FACTS partners with the Jefferson-Lewis Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to provide comprehensive training, information, and support to teachers and school personnel to build family-school partnerships and family involvement programs.
- Professional development includes workshops, assistance in developing
school partnership teams, early childhood services and supporting school-based family liaisons.
Professional Development
Workshops, Webinars and On Line Trainings
Professional Development Workshops
The New York State Parental Information & Resource Center (PIRC) provides free training and technical
assistance
to schools and community agencies regarding family engagement. Topics cover a broad range
of issues
related to working with families and new topics can be created upon request.
- For more information or to schedule a workshop contact:
Deanna Lothrop
PIRC School Coordinator
Jefferson-Lewis BOCES
779-7071
dlothrop@mail.boces.com
- WORKSHOPS, WEBINARS AND ON LINE TRAINING TOPICS:
- The Challenges of Working With Parents Webinar
The purpose of this webinar is to provide teachers, school administrators, and paraprofessionals, the tools to develop positive relationships with parents and to improve student academic achievement by increasing family engagement.
Presenters: Carol West, Project Director NYSPIRC and Deanna Lothrop, School Coordinator/BOCES/NYSPIRC
Click here to view
Creating Family Friendly Schools
What type of first impressions do parents and visitors find when they visit your school building? Learn how schools
can create a culture where parents and students feel welcomed and feel like they are a part of your school community.
Successful family friendly practices that will help increase effective interactions between schools and families will be shared. Participants will view a virtual tour of a family friendly school and learn creative ways to make their school
more welcoming for families.
View this on line (slide show) training: Creating Family Friendly Schools
- Best Practices for Engaging Families
Research has shown that when parents are involved, students have higher grades, test scores, and graduation rates,
better school attendance, increased motivation, lower rates of suspension, decreased use of drugs and alcohol, and
fewer instances of violent behaviors. This workshop will discuss strategies and best practices for forming successful partnerships with families and helping them to identify ways they can be involved in the education of their children. Strategies for how schools can meet Title I requirements for parental involvement will also be discussed.
- Working With Families in Poverty
This workshop will focus on the culture of poverty in our society. Learn about the “hidden rules” among classes and how
to identify interventions that are effective in helping children and families succeed. Participants will learn creative ways of building relationships with parents in order to help improve student achievement.
- Working With Low Literacy Adults
This workshop will focus on the challenges and rewards that school personnel face when working with low literacy
parents. Find effective ways to work with low literacy parents in order to assist them and their children to be successful. Topics to be discussed include:
- What is literacy?
- Characteristics of low literacy adults
- Social and physical contributors to illiteracy
- How to meet the needs of low literacy parents
- What is literacy?
- Strategies for Dealing with Difficult Parents
This workshop will focus on strategies for dealing with the most hard-to-handle parents. Learn how to effectively
manage even the most difficult parents while still delivering your message. You will learn practical, innovative methods
of communicating with parents so that you can move from conflict to cooperation.
- Supporting Children from Military Families
This workshop focuses on the unique issues facing military youth that are dealing with deployment or reintegration of a parent or loved one. This workshop will offer insight into the deployment cycle and the emotional effects on children and their families. This workshop will help schools find ways to support military children and their families in the community.
- Meeting Title I Parent Involvement Requirements
New York Parent Information and Resource Centers (PIRC) exist to help schools strengthen parental involvement.
Find out how PIRC can help your school meet federal Title I requirements. Parent involvement policies and compacts
will be discussed and successful best practices will be shared.
- Using Music and Movement to Increase Literacy Skills
This interactive workshop will explore new and creative strategies that encourage and support early literacy in your preschool through 2nd grade classrooms. We will use Dr. Jean, Raffi and other early childhood music to learn the
most effective strategies in applying research to practice for teaching early literacy skills. These fun and exciting
activities can be shared with parents to assist them in engaging in their child's education.
Additional workshop topics can be provided upon request.
To schedule a workshop, please email the School Coordinator or call (315) 779-7071.
To view other professional development workshops in Jefferson County, visit the Jefferson-Lewis Teacher Center.
School Action Teams
School Partnership Teams
FACTS is available to assist schools in creating school partnership teams comprised of parents, students, teachers, school administrators and community members.
Partnership teams work to develop effective parental involvement polices as well as to develop information packets for distribution to all families who enroll in the district. These packets can include parent involvement polices, school discipline policies, code of ethics and other information that each school feels is appropriate.
More about School Partnership Teams
For more information, contact the FACTS School Coordinator at (315) 779-7071.
Early Childhood Services
Kindergarten readiness is impacted by the lack of quality preschool programs in the area. The FACTS School Coordinator is available to work with school districts to expand or establish early childhood programs.
For more information, call the FACTS School Coordinator at (315) 779-7071.
There are Family Liaisons located at Ohio Street Elementary School (Watertown School District, Watertown, NY) and at Calcium Primary School (Indian River School District, Philadelphia, NY). For more information about the duties and/or developing a Family Liaison position at your school, please contact us.