Family and Community Engagement Partnerships

What does Family Partnership mean to parents?

It means supporting your child in many ways. Here are some ideas:

• Discuss school work or new learning with your child. “What did you learn today?”
• Talk to or read with your child in your home language. Help your child maintain their home language.
• Connect with other families to get important information and build friendships - through PTSA events, social media, neighborhood friendships, and friends who speak your language(s).
• Build a positive relationships with your child’s teacher(s) and principal
• Ask the school/teacher how you can help or volunteer in the school

To support families the ISD:

• Has Family Partnership Liaisons at each school building. (Link to a page)
• Holds Parent Information Events to help families navigate schools (Link to an Events page)
• Provides translated resources in Chinese, Spanish and Korean for families (Link to translated resource page)

Translated documents and resources for families: 

• Chinese Documents
• Korean Documents
• Español - Spanish Documents
• English Documents

• Hold Family Connection Meetings to help new families to the ISD
• Has a Family Partnership Team that provides input and ideas on how the district can support our families and students.  

Family Connections Meetings

New families to the district are invited to attend Family Connections meeting to better understand and navigate the school system. Families are invited to ask questions about schools and the district. District employees will discuss programs and resources offered in the district. Spanish and Chinese interpreters are available at the meetings.

What is the Issaquah School District Family Partnership Team?

Since 2015, the ISD Family Partnership Team has been working together to support students’ success by supporting families. The team provides input and ideas on how the district and Family Partnership ISD staff can provide support for families especially our culturally and linguistically diverse community. The FPT helps plan and organize building and district Family Partnership events. The members attend district events and support family engagement. For more information, please contact Lorna Gilmour gilmourl@issaquah.wednet.edu 

1. Email Assistance (en Español, in Chinese) – How to sign up for an email address, District e-news, get email app on phone, change the language on your email
2. Family Access/Skyward Assistance (en Español, in Chinese) – How to sign up for Skyward (Family Access), change the language on Skyward, and how to get the Family Access app on your phone
3. What Every Parent Wants to Know about the US School System.
   
   • Elementary
   • Middle School
   • High School
4. English Language Learner Program information here.
5. Kindergarten Registration
6. Transportation – find your school and bus route
7. MySchoolBucks.com - finding your child's lunch account

The Cultural Bridges for Education Program is a family engagement strategy that serves as a bridge of communication between the Issaquah School District and parents who were not born in America. Cultural Bridges helps families overcome language and cultural barriers and empowers them to become a part of our community while helping their kids be successful in school. Cultural Bridges is sponsored by the Issaquah Schools Foundation, and available in seven languages.

Download HERE the latest edition of Cultural Bridges.