FAMILY & COMMUNITY E(ngagement) UPDATE: MAY 2019
Greetings! E(ngagement) Updates keep you informed of the latest Family and Community Engagement
resources and information. Please share with your districts!
Happening This Month
May is… Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month
Physical Fitness and Sports Month
May 6-10 Teacher Appreciation Week
May 7 National Teacher Day
May 8 Communicating with Students: Reaching a Forgotten Audience webinar
May 12 Happy Mother’s Day
May 10 Whole Child Leon: 5
th Annual Community Summit on Children, Tallahassee, FL
May 14 Living with ESSA’s Changes webinar
May 21 Education Insights: 2019 Legislative Session Recap webinar
May 29-31 FL Office of Attorney General National Conference on Preventing Crime, Tampa, FL
May 31 Memorial Day
Upcoming Events
June 4-6 National Fatherhood Summit, Nashville, TN

June 14 Five Star School Award Nominations due
June 17-19 Hope 4 The Wounded 2019 Conference: Reaching Children Beyond At-Risk, Columbus, OH
June 28 Golden and Silver School Award Nomination window closes *Deadline Extended*
July 18-21 Florida PTA’s Annual Leadership Convention 2019, Palm Harbor, FL
July 20 District School Volunteer Program Annual Survey due
Nov 4-6 2019 Families Learning Conference, Louisville, KY
Nov 18-20 2019 Educational Strategies & Student Engagement Institute (ESSEI) & Fall Leadership *Save the Date*
News & Information
Teacher Appreciation Week - For great ideas to honor teachers this week, check out: Teacher
Appreciation week Ideas for Every Day and 38 Teacher Appreciation Ideas They’ll Love.
Family and Community Involvement Award - Congratulations to all district winners of the Family and Community
Involvement Award! Thank you for sharing your innovative programs with us. State winners will be announced soon!
Five Star School Award – Applications for the Five Star School Award may be submitted at: fceawards@fldoe.org.

Certificates will be issued from submissions, so please ensure accuracy.
Bureau of Family & Community Outreach (BFCO) Calendar – The 2019-2020 BFCO calendar is now available! Please
use the attached calendar as a resource for your districts to include relevant conferences and initiativesrelated to family
and community involvement, recognition program dates, and survey deadlines.
Golden and Silver School Awards - Applications for the Golden and Silver School Awards may be submitted online
through June 28. Certificates will be issued from submissions, so please ensure accuracy. NOTE: The deadline
for Golden and Silver School Awards has been extended through June 28!
EduData Beta Test Site - Florida’s education reports portal, EduData, has been released in beta version with 2017-18
School and District Report Cards. Redesigned to meet Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements,
the report cards offer transparency for how the state, districts and schools are doing. Parents and
educators are encouraged to review EduData and provide feedback on content and functionality.
Exceptional Student Education (ESE) Parent Survey – The annual Florida Department of Education ESE Survey is open
now through May 31 for all parents of children with an individual educational plan (IEP) receiving ESE services from

preschool through grade 12. States collect this data as part of their State Performance Plan as required under the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) Act.
Florida Standards Review Portal - The Florida Standards Review site is now LIVE.”

Stakeholders are encouraged to
provide feedback by suggesting: Keep, Move, Eliminate or Revise standards.
Grants
2019 Toyota Family Teacher of the Year Award recognizes teachers who engage families in school- and community?based educational programming. The National Center for Families Learning is committed to promoting winning
educators’ success by sharing participating family stories and highlighting the impact of the first place $20,000 grant
award and the second place $5,000 grant award on the designated programs. Application deadline: June 14, 2019.
Florida Farm to School Sponsor Program, an initiative of the Department of Agriculture, was created to enhance the
connection that communities have with local growers to increase Florida products served in school, offer healthier
options for Florida’s children and get students involved in nutrition. Deadline for grant application is May 31, 2019.
Mary Lou Anderson Reflections Arts Enhancement Grant, sponsored by the National PTA, provides local PTAs the
opportunity to match dollars with that of school and community partners to accomplish innovative arts education
projects. Application deadline: June 30, 2019.

Resources
Eliminate summer learning loss and earn prizes with Learning Ally’s Summer Reading Together!

Bookshare’s summer reading program provides access to Collaborative Summer Library Program books
with FREE audio, braille, and other books for students with disabilities.
NOTE: If your district has a summer reading initiative, please forward details to justread@fldoe.org to be
added to the Just Read, Florida! website.
Summer BreakSpot, a federally-funded program established to fill the summer hunger gap, provides nutritious meals
at no cost to children 18 and under during the summer months. Meal sites are located at parks, libraries and churches
and offer breakfast, lunch, snacks or dinner.
The Parent and Educator Guide to School Climate Resources, produced by the U.S. Department of Education on
recommendations of the Federal Commission on School Safety, provides resources for parents and educators as they
work to achieve a positive school climate, reduce disciplinary issues, and enhance school safety.
Attendance Works has developed a variety of tools and resources for partners to take action in efforts to reduce
absenteeism including families and family organizations, volunteers and national services, business leaders, and more.

Early Matters: Integrating Attendance into Kindergarten Transition, a new toolkit released by Attendance Works,
includes key strategies, downloadable resources, and inspiring examples from around the country.
The Red Carpet Treatment tool, developed by Project Appleseed: the National Campaign for Public School
Improvement, is a family-friendly walk through process providing an opportunity to identify ways schools
can create a more welcoming environment for families.

Families, including parents of children with
disabilities, community members, school board members, educators, and administrators are asked to
consider looking at the school through the lenses of all of the families who attend that school.
Build Initiative offers a Family Engagement Toolkit for families, teachers, principals and districts leaders to support
family involvement in the formative assessment process. Resources included in the toolkit are targeted towards family
engagement and an authentic family-school partnership throughout the early elementary years.
FindMyCollegeMajor.org is a tool offered by the Florida College System Foundation including a one-stop resource for
students to explore the programs at colleges of interest, obtain information about related occupations, and explore
current career opportunities.

Additional career and college exploration resources are available as well.
From Report to Results, part of the National PTA’s Education Data resources, assists parents in finding and interpreting
education data, such as district and school report cards including data about school environment, demographics and
performance on the state, local and school level.

Research
Identify Which Products Teens Are Vaping. The teen e-cigarette epidemic has taken many by surprise, and the rise in
teen use is nothing to take lightly. Check out this timely video and share with families.
The Center for Family Engagement and the Global Family Research Project offer the latest research on how parents can
support their child’s and school’s success. Discover five ways families, teachers, schools and communities can work
together to support students and schools in Why Family Engagement Matters for Student and School Success.
Coordinator Spotlight
Sara Almond has served as the Communications & Engagement Coordinator with Brevard Public
Schools since November 2017. Coming from a public relations and community outreach
background, mainly for non-profit organizations, Sara has been amazed by the number of non?profits and committees in her community that exist to provide resources and bridge gaps for
Brevard Schools. Although Sara’s department is small within a large district, she thrives on the
continued growth of the Partners in Education program with an addition of a stronger emphasis
on faith-based groups and non-profits becoming official members. Her favorite projects are Family Resource Night and
serving on the Students in Transition (homeless students) task force. Sara’s proudest moment was Brevard County
winning an award at the state level in 2018, for Family Resource Night, a first-time program in which the then?Superintendent went “on the road” to more impoverished areas of the county to hold Town Hall meetings for families
who often struggle to make typical school meetings. The turnout of families, local officials, faith-based groups and non?profit organization was excellent. Sara coupled these meetings with small resource fairs to place resources directly in
the hands of families at the event. Having lived in 13 different countries, Sara has a unique perspective on her work.
Away from the office, Sara enjoys time with family and friends, reading, cooking and traveling with her husband.
We’re Listening!
As always, we look forward to collaboration and open communication! Thank you for helping us keep accurate records
and improve our processes to better serve you through our feedback and contact update link!
Contact your Family and Community Engagement Team:
Bonita Hampton, Director, Bonita.Hampton@fldoe.org, 850-245-0842
Cindy Huffman, Educational Consultant, Cindy.Huffman@fldoe.org, 850-245-7858
Kim Ward, Program Specialist, Kim.Ward@fldoe.org, 850-245-0677
Jazmine Mizzell, Program Specialist, Jazmine.Mizzell@fldoe.org, 850-245-3266
Please share staff contact information changes and feedback here.
Have information to share in upcoming E(ngagement) Updates? Let us know!
*Disclaimer: Links provided for information and reference.

The Florida Department of Education does not endorse a specific program or source.

April 26, 2019:  MSE students, teachers, and parents alike enjoyed themselves during the annual Special Olympics program on Friday, April 26th.

In February, Governor DeSantis issued an executive order to ensure Florida has the best academic standards in the nation. This mandate directs the Education Commissioner to review the academic standards for Florida's K-12 students and provide recommended revisions. They are asking for public opinion and general comments to be submitted at www.fldoe.org/standardsreview. The department will use the recommendations submitted through this process to develop new proposed standards to be submitted to Governor DeSantis. Please consider taking a few minutes to voice your concerns and share your suggestions

Walton Middle School invites the families of next school year's sixth grade students to attend "Middle School Jump" on Thursday, May 2, 2019, from 6:00-8:00.  At this Title 1 parent training event, WMS administration, faculty, and even students will help incoming sixth graders get a jump-start on what it takes to be successful middle school students.  Free dinner and childcare will be provided.  WMS can't wait to meet the families of its new Warriors!