Family Engagement Guide
Hello Eastside Families,
I am entering my 18th year as Principal at Eastside Elementary. I have always felt that the Eastside Community provides AWESOME support for staff and students. THANK YOU! The following information is our Eastside Caregiver Engagement Plan for 2024-25.
To understand how working together can benefit your child, it is first important to understand the district’s and school’s vision, mission, and goals for student academic achievement.
Sun Prairie School District Vision: Recognized as a high-performing district of choice that reflects the cultures of our diverse community.
Sun Prairie School District Mission: Inspire and prepare every child, every day by providing relevant, engaging, and innovative learning experiences in and out of the classroom.
At Eastside Elementary, we believe:
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Our school culture is developed by teaching our 4 themes of Safe, Ownership, Respectful, Responsible.
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Your role as family members in helping teach our themes will also enhance the culture at Eastside.
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You should feel welcome at Eastside both during the school day and for special events. If you do not, please reach out to your teacher, Ms. Freeman or Mr. “C”.
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In open communication between school and you. We want you to feel comfortable contacting school and we also want to feel comfortable contacting you when needed.
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It is our responsibility and your responsibility to listen first and work together to create a plan that best serves students and families.
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Families play an integral role in their child’s learning. We value and accept families as they are and believe they are doing the best they can as families and advocates for their children.
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You will be treated as partners in doing what is best for your students
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We will work with you to improve student achievement.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Who should I go to if I have a question about my child’s education? Please start with your child’s classroom teacher. When needed, the teacher can give you contact information of other staff members that may be needed to help create a plan to help your child succeed.
How can you be involved at Eastside?
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Our Eastside School Community Organization (ESCO) meets monthly on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in our MPR. All Eastside families members are welcome to attend the meetings.
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Attend Caregiver/Teacher Conferences:
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Teachers will send out a SignUpGenius prior to conferences.
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Conference weeks are: Oct. 21st - 25th and Feb. 24th - 28th
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Participate in the Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads Of Great Students) program - watch for information in early September.
How to support EQUITY?
Eastside is committed to working directly with our ESCO board so that activities and fundraisers are equitable for students and families. Our ESCO board is aligned with the District Parent Leadership Council’s commitment to equity across our district. The District PLC is working on establishing a set of shared experiences for all students so that all SPASD students will have access to similar and consistent educational experiences.
How will the school share monthly news? Eastside links our monthly newsletter to the Eastside website at the beginning of each month and it will be sent home via Blackboard Connect.
Our ESCO monthly newsletter is linked to our Eastside Webpage, linked to the ESCO Facebook page and will be sent home via Blackboard Connect.
Teachers will communicate with you in a variety and combination of the following ways: Email, phone, Facebook, Seesaw or Class Dojo. Please let your teacher know if you have a preferred method of contact.
School-wide and ESCO event information and reminders will be sent home via a combination of the following: Blackboard Connect, our school’s Web page and ESCO’s Facebook page. The following are examples of events/reminders:
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Picture Day - Sept. 18th
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Picture Retake Day - Oct. 16th
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ESCO Meetings - 2nd Tuesday of the month - 6:30 p.m.
What should you do if you have a concern, question, or great idea? If it is a classroom concern, please contact your child’s teacher first. If you are not sure where to start, please call our main office for assistance at (608) 834-7403.
Attendance: Please call the attendance line (608) 834-7400 and press #1 as well as call the classroom teacher.
Why is attendance important?
It is the caregivers’ legal obligation as Parent/Guardian to ensure their child from the age of 6-18 attends school regularly (Wis. Stat. sec. 118.16). Regular attendance greatly impacts academic success starting as early as preschool, continuing through high school years. Parents/Guardians play a key role in helping their child succeed with being able to get to school on time. Please take priority in ensuring your child's daily attendance.
School Hours
School hours for elementary students are 7:40 am - 2:40 pm (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday), and 7:40 am - 1:30 pm (Thursday). Students may come to school at 7:30 am or after, as supervisors are on duty at that time. All Sun Prairie Schools offer breakfast at the start of school.
The last day of the school year is Thursday, June 12th.
Absence/Tardy Guidelines for Sun Prairie Elementary Schools
Regular school attendance helps students succeed. All nine elementary schools in our district recognize this and follow Wisconsin Statute 118.16 and School Board Procedure JE-R, Student Attendance Procedures. If students are absent or tardy, there needs to be an acceptable excuse for missing school.
If a parent/guardian knows their child will need to miss school for an appointment, the school will need a phone call, email, or written note that includes the absence date(s) and reason in advance of the absence.
Parents/guardians may excuse students from school for up to 10 days during a school year (five days per semester). Parents/guardians will be contacted when the school has concerns about a student’s attendance.
Reporting Absences
Student safety is very important to us! A parent/guardian MUST call the school attendance line before 9:00 am if their child will not be attending school or will be late that day.
If a student does not come to school and the parent/guardian has not called the attendance line by 9:00 a.m., a safe arrival call will be made and the child’s absence may be listed as unexcused.
We may ask for a written or medical excuse when the child comes back to school.
Parents/guardians may report an absence 24 hours a day. Call the school attendance number at 834-7400 and press 1.
If a parent/guardian needs to pick up their child during the school day, it’s important that parents come to Door 1 by the SCHOOL OFFICE to meet the child and sign them out before leaving the building.
GO EAGLES!
Yours in education,
Craig Coulthart (Mr. “C”), Principal
608-834-7401
Katie Freeman, Associate Principal
608-834-7460
krfreem@sunprairieschools.org
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