Family Engagement Plan

The Family Engagement Plan (FEP) is organized into four impact areas. We will be working together this year to build positive and goal-oriented relationships in each area. Families and staff at school developed this plan together.

Welcoming Environment

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

• Family Liaison: Julie Wellman

Our school communicates with families in many ways.

• All student work and important papers come home in a Thursday folder
• Teachers send home classroom newsletters with information specific to their classroom and grade level.
• Our monthly family newsletter is full of important information for families and is posted on our website and sent out to families via email.
• Our family calendar lists all the events for the school year. The calendar is distributed at Open House in August/September and is posted on our website.
• Website: https://theheights.spps.org
• Flyers regarding family events are distributed through use of the Thursday folders, Blackboard Connect emails and are posted on our website.
• Attendance Matters Phone Calls from teachers
• Positive Phone Calls from teachers
• Flyers of upcoming events are posted on the front doors and the main entrance
• When families call, email or send a note, we do our best to respond within 24 hours.

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

• For more about our work on racial equity, contact: Hatti Moeller, Principal

Transitions between schools can be challenging, and we work to help families as their children start and leave our school. For new students and families, we support the transition by:

• Offering PreK families Family Welcome Meeting the first week of September
• Holding an Open House in August the week before fall classes start for new and existing families to meet the teacher, specialists, support staff and community partners

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

PreK Transition:

• PreK parents will be offered training on the “Take Your Parent to School Days”. The October TYPTSD will focus on training parents on the preschool program and how they can help their students learn at home. The April TYPTSD will focus on transitioning from PreK to kindergarten. Parents will tour the kindergarten rooms and receive information on working with their children over the summer to be ready in the fall.
• PreK students will tour the kindergarten classes as part of their May curriculum.

5^th Grade Transition to Middle School:

• Working with the Area A middle school counselors to inform 5^th grade parents when they will be holding open house and transition meetings for incoming students.
• 5^th Grade families will receive information about days and times for middle school Open Houses. Students may be able to tour the schools as a field trip during their school day.
• Each April the counselor and 5^th grade teachers help prepare 5^th graders for middle school by presenting a variety of lessons, activities and discussions focusing on middle school expectations. Students will wear “High Trust” buttons and travel as “middle school” students without teachers in the hallways.

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:	The compact will be updated:
on our website, November conferences, family nights, PTA & SCIP Update meetings, registration for new families and upon request. They are also available in the main office and the parent room 2309.	in April and May at PTA & SCIP Update meetings, The End of the Year meeting and spring Family Events.

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

●      Title I Annual Meeting where we will share information about school programs will be held during Family Events in Oct: PreK                Family Day & Family STEM Night      

●      PTA & SCIP Update Meetings: PTA & SCIP Update Mtgs. will meet virtually 5:30-6:00pm on the following Tuesdays:

        2025

        October 21

        January 13 (1^st SCIP Update Mtg)

        2026

        March 19 (2^nd SCIP Update Mtg with Budget Conversation)

        April 21 (End of the Year Mtg, Review SCIP, Budget, FEP, Compact)

        May 20 (PTA Budget & Officers)

●      Family Nights such as:

        Thursday, August 28: Meet the Teachers & Staff

        Thursday, October 30, 2023: STEM Family Night & Title I Annual Mtg

        Thursday, March 19: Family Reading Night

●      National African American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID) is February 9, 2026    

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

• Interpreters will be available as needed through in-house staff, language line and district interpreters.
• Family Nights/Meetings will be held on Tuesday or Thursday evenings.
• Food will be provided at family events.
• Transportation will be available upon request.
• Information will be available upon request for families who could not make the events.
• Google Meets will be used so parents can attend PTA & SCIP Update meetings virtually
• The specific outreach strategies for families of English Learners includes having Hmong and Spanish information translated by our MLL EAs in our building and by district employees fluent in other languages. Phone calls/emails are conducted in necessary languages. Interpreters are provided at events especially during conferences

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

• Parents are asked to first bring their concerns to their child/ren’s teacher and then to the principal if the parent deems it necessary.
• Staff will be provided with workshops on communicating with parents with a focus on topics such as school climate using input from parents via surveys completed after November and March conferences.
• Parents and families will have opportunities at all PTA & SCIP Update meetings and Family Night events to be presented with Title I and school wide information. Parents will be asked for their input at events and through surveys after conferences.

Volunteer Opportunities

• Parents are welcome at The Heights at any time. Parents wishing to volunteer in teacher requested classrooms and at activities in the building to support partnerships during the year need to fill out a volunteer form each year.
• Parents who want to go on field trips will need to have an approved background check to chaperone. Background checks require a completed background check form. Title I District funds will pay for background checks at this time.

Teaching and Learning

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

• Report cards and progress reports will be distributed and discussed during conferences in November and March of each year.
• Parent-Teacher conferences are held in the fall and spring with one after school conference and one daytime conference for each month. The fall after school conferences will be held on Thursday, Nov 6 from 2:40pm-8pm with a daytime conference on Friday, November 7 from 8am-1pm. The spring after school conferences will be held on Thursday, April 2  from 2:40pm-8pm with a daytime conference on Friday, April 3 from 8am-1pm. Interpreters and transportation will be provided as needed.
• Information on students’ reading in K-3, if not at grade level: Teachers will inform parents if their child/ren are not reading at grade level. Grade level teachers meet twice a week with the building coach and principal as a Professional Learning Community (PLC) to assess individual performance based on benchmark testing and daily student performance.
• Academic Family Nights: The Heights’ Family Nights are designed with an academic focus in mind. Standards and expectations for students to achieve academic success will be addressed at each event. Grade Level Parent Guides will be available. Parents will be given information and activity kits to help their child/ren learn at home
• The 2025-26 Academic Family Nights are as follows

        October 30, 2025: Family STEM Night & Title I Annual Mtg

        March 19, 2026: Family Reading Night

Families can help build reading skills at home in K-3, if not at grade level in the following ways: Families are encouraged to have their child/ren read thirty minutes every night. Classroom teachers will send home family reading tips in their classroom newsletter. Information will be available at literacy-based Family Nights. Students can check out materials from The Heights’ media center. The librarians from the Hayden Heights Library provide information about Homework Help and digital resources for families to use at home.

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 clerk
• iPads use at The Heights: Students/families will fill out the technology use agreement. Technology resources will be added to math and literacy family academic nights. Technology resources and information regarding how iPads support classroom instruction will be shared at conferences.
• Schoology Implementation at The Heights: Staff will be given the information to create a school-wide page that will be used for staff communication and resources.

Many before- and after-school enrichment and support opportunities are available for students

• The Heights provides EDL (Extended Day Learning) after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Community Partnerships

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

• Rec Check at Hayden Heights and Hazel Recreation Centers
• Hayden Heights Library
• 3M
• St. Paul Parks & Rec “No School Days Program”
• Hill-Murray High School Helpers
• Habitat for Humanity – Preston Powless - preston.powless@tchabitat.org

This plan is available as part of our school’s SCIP, or School Comprehensive Improvement Plan at spps.org/scip, is on our school website at spps.org/heights, and printed copies are available in the office and parent resource room 2309.