Parent Resources

Curious about what your student is learning?
Click here to access David Douglas School District Curriculum and Instruction website.

Homeless Liaison
If your family is experiencing housing difficulty due to economic hardship, your child may be eligible for special resources and services. For more information, contact Florence Protopapas, Title X Liaison at 503-261-8238, florence_protopapas@ddouglas.k12.or.us

Tips for getting to school on time!
Click here to view tips for getting your student to school regularly and on time.

All Elementary Students
There is a one-time $20 supply fee per child. This fee is for consumable supplies that will be used throughout the year. It replaces the usual supply list.

Please DO NOT purchase any supplies or send any supplies from home. Your child’s teacher will purchase supplies over the summer. This fee is NOT optional.

A community supply method will be used. There are many benefits to this method for the parent, child, and classroom teacher. It will save parents money because we are able to buy in bulk, allowing us to purchase a larger variety and better quality of supplies. Students feel more equality because all supplies are the same color, style, size, etc. Students also learn many social skills from sharing supplies. By purchasing supplies over the summer, our classrooms are set up and ready for the first day of school with the supplies that are needed.

SMART® (Start Making A Reader Today) is a statewide nonprofit program that pairs caring adults with children in kindergarten through third grade. SMART is looking for volunteers at Gilbert Heights, Menlo Park, and Mill Park Elementary Schools to read just one hour per week with two children from October through May. Children in SMART discover that it’s fun to read and show more interest in learning. To make a difference at these schools and in your community, call 971-634-1616 or visit www.getsmartoregon.org and help start making a reader today!

Recognizing and Preventing Gang Involvement

This quick reference guide provides common warning signs of gang involvement, as compiled by the US Dept. of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Parents should look for multiple signs to indicate possible gang involvement because some of these indicators alone, such as clothes or musical preferences, are also common among youth not involved in gangs. Parents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with local gang symbols, seek help early, and consider contacting school personnel, local law enforcement, faith leaders and community organizations for additional assistance.

Warning Signs that your Child may be Involved with a Gang:

Admits to “hanging out” with kids in gangs.

Be sure your children are at school every day. Good attendance is needed to do well in school and to do well on tests. Be sure your children arrive at school on time, well rested, and well nourished.

Take an interest in your children's school work. When children and parents talk regularly about school, children perform better academically. Provide a healthy and stress-free home environment for your children.

Don't give your children unnecessary stress by overemphasizing tests. Give your children verbal encouragement. Help boost your children's self esteem. Provide emotional support, especially during critical testing periods.

What is family involvement in education?
Family involvement in education is defined as the active participation of parents, family members or other caring adults in the education of children through: academic support, advocacy, and partnership in the school system. The ultimate goal of family involvement is to effectively contribute to student success in school and life. Researchers and educators have long acknowledged a strong link between family involvement and children’s success in school. Studies have shown that school-family-community partnership programs enjoy improved student achievement, attendance, and fewer discipline problems.

How can families get involved?

Are you curious about volunteering in schools? This might be a great time to take some first steps in that direction. Doing so will help you build a positive home-school connection and it will help students reach their full potential! Our schools are ALWAYS in need of extra hands and caring families to help with student success. There are many ways parents and families can volunteer their time and talents - here are just a few:

1. Tell stories to students
2. Small group activities (reading, correcting papers with students, projects)
3. Work on flash card drills with students
4. Play instructional games
5. Play games at recess
6. Prepare visual materials
7. Prepare bulletin boards
8. Help students study spelling words

As a parent, one of the most important interactions you will have with your student's teacher is at the Parent-Teacher Conference. This is your chance to find out directly from his or her teacher how your student is doing, what his or her strengths are, and what they need to work on.

Would you like your child to do better in school? If so, it's time to talk about time - yours and how you spend it. We know you're already busy. We also know that your child's educational success doesn't only depend on what we do at school. It depends on you, too. In fact, numerous studies have concluded that student achievement is positively influenced by community involvement and support.

How can you fit involvement in your child's education into an already busy schedule? Here are some ideas:

Here you will find links to web sites with art projects, worksheets, quizzes, puzzles, flashcards and games.

Artyfactory.com - ideas and techniques designed to improve artistic skills.

The Cleveland Museum of Art - CMA Kids - art projects, games & quizzes.

Origami Projects - paper folding activities for kids.

Young adolescents embrace new technology - the Internet, cell phones, camcorders and iPods - as ways to keep current and in touch with their friends. While computers and other electronic devices come with warranties, they rarely come with proper use manuals. Used improperly, these dream gadgets can become parents and teachers worst nightmares. We find this especially with the Internet and sites like MySpace.com, Schoolscandal.com, and xanga.com to be exact.

Yesterday's bully morphs into the cyberbully. Hiding behind multiple screen names and the anonymity provided by the Internet, the cyberbully uses hateful emails, nasty instant messages and cruel Web pages to tease and torment others.

FOR RUSSIAN TRANSLATION PLEASE SEE ATTACHMENT

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION
DAVID DOUGLAS SCHOOL DISTRICT
TITLE I PARENT INVOLVEMENT POLICY

David Douglas School District will:

1. Take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its
district wide parental involvement policy:
• Include parent representation from the onset of the development
• Hold an accessible meeting(s) with parents and guardians to develop and
review the parental involvement policy.
• Conduct parent meeting(s) to review and update the policy yearly.

2. Take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and
improvement under section 1116 of the No Child Left Behind Act:

PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES
Whether your student is in elementary, middle, or high school, parent-teacher conferences are an important opportunity to discuss how your child is doing in school. It is also an opportunity to strengthen the partnership with your child’s teacher.

Here are some tips to keep in mind as you prepare for your conference:

• Look over recent assignments and test grades so that you know how your child has been performing in class.