School liaisons serve as important link in parent, school partnerships

Published March 27, 2009
By Department of Defense Dependents School - Eupose

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (USAFENS) -- Parents and military commands are encouraged to communicate with Department of Defense Dependents School - Europe schools district superintendents, area and deputy directors and school liaison leads to provide feedback and inquire about any school, student or teacher issue.

DoDDS encourages parents to contact their school principal with concerns regarding any aspect of the school and are welcome to request a meeting or phone call with the superintendent.

One of the best ways to work inquiries with DoDDS is via base School Liaisons. Each base has a SL who advises installation commanders on any DoDDS-E school issue. SLs liaise between command, organizations, schools, students and parents and assist in coordinating all publicity regarding school matters.

SL attend every school meeting and event and are able to analyze and provide recommended solutions for each school or parent issue. SLs also monitor school repairs, maintenance and construction projects. SLs are the installation's POC for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. During the PCS season, SLs are also a valuable source of information for student transition and sponsorship information.

School and district advisory councils are other sources for input from parents. DoDDs requests input annually from parents in a customer satisfaction survey. The 2009/2010 survey will be available on the DoDDS web site in November. DoDDS-E customers can also provide comments year-round via the ICE system, and responses to each comment are provided within a three-five day period. The ICE link and other helpful DoDDS-E information is available at http://www.eu.dodea.edu/home/about.php?cId=4.

Additionally, parents can access GradeSpeed, the DoDDS-E online grade book application for grades four-12. This powerful tool features the ability of parents to access their child's assignments and grades online. The goal is to increase parent communication and to encourage them to take a more active role in their child's education. There are three different login portals within GradeSpeed: one for parents, one for students and one for teachers and administrators. Parent and teacher conferences are another avenue for parents to meet and communicate with teachers on issues pertaining to their child's education and in August DODDS-E requests input from commands on the performance of the superintendents.

For more information about DoDDS-E visit www.eu.dodea.edu.