Family and Community Engagement (FACE)

Renton School District engages family and community at the district, school, and classroom level.  Family & Community Engagement is embedded in our district strategic framework and in each building's School Improvement Plan (SIP).

We believe family engagement has a positive effect on student achievement and supports the District mission that each student graduates with options and is prepared to fully participate in our democracy. We will know we have achieved authentic family engagement when students and families feel their cultures are valued and when all families experience trusting and respectful relationships, meaningful communication, and collaborative partnerships.

Trusting Relationships

Respect is at the root of trusting relationships.  Building trusting relationships is ongoing, two-way, and starts from day one. Trust is fostered by creating a welcoming and inclusive environment, listening, transparent communication, and valuing the background and culture of families. Honoring the dignity and expertise of families creates understanding and connections. Trusting relationships should be consistently apparent in every engagement.

Family and School Culture

Culture fosters a sense of belonging. Everyone exists within multiple cultures. Culture influences our day-to-day actions, values, beliefs, and interactions. Cultural respect, understanding, and dialogue are essential for positive student sense of self and academic achievement.

Meaningful Communication

Effective communication is our effort to respect and understand one another. It is essential for all voices to be heard. Active listening is necessary for mutual understanding. Communication must be ongoing, two-way, and accessible for all in languages and forms that reach each member of the community.

Collaborative Partnerships

Collaborative Partnerships occur when all voices (students, staff, family, and community) respectfully plan together to support student achievement.  We seek diverse perspectives, input from those impacted, and we create priorities together.  Conversation is connected to action and leads to meaningful solutions.  Expectations, responsibilities, and accountability are shared.  Collaborative Partnerships play to everyone’s strengths.

You are Invited!

The Renton School District FACE Roundtable is a network of parents and staff building representatives that share promising family and community engagement practices, provide mutual support, and give feedback on family engagement strategies throughout the district.

ROUNDTABLE MEMBERS

Must be a parent, family member, caregiver or guardian of a Renton Schools student, or a staff member at the district or building level.

The FACE Roundtable strives to reflect the diversity of Renton Schools.  We are actively recruiting family and staff members who represent the many communities within our schools:

• Ethnicity/race
• Language
• Gender
• Sexual Orientation
• Socio-Economic Status
• Type of Family (single parent, foster care, kinship)
• Geographic locations with the district
• Grade levels (preschool, elementary, middle, high)
• Student programs (general education, Special Education, Multilingual Services, Highly Capable, McKinney-Vento, Native American Education, etc.)

click here to SIGn-up 

Accomplishments

• Formed a shared vision of family engagement for Renton Schools
• Provided input on the RSD Vision of Instruction, family survey, social-emotional learning initiative, and more 
• Recommended best practices for inclusion in a Family Engagement Toolkit for staff
• Promoted promising building-level practices to engage families
• Highlighted parent group missions/activities

For further information email Michele Starkey at michele.starkey@rentonschools.us or call 425-204-2295.

Visión

Creemos que la participación familiar tiene un efecto positivo en el rendimiento estudiantil y apoya la misión del Distrito de que cada estudiante se gradúe con opciones y esté preparado/a para participar plenamente en nuestra democracia. Sabremos que hemos logrado una auténtica participación familiar cuando los estudiantes y las familias sientan que sus culturas son valoradas y cuando todas las familias experimentan relaciones de confianza y respeto, comunicación significativa y asociaciones de colaboración.

¡Usted está Invitado/a!

La Mesa Redonda FACE del Distrito Escolar de Renton es una red de padres y representantes del personal del edificio que comparten prácticas prometedoras de participación familiar y comunitaria, se apoyan mutuamente y dan su opinión sobre las estrategias de participación familiar en todo el distrito.

MIEMBROS DE LA MESA REDONDA

Debe ser un padre/madre, miembro de la familia, cuidador o tutor de un estudiante de las escuelas de Renton, o un miembro del personal a nivel del distrito o del edificio.

La Mesa Redonda FACE se esfuerza por reflejar la diversidad de las escuelas de Renton.  Estamos reclutando activamente a miembros de la familia y del personal que representen a las muchas comunidades dentro de nuestras escuelas:

• Etnicidad/raza
• Idioma
• Género
• Orientación sexual
• Situación socioeconómica
• Tipo de familia (monoparental, cuidado tutelar, parentesco)
• Ubicación geográfica dentro del distrito
• Niveles de grado (preescolar, primaria, secundaria, preparatoria)
• Programas para estudiantes (educación general, Educación Especial, Servicios Multilingües, Altamente Capaz, McKinney-Vento, Educación para Nativos Americanos, etc.)

Presione aquí para inscribirse  

Logros

• Formulación de una visión compartida de cómo puede ser el compromiso familiar en el Distrito Escolar de Renton
• Aportar información al distrito (sobre la encuesta familiar, el aprendizaje a distancia, el aprendizaje socioemocional, el CTE, etc.) 
• Contribuir a la creación de un Conjunto de Herramientas de Participación Familiar para el personal
• Compartir prácticas prometedoras a nivel del edificio para involucrar a las familias
• Proporcionar a los grupos de padres oportunidades para compartir su misión/actividades

Para más información, envíe un correo electrónico a Michele Starkey a michele.starkey@rentonschools.us o llame al 425-204-2295.

Renton Schools engages families and the community in a variety of ways at the district and building level.  To find out more about family engagement opportunities at your school, contact your teacher or principal.  To learn about district-level opportunities, contact Michele Starkey at michele.starkey@rentonschools.us or 425-204-2295.

District

• Renton Innovation Zone (RIZ) Family & Community Engagement
• The Family and Engagement (FACE) Roundtable
• Title I Parent Group
• CTE Advisories
• Meetings for Multilingual (ML) Families

Pre-K

• Meadow Crest Early Learning Center: Monthly parent meetings for ECEAP and renewed PTA

Elementary

• Benson Hill Elementary:  Family Connection Conferences, Student-led Conferences, weekly family E-News newsletter through Smores, and family communication with the Remind App. Families included in mid-year data review and process for creating the SIP for next school year (new for 2024!)
• Bryn Mawr Elementary: Family Resource Room, Partnership Coordinator & Engagement Specialist, Parent Volunteer Training, SNAP-Ed partnership for school garden parties
• Cascade: Bilingual Family Support Specialist (Thursdays), August/September Family Connection Conferences, Family Learning Night, Muffins and Math, Writing Celebrations, Fall Parent-Teacher Conferences, Annual Grade Level Music Concerts, STEM Night (March); Coffee with the Principals (twice a year) and Open House/Art Walk
• Hazelwood Elementary: Family/Community Volunteer Trainings; PTSA’s Meet the Masters Art and Garden Program; Counselor SEL Workshops for Families; Recess Volunteers Program; Backpack Brigade; Salvation Army
• Highlands Elementary: Renton Parent University, quarterly schoolwide family events
• Honey Dew Elementary: Parent-Teacher Teams
• Lakeridge Elementary:  Family Resource Room, Partnership Coordinator & Engagement Specialist, Parent Onboarding Volunteer Training, Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Meetings (every other month), Parent Academies (Parents learn from our coaches in the areas of SEL, Math, and Literacy alongside our principal and partner together to support learners and give at home resources to bridge the gap between school and home), Backpack Brigade, Quarterly Afterschool Programs, Team Read Program, December Toy Giveaway Drive,  and Resource Fairs during Family Events (every other month). 
• Maplewood Heights Elementary: Parent Engagement for Gates Early Learning Math Grant
• Renton Park: Family & Community Engagement (FACE) Team, subcommittee of the School Improvement Plan (SIP) team; Engagement Specialist 
• Talbot Hill Elementary: PTA, Student-Led Conferences, Backpack Brigade, Family Resource Room (food, clothing, hygiene items, resources), Multicultural Night
• Tiffany Park Elementary: Beginning of Year Family Connections meetings K-5, Open forums with administrators during conference week, Family Resource Room 

Middle Schools

• Dimmitt Middle School: Student Led Conferences, Family Partnership Meetings (monthly), School Improvement Team (SIT) -- seeking family and student addition to the team
• McKnight Middle School: Family & Community Engagement Teacher Leader, Community Café events, Student-Led Conferences
• Nelsen Middle School:  Familias Unidas meetings with Spanish-speaking families and the principal (100% in Spanish)

High Schools

• Renton High School: Multicultural Week and Show
• Talley High School:  Student-Led Conferences, Lunch with Principals with Current and Prospective Students, National African American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID), IGNITE Women in STEM Event

K-12

• Renton Academy: Fall Feast (Nov), Ongoing monthly "Removing Barriers" SIP group meetings that interested families could attend, Student/Team Conferences (Nov)

The Natural Leaders Program is an opportunity for parents and family members to grow their leadership and serve as multi-cultural bridges within their schools and community.  The Natural Leaders Program is supported by the Washington Alliance for Better Schools (WABS) in partnership with Renton Schools.  Natural Leaders are parents and family members that represent the cultural and linguistic diversity of the school community and are trained to help connect families, community, and schools.

If you are interested in becoming a Natural Leader or helping to start a Natural Leaders program at your school, please fill out the Natural Leaders Interest Form or contact Michele Starkey or by phone at 425-204-2295.

You may request an interpreter to help you communicate either over the phone or during face-to-face conferences. The interpreter can be requested by a parent or by an RSD staff member. If you are a staff member, please talk to your office manager about the procedure. If you are a parent, please let your child's teacher know if you would like to use an interpreter, and she or he will make arrangements.  Parents may also call the language hotline (Audita Brockett) at 425-204-2299 for assistance in Spanish and other languages.