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Parents and caregivers are valued partners in education at KDES. Families stay connected with teachers and staff throughout the school year with Back-to-School Night, parent events and conferences, student performances, and family newsletters. All family events are interpreted, and free child care is provided.
Free family sign language classes offer great opportunities to learn, practice, and enhance ASL skills. Families of all levels are invited to bring everyone who has a role in the student’s home life to family sign language classes. Families fluent in ASL are encouraged to participate as mentors.
A parent educator works with all parents of students in creating opportunities for information sharing and family development.
✔ Family dances and events
✔ Movie nights hosted by KPTA
✔ Fall, winter, and spring gatherings
✔ Parent presentations and workshops
(these are examples/samples)
KPTA provides dynamic opportunities for parents, guardians, and other caregivers to be involved with the education of their children at KDES. The KPTA board hosts various workshops and meetings throughout the school year for information sharing. KPTA annually hosts fun seasonal social activities such as the fall Spooktacular, the Winter Festival, and the Spring Fever picnic. KPTA also sponsors fundraising activities, including the Scholastic Book Fair and the Chocolate Ball, to benefit school-wide programs. For more information, please visit the KPTA website.
KDES offers free American Sign Language classes to families with children enrolled in the school. Three levels of classes are offered: Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced. In order to accommodate family schedules, the classes are offered both on a week night and on Saturdays, with free child care offered for children not participating in the classes.
The Early Childhood Education program offers families the opportunity to participate in the Shared Reading Project (SRP). The program provides tutoring and support to parents and caregivers on how to effectively share books with their young deaf and hard of hearing child.
KDES offers multicultural and transliteration services for families who speak languages other than English. The services range from interpreting and translation at school meetings, IEP planning meetings, and school events to the translation of written school communication materials from English to families’ home languages. The Language Helpline assists families with spoken and written communication needs during school hours and evening events.
KDES provides daily breakfast and lunches. The lunch menu is posted in the Clerc Center Daily which is distributed by e-mail to families.
800 Florida Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 250-2761 (VP/VRS)
(202) 651-5425 (en Español)
