Parent Involvement

 PARENT VOLUNTEER ON A REGULAR OR PERIODIC BASIS IN THE CLASSROOM OR EVENTS:
 

The teachers and school hosts a variety of activities and events that need the support of parent volunteers. Below are a few examples: 

• In-class activities, class projects, parties, school field trips, host event, etc.

• Opportunities to share expertise or professional experience (conferences, fundraising, marketing, communications, etc.)

• Event committees (Winter Market, Spring Fair, or Gala) 

• Administrative tasks (copies, files, school supplies, etc.)

• Manning a stand, bringing baked goods, international foods, set-up / clean-up.
   

Volunteers for the different activities are coordinated by the class delegate or the advancement department.  Information will be provided by the class delegates, or directly sign-up 

 PARENTs ambassadors:

Roles and Responsibilities

• Assist the new families with their transition to Rochambeau to build community
   

• Collaborate on outreach to prospective families

• Contribute to building intercultural understanding and other related activities

• Represent the values and missions of the school

Organization

There is no limit on the number of parent ambassadors.  The parent ambassadors are managed by the admissions department with the assistance of the parent ambassador steering committee (representatives per campus) and PAR.  If you are interested in being part of the steering committee, please contact admissions@rochambeau.org 

Types of actions

• Reaching out to new families to welcome them to the school and offer assistance (example letters provided)  

• Support admissions outreach: participating in open house events and other initiatives: bring a friend to open house or other ideas to attract new families

• Propose playdates, host events or promote cultural events and activities to create community raising awareness of Rochambeau in your community

Meetings 

• Participate in welcome and orientation events at the start of the school year (not mandatory, but recommended)

 PARENT delegate: 

Roles and Responsibilities

The parent class delegate serves as liaison between the class teacher or head teacher and the class parents.  This is a very important role because the Parent Class Delegate provides assistance to the teacher and contributes to building a sense of belonging and community within the class and to the school.  

The responsibilities of a Parent Class Delegate are:

• Assist the teacher by translating (if necessary) and disseminating relevant information to class parents, such as reminders, class activities and school events.

• Help connect parents to create class unity (back to school parent picnic, coffee, cocktail)

• Manage and promote volunteer participation

• In secondary school, represent the class parents in the “conseil de classe” meetings 

• Refer parent questions related to academic, administrative and campus issues to the “elected parent” representing the respective levels at the conseil d’école (Maternelle and Elementary) or Conseil d’établissement (Secondary), and/or to the school director. 

• Provide regular feedback to the elected parent representatives at the Conseil de class or établissement

• Represent the values and missions of the school

• Respect the privacy of our families and do not use the lists for things unrelated to your role as a delegate. 

Organization

It is recommended to have 2 volunteer parents per class. Ideally, one French speaking and one English speaking.  The two delegates need to coordinate how they will work and share the different responsibilities.

Meetings

There will be one information meeting for all delegates at the start of the school year to outline responsibilities and provide documents for smooth organization. This will be organized by level (Maternelle, Elementaire, Collège, Lycée)

One meeting per trimester with school director and advancement

Required actions

• Inform the teacher that you are interested in being the class delegate and understand your responsibilities

• Work with class teacher to understand their expectations.

• Collect parent emails and phone numbers from teachers 

• Introduce yourself and your role as parent delegate to parents by email.

• Identify the preferred parent email address for classroom communication and provide class list with permission from families. 

• Organize the class coffee or cocktail. It does not have to be hosted by you, but you need to be sure it happens. Invite teacher(s).  This needs to be done ideally before the October break.

• Secondary – obtain parent feedback for Conseil de classe and report back to class parents

• Manage your volunteer sign-ups for class activities and field trips with the teacher.

• Get volunteers to commit to the schoolwide events organized by Advancement and PAR (Back to school barbecue, Winter and Spring fair, Gala). Coordinate names with Advancement.

• Disseminate information on regular basis as per requested by teachers or administration or PAR

Printout of delegate role

 PARENTs association rochambeau:

PAR is an independent non-profit organization registered in the state of Maryland. PAR represents families within the school and promotes a strong cooperation between Rochambeau’s parents, management and teachers by maintaining a constant dialogue with the diverse parties of the school.  

All parents are encouraged to join the Parent Association Rochambeau.  The funds received by PAR are used to finance or support school projects initiated by the teachers, the publication of the two student-led school  newsletters. They also organize parent education conferences and other events. 

PAR Website

 ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE CONSEIL D’ECOLE AND/OR CONSEIL D’ETABLISSEMENT: 

In compliance with the AEFE (Agency of French school Abroad), parents can run to represent the parents on the official school committees. There are two committees:

Conseil d’école (pre-K/K, Elementary School):  This committee makes decisions related to overall functioning of the school ranging from pedagogical organization, school calendar, school projects, student guides, questions related to the health, safety and security of our children.   It is comprised of representatives from the school administration, faculty and parent representatives.  
 

Conseil d’établissement (pre-K through High School). This committee discusses educational matters pertaining to the school. It is comprised of representatives from the school administration, faculty, parent and student representatives:

• Act as spokesperson for the parents of his⁄her grade to campus directors in preparation for the committee meetings 

• Exchange regularly with parents to ensure that issues, information and proposals are brought to the attention of the school directors

• Work with school directors to implement adequate solutions to the concerns or issues, are found

• Advocate on the behalf of all parents with fairness and objectivity

• Report to Parent Class delegates and class parents

• Represent the values and mission of Rochambeau and strive to continually ensure the well-being and safety of the students

Organization
All representatives must run for election.  They must either join PAR or present their own list (requiring two or more representatives. The ability to understand and communicate in both French and English is required. We recommend that Parent delegates run for an elected role. 

• 15 representatives  for Conseil d’ecole Primary school (Maternelle and Elementary) 

• The number of delegates at the Conseil d’etablissement depends on the representation from the administration (see AEFE regulation)

If you are interested in joining the PAR list of representations: PAR 

If you want to submit your own list of candidates, you need to have a minimum of 2 people (and a maximum of 30)  of the list. Each list includes the last name and first name of candidates in order of preference as it will determine the attribution of seats.  Teaching, administrative and maintenance staff are not eligible on the parents' lists.  

Information about submitting applications will be sent out through the headline in the Fall.

Trimester meetings with the school directors to prepare the committees.

 board of trustees: 

The Board of Trustees is comprised of Rochambeau parents and alumni, members of the Washington, DC metropolitan community, and others who wish to be of service to Rochambeau. These individuals volunteer their time and expertise to support the students, families, teachers, staff and alumni of Rochambeau while promoting the school's values in the wider community and the world. 

Board meetings are typically conducted once per month and are open to any parent, alumnus/a, or other member of the public. Trustees also serve on a variety of working committees in order to advance the Board's strategic initiatives; these include matters related to Admissions, Buildings & Infrastructure, Communications, Finance, Fundraising, Human Resources, and Legal matters.

Trustees are elected to serve 3-year terms and may be renewed for up to three consecutive terms. One-half of the Board is directly elected by current families of Rochambeau. The second half of the Board is elected by the other Trustees. In addition, the Proviseur serves as a non-voting member and the Embassy of France in Washington, DC may appoint up to three representatives to serve as advisors to the Board.

BOARD INFO