful to them in ensuring their child has a successful transition back to their home school? The monitoring chair will also look at the participation rate in the student and parent interviews.
Also consider what are you practices for ensuring open communication? Have you offered training based on your curriculum or counseling interventions? What partnerships do you have with outside agencies and how do you make parents aware of these resources? Is there regular correspondence, such as a newsletter or an app that helps with communication?
PaTTAN has some resources including a Smore newsletter with ideas for family engagement. There is also an updated AEDY parent brochure with information on AEDY programming. These resources along with some modules from the family engagement team are available in [the resources section linked above].