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This website provides information about the different free organized conferences by Polk County Public Schools. These meetings offer to families the opportunity to directly engage with experts on various education topics. This resources help connect families to professionals that can give them various types of information that is needed for their success.

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This website provides various opportunities for community members and family to get involved in their community and schools. It also offers a step-by-step instruction on how to become an approved volunteer to be able to participate in community service events, programs, and activities. The website helps parents/ guardians, students, and community members to find different way to contribute back into the community.

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Whether they’re assisting in classrooms, mentoring children on a one-on-one basis, or lending their time and efforts to district-wide initiatives, volunteers play a vital role in Polk County Public Schools’ mission of delivering a high-quality education to every student.

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This website is focused on severing the needs of children across all of Florida. It helps inform parents, guardians and community members about training, engagement, and advocacy in the students education.

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Full-Service Community Schools Program (FSCS)

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FSCS provide comprehensive academic, social, and health services for students, students’ family members, and community members that will result in improved educational outcomes for children.

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The FAST Program is an internationally acclaimed, evidence-based family engagement program that supports child well-being and learning readiness, empowers parents, and builds social capital so children can thrive. It is designed to:

Strengthen family relationships and increase cohesion

Engage parents more with the school and enable them to advocate for their children's education

Connect families to other families and community resources to reduce isolation and stress

The program is run at a school or community organization and meets for weekly 2.5-hour sessions, which can be offered in-person or virtually, over an eight-week (or 10-week) cycle. A site will typically run two cycles per school year.

During these sessions, families eat a meal and play games together, parents discuss and bond over shared experiences, kids and youth make friends with their peers, and parents engage in one-on-one special play/conversation time with their children free from distraction.

A trained FAST Team of local parents, youth (for middle and high school levels only - see below), educators, and mental health and other community professionals facilitates the program and provides coaching and support to the participating families.

The program is available at the Early Childhood Education (ECE), Elementary School, Middle School, and High School levels to provide the tools needed to support each developmental milestone. While the core values of FAST remain the same for all levels, some activities are adjusted to develop and strengthen age-specific protective factors to meet the FAST Child's needs.

Up to 60% of the program is adaptable to also meet the needs and priorities of diverse communities, cultures, and local circumstances.

If you are interested in starting a FAST Program in your community, contact us for more information. Explore our FAQs page to learn more.

Bring FAST® to your community

Families & Schools Together can partner with you to provide the resources, training, and guidance necessary to strengthen relationships between children, families, schools, and your community - contact us to get started.

© 2023 Families and Schools Together, Inc. All rights reserved. FAST®, FASTWORKS®, and Families and Schools Together® are registered trademarks of Families and Schools Together, Inc. PRIVACY & TERMS | MEDIA

Proud partner of the

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FAST® Program - Families and Schools Together, Inc.

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The FAST Program is an internationally acclaimed, evidence-based family engagement program that supports child well-being and learning readiness, empowers paren

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We know parents and caregivers are crucial to providing our students with the best possible education. We've seen-and research shows-that when families and communities are involved in their children's education, students attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and perform at higher levels.

NEA Is Here for You

Families: we see how many responsibilities you have, how you support your children, how you extend yourselves further to help our educators do their jobs. We're here to support you, too.

NEA has teamed up with PBS station WETA to offer expert tips and resources to help educators and families navigate distance learning. Use these resources to make sure that learning continues-no matter where it takes place:
Find more support >

Parent engagement is central to education. They are the ones who will continue teaching their children long after they're out of class. - Nitzah Santiago-McRae, Aspiring Educator

How to Get Involved

Educating young people is a partnership between administrators, teachers, students, families, and the community. You can make a difference wherever you are. Join us at home, in your community, or at the state or national level. Ways to get started include:

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We know parents and caregivers are crucial to providing our students with the best possible education. We've seen-and research shows-that when families and communities are involved in their children's education, students attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and perform at higher levels.

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Authored by Authored by: Alexandra Figueras-Daniel, Bernice Vasquez

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The focus of Goal 3 is to improve the district’s engagement of parents/caregivers of our students and members of the community representing businesses, Churches, civic organizations, non-profits, etc. by providing opportunities for intentional involvement and increased awareness.