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Parent Meeting

Agua Caliente Elementary

Palm Springs Unified School District

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Vision

A community where all kids get a great education that prepares them for college and career.

Mission

Think Together partners with schools to change the odds for kids.

THINK TOGETHER

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90^%

think there’s an adult that cares about them at Think Together

80^%

know the careers they can have after high school.

are confident

college is an

option for them.

enjoy learning about STEM in Think Together

85^%

91^%

Student Feedback

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BE SAFE

Staff Conduct
Personal Property
Emergency Procedures & Contacts
Authorized Release of Students Policy
Parent Conduct

Think Together is committed to providing a Safe & Supportive environment

Staff Conduct:

Think Together is committed to providing a Safe & Supportive environment. Therefore, all employees are expected to conduct themselves in an ethical and lawful manner. Any misconduct should be immediately reported to Site Coordinator and/or Quality Assurance Coach.

Staff contact with students outside of program:

For the protection of our staff and students, Think Together does not tolerate, promote, or in any manner allow socializing or association with program participants outside of Think Together normal operating hours or activities. Additionally, Think Together employees are not allowed to walk students home or provide them with transportation from programs or to and from any other event.

Personal Property:
Students should refrain from bringing personal property to Think Together. Think Together is not responsible for lost, stolen, and broken property.

Emergency Procedures & Contacts:
In order to support the well-being of each student enrolled in the Think Together program it is important that parents make program staff aware of any medical conditions, allergies, and/or special needs that may affect their student during program hours. Medical information previously shared with school-day faculty and staff may not have been made available to Think Together program staff, so it imperative that all necessary information be shared directly with program staff.

-In the event a student suffers an illness or accident during program hours, Think Together staff may seek medical help and assistance by contacting 911 emergency services or otherwise securing treatment at a medical facility. Think Together does not provide medical treatment. Think Together staff do not administer medication, nor are Think Together staff trained medical personnel.

Authorized Release of Students Policy:
To ensure your student’s safety, students must be signed out of the program every day by an authorized adult of 18 years of age or older.
Students may be released only to those persons indicated on the Program Enrollment Application. It is the responsibility of the Parent who originally completed and submitted the Program Enrollment Application to document all persons to whom the student may be released, including Parents with shared custody rights; Think Together staff will not arbitrate custody disputes. As long as both Parents are documented as authorized release persons, the student can be released to either Parent on any day, unless documented by the courts

• It is the responsibility of the Parent who originally completed and submitted the Program Enrollment Application to provide the Site Leader with updated contact information and notice of any changes in the list of persons authorized to pick up the student (including in case of emergency). If a parent is being removed from the Program Enrollment Application, a court order must be provided which clearly and unambiguously indicates that the other parent no longer has the right to pick up the student. All changes in information must be noted on the Program Enrollment Application or in a letter from the Parent.

Parent Conduct:
Staff, students, and parents are held to the standard of Think Together agreements.
At Think Together our #1 priority is to keep students and staff physically & emotionally safe after school hours.

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Every day school is in session
After school until 6:00 PM

*Late start sites only end at 6:30 PM

Student to Staff ratio is 20:1 (10:1 for TK & K)
Free snack/supper provided daily by district
Site Program Manager & Program Staff
Site Volunteers

PROGRAM OPERATION

Program Operations:

-The law requires that the program be open every day that school is in session and that it begin when the school day ends, be open daily until 6 p.m. Sites that begin after 3:00 PM are expected to stay open for a minimum of 3 hours so their end-time may vary. Example if a site begins at 3:30 PM then the program closes at 6:30PM.

Free Snack/supper provided daily by school district

Staffing:

Site Program Manager ensures that high quality expanded learning time is provided to each student enrolled in the program. Site Leaders coordinate and support the activities Program Leaders do with the students; work with teachers, principals and other instructional-day staff to align expanded learning time activities with the students’ instructional day programs; supervise and coach staff and do some site-based training; work with Parents; and gather data to assure student safety, participation in enrichment activities and improved academic performance.

Program Leaders are part-time paraprofessionals who must meet the district’s requirements for employment under Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) guidelines. Program Leaders work directly with students under the direction of the Site Leader and go through a series of trainings given by Think Together. A Program Leader supervises and manages a single group of 20-25 students and provides homework assistance, academic enrichment, and physical activity, using curriculum and materials provided by the program.

Site volunteers are role models for our students and serve as examples to our community of how one person can male a difference. Before volunteers can support at sites, they must apply and complete the requirements available on our thinktogether.org/volunteer website

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Priorities: Spotlights & Focus Areas

Students set and achieve goals, practicing perseverance and self efficacy. Structures for voice and choice are included throughout program.

Programs build relational capacity, shared experiences, and open- communication. Community building is a daily priority.

Educational success means freedom and opportunity for our students. We hold high expectations for our students in developing skills for success.

Programming allows space and time for students to develop healthy bodies and minds.

Experiential learning broadens the world for students. Exposure, exploration, and enthusiasm is a driving force in programs.

Programs are inclusive and responsive. We ensure that all students get the support they need for success.

PROGRAM PRIORITY WHEEL:

What does a Think Together Program Prioritize?

SPOTLIGHTS

FOCUS AREAS

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WHAT WE OFFER HERE AT THINK TOGETHER

ACADEMIC AHIEVEMENT

TK/K-2nd Grade : Math, ELA, ART and STEM centers.

During this house students work on their homework. When they are finished their program leader assigns them a center to join. Rotating to the next once they have finished.

3^rd-5^th grade: Start with a 15 minute brain activity to get them started with their homework. After the 15 minutes they start on their homework. After they have finished they may start freckle which is a math and ELA school assigned app or lexia to complete some reading.

Physical Activity

TK-2^nd Grade: We offer Catch and Fulcrum Fridays. Catch is just another word for physical activity. We have three components during this time. Warm up, Activity and Cool down. During the warm up they are stretching and at the end they are doing a small cool down activity, while the PL get their feedback from the activity.

3rd-5^th grade: Similar to Tk-2^nd but we have SFS M & W and CATCH T, TH, and Fulcrum Friday.

Fulcrum is a team based activity.

Enrichment

Tk/K-2^ND grade:

* ART : painting, drawing, textures, sculpting�* STEM: research, building,

questions

READ ALOUD: focused class book, comprehension, settings, favorite character

3^rd-5^th grade:

VAPA – Visual and Performing Art; anywhere from painting, acting, drawing
STEM – Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics; Volcano projects, environments/habitat learning, building and solving problems

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Think Together believes that ultimately students themselves must commit to behaving appropriately.

STUDENT BEHAVIOR

GUIDELINES

Think Together programs have visible and clear expectations to support positive behavior. Our positive approach to Behavior Guidelines is implemented to ensure social-emotional safety of youth: Guiding behavior choices is not punitive. It is utilized to help youth recognize if the choice made was safe, respectful, responsible, and ensure that everyone is have fun.

Positive behavior guidelines- In keeping with the purpose and agreements stated above, all students are expected to observe the following behavior guidelines

Treat staff members, volunteers, and other students with respect at all times.
Follow directions given by staff members or volunteers.
Show proper respect for the buildings, grounds, equipment, and supplies.
Use language/behavior appropriate to the setting (no foul language, verbal insults, fighting, etc.).
Play in a safe manner at all times.

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STUDENT BEHAVIOR

GUIDELINES

If a student's behavior is not meeting expectations, the following process will be followed:

A verbal and written warning will be given.
In the event of a second violation, the student’s parent/ legal guardian may be notified in writing of the problem and the student may be subject to suspension from the program for one or more days.
In the event that a third violation occurs, the student involved may be permanently dismissed from the program.

Serious violations of the behavior guidelines may result in the student being immediately dismissed from the program at the discretion of the Site Program Manager, and the Parent or other authorized person will be contacted and asked to pick up the student.

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THINK Together works with each school to enroll students in the program and notify parents when openings are available.

Parents must complete the Enrollment Application prior to student’s participation in the program via parent portal.

Students will be placed on a waitlist when no openings are available. Parents will be notified based on the waiting list when space becomes available.

STUDENT ENROLLMENT & ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES

THINK Together programs are offered free of cost thanks to state and federal funding.

The legislation states that the intent is for students to participate in the full day of program every day, in order to accomplish program goals.

Failure to meet this attendance expectation could result in disenrollment. Priority enrollment will go to students that can attend daily.

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Release Guidelines

Students must be signed out of the program daily by an authorized adult 18 year or older. Adults will be asked to show identification.
Students will only be released to those persons indicated on the Program Enrollment Application. If a person arrives to pick up the student and that is not authorized, the student will not be released.
Some districts and sites allow students to walk home IF parents have given permission when registering online.
In case of emergency, a student may be released to law enforcement personnel if the Parent or authorized emergency contact person cannot be reached.

* PLEASE get off your car to pick up your child. PLEASE refrain from calling to have your student ready I am calling them as I see you pull up and I am getting all the early pick up kids ready for that specific time.

Late Arrival/ Early Release

Late arrival is defined as any time after the normal sign-in period at the beginning of program, and may be either “occasional” or “recurring”.
Early Release is defined as any time prior to the normal release period at the end of the program, and may be either “occasional” or “recurring”.
Recurring incidents must be documented and approved using the Late Arrival/ Early Release Form.

STUDENT RELEASE GUIDELINES

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Gate Wave and Pick Up Location

Pick up location is MPR

Gate Wave pick up times for early release

(Please note, there must be an early release form on file)

1:45-2:00 PM (WED)

4:30 PM – 4:40 PM

5:10 PM – 5:20 PM

5:40 PM – 6:00 PM

For safety and staff support purposes, we ask that parents adhere to these gate waves unless in the case of an emergency

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QUESTIONS?