Enhanced Parent and Family Outreach and Involvement

Student and Family Instructional Support Centers

The Student and Family Instructional Support Centers (SFISC) promote and support connections between parents, schools, and community agencies so all can become full partners in the education of our children. Services and information provided by each SFISC include:

• Information on curriculum standards for parents, out of school time providers, and community agencies
• Direct student and family assistance
• Information about and access to community services (e.g., health, social services, housing) and resources
• Family outreach and education
• Support and enhancement of community partnerships with schools
• Assistance with grant development for school-community partnership programs

Boston Connects supports two Student and Family Instructional Support Centers in Cluster 5 of the Boston Public Schools--one in Allston-Brighton and one in Mission Hill. Contact information for these centers is provided below.

Boston Public Schools Satellite Registration Center

The Boston Public Schools Satellite Registration reflects a collaborative effort between the Boston Public Schools and Boston Connects. The intent of this joint effort is to give parents and families a local, year-round school registration site.

Registration is open the first and third Thursday of every month from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm in the Boston Connects office in the Jackson-Mann Complex. During peak periods (usually the 3rd week in January), registration is open all day, every day for one week.

First Steps to Academic Success: A Transition to School Program for Parents and Children

Through the First Steps to Academic Success Transition to School Program, Boston Connects seeks to help students and families make a positive transition to school and both welcome and engage new families in the education of their children. In doing so, Boston Connects seeks to remove barriers to learning and help students become academically, socially, and emotionally successful.

The First Steps program is centered on five primary objectives:

1. Individual Student and Family Contact:
   Boston Connects will individually contact each of the families of new students in eight elementary schools in Cluster Five to welcome them and answer transition to school questions.
    
2. Parent and Student Intake Interviews:
   Boston Connects will conduct in person parent and student intake interviews to assess student and family needs for a positive transition to school.
    
3. Service and Resource Referrals:
   Boston Connects will connect students and families to community and school based services to address barriers to learning and student and family needs.
    
4. Welcome Packets:
   Boston Connects will work with cluster five schools to provide students and families with welcome packets containing valuable school and community information and other resources.
    
5. School Based Welcome Events:
   Boston Connects School Based Coordinators will work with the individual schools to design and host welcome events at the start of school.

Cluster Five Boston Public Schools have collaborated with Boston Connects over the past four years to put a system in place through which Boston Connects staff can help coordinate and provide school and family supports. Using this structure, Boston Connects and Cluster Five school staff will be able to sustain the work begun through the First Steps to Academic Success Program and continue engaging and coordinating resources for students and families throughout the students’ elementary school experience.

Parent Trainings

Boston Connects School Coordinators have collaborated with schools and community agencies to offer parent workshops on topics of interest including Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), Social Skills training, and community resources.