Support your Student

Students whose parents are engaged with their education are more likely to be successful in school and beyond. The most important role a parent or caregiver can play is to make sure your children know what is expected of them and have the support they need at home and at school to be able to do their best. For parents and caregivers, this means:

• Accessing information about what to expect and student progress
• Keeping the lines of communication open with your child, his/her teacher(s) and school
• Knowing what resources are available to you and to your child
  

(Watch a short video: What is Parent Engagement?

Accessing Information about your Student

Aeries? Parent portal? Canvas? They sound like something from a sci-fi series for middle schoolers, but in reality, they're systems that work together to help PUSD parents and guardians stay informed about what and how their children are doing in school. Briefly:

*Aeries* is the database that PUSD uses to keep track of student information - from enrollment to attendance, grades, parent contact information and more.

Parent Portal is how parents access their students' information in Aeries, as well as to sign up for school lunches, monitor grades and more.

Canvas is a tool that teachers and students use to communicate about assignments and other info related to classroom instruction. Parents can use it to stay on top of what's taking place at the classroom level.

You can learn more about setting up and using parent access accounts to Canvas and Aeries Parent Portal on PUSD's "How-to Tech Assistance" page. PUSD's Innovative Technology Services (ITS) also has a Tech Support web page which includes more info about the various web tools and apps as well as links for a tech "help desk" and other resources.

Communication goes both ways!

PEN’s Parent-Teacher Conference Workshop (Oct 2022): video / slides
Taller: Conferencis de Padres y Maestros (Oct 2022): diapositivas de presentación

Who to contact at PUSD
Generally, your student’s teacher is the first person to contact if you have an issue or question, but if you want to contact someone else, here’s PEN’s Who to Contact at PUSD list and PUSD’s Problem-Solving Guide.

Resources

Resources to support your student
There are many resources to help parents support their student’s learning as well as their health and wellness.  Here are some of our favorites:

Tutoring - “Paper” is a free online resource that allows PUSD 3-12th graders to access live, qualified tutors 24/7.

PUSD Child Welfare Attendance and Safety Dept. School Support Services Referral form

PTA.org – Although most of us have heard of PTA, you might not know that their website has great information about everything from a parent toolkit for student success to resources for parents of children with special needs to developing school/parent partnerships, advocacy and more.

Caltech - Caltech RISE program The Rise Program is a low-cost afterschool math and science-focused tutoring program that serves public school students between grades 8 and 12. Caltech students help PUSD students gain greater competency in math foundations, improve skills in math and science and prepare students for college-level math and science. Students have the option of attending tutoring in-person or online during the 2023-24 academic year.

Day One Community Resource Directory

Supporting our Children’s Mental Health: Strategies & Resources - Highlights from PEN's 2021 mental health programs

Seek Common Ground Family Guides - information about what students should know and be able to do at each grade level, suggestions of activities to support learning, ideas of questions to ask when talking to teachers, definitions of academic words students may encounter, and additional resources to support learning:

• https://seekcommonground.org/family-guides
• https://seekcommonground.org/guias-familiares
  
  Resources to support parents & caregivers

Parent University - PUSD Family Resource Center’s site lists upcoming parent workshops, recorded workshops, “how to” tech videos, family resource links, and more

Foster/Kinship Care Toolkit

Resources for Supporting PUSD Students & Families