Academic Parent Teacher Teams (APTT) set the stage for student success

This year, in nearly 200 classrooms at nine HISD elementary schools, parents are experiencing a new kind of parent-teacher conference that gives them the tools both to expand their children’s learning and to monitor their progress.

Schools in their second or third years of implementing the Academy Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT) program are continuing to perfect and expand the new model of meetings to empower parents to help their children learn outside of school.

Eliot, Gallegos, Kennedy, Mitchell, Piney Point, Shadowbriar, and Tijerina elementary schools, as well as Fonwood Early Childhood Center and the Wharton Dual Language Academy, all recently completed their first round of fall APTT meetings.

The model replaces traditional parent-teacher conferences with three 75-minute group meetings involving all parents in the class, and one 30-minute individual session with the student, teacher, and parents. During group meetings, teachers share student performance data and expectations for the class, review skills, and model hands-on activities parents can do at home to help their children master skills. Parents practice the activities at home with their kids over a 60-day period until their next meeting, when they can again review the data and see how their child has progressed.

“Schools invite parents to the meetings using various methods, including school newsletters, car-rider-lane announcements, and personal invitations from teachers, principals, and even students,” said Family and Community Engagement Specialist Meron Tilahun, “but ensuring high parent attendance can be challenging.”

Below is a list of remarkable attendance achievements from the first round of September meetings.

Classroom teachers who achieved 100% parent attendance:

  • Elisa Dawson, Eliot ES
  • Yolanda Garcia, Gallegos ES
  • Ivonne Henderson, Gallegos ES
  • Albania Martinez, Piney Point ES
  • Myriam Mosquera, Piney Point ES
  • Helen Marshall, Shadowbriar ES
  • Paula Martinez Fernandez, Shadowbriar ES

Classroom teachers who achieved 90–99% parent attendance:

  • Karen Hernandez, Gallegos  ES
  • Crystal Williams, Gallegos ES
  • Phelicia Zilch, Piney Point ES
  • Nadja Sato, Piney Point ES
  • Patricia Colmenero, Piney Point ES
  • Raqual Montoya, Piney Point ES
  • Sandra Gonzalez, Piney Point ES

Classroom teachers who achieved 80–89% parent attendance:

  • Paula Diaz, Eliot ES
  • Yessenia Carrizal Perez, Eliot ES
  • Christina Barragaon, Eliot ES
  • Blasa Cortez, Eliot ES
  • Danixa Barrios, Eliot ES
  • Veronica Starovic, Eliot ES
  • Nyomi Rodriguez, Gallegos ES
  • Lydia Weise, Gallegos ES
  • Maria Morales, Gallegos ES
  • Mari Symington, Mitchell ES
  • Shirley Velez, Piney Point ES
  • Enid Guzman, Piney Point ES
  • Martha Guerrero, Piney Point ES
  • Eudaldo Briceno, Piney Point ES
  • Sara Cardona, Tijerina ES

Principals who would like to learn more or are interested in implementing APTT at their campuses in the 2016–2017 school year should contact the Family and Community Engagement Department at 713-556-7290.