Parent/Guardian Right to Know

Your Right to Know

ESEA directs schools and districts to notify parents/guardians about the following key requirements of a Title I, Part A program.

1. Professional qualifications of teachers and educational assistants who instruct.
2. Notification if your child’s teacher is not highly qualified.
3. Individual report card that lets you know how your child is progressing.
4. Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction (DPI) issues Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Accountability Reports annually. These reports explain ESSA identifications and their calculation and also compare school and student group performance to that of other schools and student groups statewide. Public ESSA and district summary reports are posted here 

Your Right to Know — Professional Qualifications of Teachers

Parents/guardians of children, who attend schools that receive Title I, Part A funding, have the right to request and receive information about the qualifications of the educators who teach their children core subjects—reading, English language arts and mathematics. The same applies to educational assistants who instruct. At a minimum, the information you receive must explain these 3 essential components of an educator’s qualifications.

1. Whether or not the teacher met state qualifications and certification requirements for the grade level and subject(s) he or she is teaching.
2. Whether or not the teacher has an emergency or conditional certificate by which state qualifications were waived.
3. What undergraduate and graduate degree(s) the teacher holds, including graduate certificates and additional degrees, and major(s) or area(s) of concentration.

Your Right to Know — Qualifications of Educational Assistants Who Instruct

Districts employ educational assistants to provide instructional support— consistent with the instruction provided by the classroom teacher or teachers. In schools that operate a schoolwide program, all educational assistants who instruct must have special qualifications. In schools that operate a targeted assistance program, the educational assistants who instruct students served by the Title I, Part A program must also have earned these same qualifications.

1. Completed at least two years of post-secondary education or at least 48 semester hours from an accredited institution of higher education, or
2. Obtained an associate’s or higher degree, or
3. Meet a high standard of quality either through a) passing a DPI approved Paraprofessional Assessment, or b) completing an authentic portfolio demonstrating knowledge and proficiency in the WI Paraprofessional Standards.

Notification If Your Child’s Teacher Is Not Highly Qualified.

ESEA directs schools to send timely notice to parents/guardians IF their child has been assigned to, or taught for more than four consecutive weeks by—a teacher of a core academic subject—who is not highly qualified.

Report Card for Every Student

You have a right to know how well your child is progressing. Schools that operate Title I, Part A programs must generate a report card for every student that explains how well that student scored on the state assessment in, at least, reading, English language arts and mathematics.

State Report Card

The Department of Public Instruction (DPI)—Wisconsin’s education agency—publishes a State Report Card online. Use this website to find important information about your school and district, such as the results of state testing, enrollment numbers, facts and figures about the teachers in your school, and much more.

Districtwide 

Online Feedback & Input

• (K-12) Family Engagement Survey, February-March
• (4K) Parent/Guardian Survey, February
• (K-12 & Public) Staff Appreciation Form, May; Opportunity for families, students, staff, and others to express gratitude to DASD staff.
• Future Norski Survey: Helps with future growth of DASD. Survey is targeted to families new to the DASD boundary area, but with no children currently attending school.

Events to Engage Stakeholders

• Referendum Information Sessions
  • Community Sessions
  • Groups/Touch Points in Communication Plan
• Multilingual Families: Back to School Picnic, Bonfire, Game Night, Literacy Night, Math Night, End of Year Picnic
• Families of students with disabilities: Meetings throughout the school year to support families, offer resources and encouragement; World Cafe Night, Family Transition Night (Incoming 7th graders)
• Safety Series
  • February: Online Safety
  • March: Mental Health Safety
  • April: School Safety
• Community Read, Book Discussion: Partnership with DeForest Area Public LIbrary Engaged with parents, students, staff, and community members at three discussion events

Meetings to Engage Stakeholders

• Board of Education meetings: The public is invited to speak during the “Public Comment” portion of each Board of Education Regular meeting.
• Clergy Group: Superintendent, School/Community Relations Coordinator, school social workers, meet monthly with local clergy for dialogue relating to youth and mutual initiatives.
• Key Communicator Group: 10 active parents/guardians (minimum of 2 per school invited to participate) meet monthly with Superintendent and School & Community Relations Coordinator
  • Purpose: serve as a consistent, strong link to parents/guardians in their school. They foster communication with parents/guardians and provide feedback to DASD staff on key initiatives and programs.
  • Specifically: face-to-face communication between parent leadership and district administration, key contact to share information; act as a legitimate source of accurate information for parents and community members, and provide input on key initiatives and programs brought forth by the District.
• Parent of Students with Disabilities Support Group: Meets monthly on the 3rd Wednesday. Parent-led group that meets with families of students with disabilities. They support each other through life’s events, milestones, and understanding special education from a parent perspective.

Building/Level

4K

• Child Find, Developmental Screenings
• Developmental Expo, May
• Early Learning Committee: Meets two times per year to share news about past and upcoming events; and to highlight initiatives and topics of importance for children and families with early learners (ages 3 to 5)
• Family engagement activities: Fall Fun, Book Walk, Math Night, Open Swim Event, Spring Planting Event, Ice Cream Social
• “Sneak a Peek,” August: Families and students visit 4K classrooms

Eagle Point Elementary School (EPES)

• Continuous Growth Team
• ELT (Elementary Leadership Team)
• PBIS Committee
• PTO

Windsor Elementary School (WES)

• Continuous Growth Team
• ELT (Elementary Leadership Team)
• Morning Drop-Off Input Committee
• PBIS Committee
• PTO

Yahara Elementary School (YES)

• Continuous Growth Team
• ELT (Elementary Leadership Team)
• PBIS Committee
• PTO

Harvest Intermediate School (Harvest)

• Harvest Collaboration Team
• Hero To Host Leadership Team
• PTO

DeForest Area Middle School (DAMS)

• MSLT (Middle School Leadership Team)
• PTO
• Youth Advisory Community: Representative group of students to share celebrations and opportunities for improvement

DeForest Area High School (DAHS)

• Committees with staff representation that help make progress toward school goals: Transparent Teaching Committee, PBIS Committee
• Continuous Improvement Team (Staff, Department Chairs)
• HS Student Advisory Committee

General Email Addresses

info@deforestschools.org School/Community Relations Coordinator monitors the account

• General email account to contact the district with questions, concerns, and comments: vendor solicitations, announcements from DPI and other educationally related organizations, specific requests are forwarded to the appropriate DASD staff member for responses., see more in 3.3, Indicator 2

dasdnews@deforestschools.org Responses are sent by the School/Community Relations Coordinator or forwarded to the appropriate DASD staff member

• Families respond to news and information sent from this account

superintendent@deforestschoools.org Superintendent or designee replies to responses

• Email account used to send important messages and other information to families from the superintendent

Social Media

• Facebook accounts (maintained by district staff):
  • DeForest Area School District
  • DeForest Area High School
  • DeForest Area Middle School
  • Harvest Intermediate School
  • Eagle Point Elementary School
  • Windsor Elementary School
  • Yahara Elementary School
  • DeForest Area Swimming Pool

 

• Instagram
  • Deforestschools 

 

• LinkedIN Used to promote district-level job vacancies