Get Involved / Partnerships
Parent Involvement
Research demonstrates that parent involvement is essential for student success. Although you may not become involved in all committees and support organizations in the school, we encourage the following activities for your parental support:
- Join the school parent/teacher association (PTA) and participate in meetings and activities.
- Have lunch at school with your child regularly.
- Volunteer in your child's classroom.
- Establish a daily study time at home (even when there's no homework).
- Participate in the Continuous School Improvement (CSI) efforts at your child's school.
- Keep informed of school events and activities by reading school newsletters and your child's classroom newsletter.
- Communicate frequently with your child's teacher.
- Prepare for and participate in parent-teacher conferences.
- Ensure your child has a well-balanced breakfast and comes to school with completed homework, lunch money and school supplies.
Visitors and Volunteers
This applies to:
Modification date
This policy is under review
For the protection of students and staff, all visitors must report to the school’s front office immediately upon arriving at the school. A visitor is any person (to include parents, sponsors, and legal guardians) not enrolled or assigned to the school requesting entry to the building.
Visitors must provide authorized identification to gain access to the DoDEA school. The visitor will be issued a visitor badge that must be displayed above the waist while on DoDEA school property. The school administrator has the final determination on visitors authorized to be at the school. While on DoDEA school property, visitors may go only to the approved area indicated as their destination when signing in at the school’s front office. Any change to the designated location must be approved by the school’s front office before the visitor can access a different location within the school. When leaving the school, visitors must sign out and return the visitor's badge to the school’s front office.
Classroom Observations
Parents are welcome to visit the school and classrooms to observe the school’s programs for brief periods of time that do not interfere with instruction. Approval by the school administrator is required for this type of visitation.
Related regulations
Be a Volunteer!
There are many opportunities for eager parents and community members to get involved and become a DoDEA school volunteer. Volunteers can assist in a variety of ways such as classroom and library assistance, tutoring and mentoring, office administration, playground and lunchroom monitoring, event setup, fundraising, etc. For safety and security reasons, all volunteers are encouraged to leave under-age siblings at home during volunteering activities. Interested parties can refer to their local School Volunteer Coordinator for specific visitation and/or volunteer opportunities.
Parent Teacher Organization / Parent Teacher Association
The PTO/PTA is a group of parents and teachers working for a better school environment by providing both financial and volunteer support for our school programs. The PTO/PTA are able to sponsor a variety of activities that may include book fairs, school pictures, monthly birthday celebrations for all children, the sale of school t-shirts or many other events. The PTO/PTA consists of the following positions: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. In addition, there are several committee coordinator positions such as volunteer, spirit week, membership and box tops. If you are interested in volunteering, serving on the executive board, or being a committee coordinator, please contact the PTO/PTA.
PTO/PTA Objectives
The PTO/PTA is a non-profit, non-partisan, and non-sectarian organization. It cooperates with the school to support the improvement of education in ways that will not interfere with the education of students or the mission of the school and does not seek to control school policies. Specific objectives include:
- Providing a medium for exchange of information among parents, teachers, and other interested groups.
- Encouraging and developing programs and activities, which serve to enhance the quality of student education.
- Identifying and promoting opportunities for students to secure the highest advantage in their academic, physical, and social growth.
- Encouraging and maintaining a working dialogue between members, the local educational school system, the local government, and the community at-large on matters affecting the general welfare and education of students.
Membership is open to all parents and legal guardians of students attending the school as well as school staff. Contact the school for membership information.
School Advisory Committees
This applies to:
Modification date
This policy is under review
DoDEA school administrators, in partnership with sponsors/family members, students, and military leaders, promote communication through the establishment of advisory committees to address issues (school initiatives, procedures and policies) locally. This is a system-wide way for parents to get involved in their child’s local school. Consult your child’s school to learn more about school advisory committees.
DoDEA Europe Advisory Councils
Parents, teachers, students, administrators, and military commanders share the responsibility to support the schools through advisory councils and boards. Participation in advisory councils and boards enhances and improves educational programs and services, as well as the overall quality of life shared by all Department of Defense (DoD) American overseas communities.
Dependents Education Council (DEC)
The DEC is an information sharing body hosted by the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, that meets twice a year. Members include the Director, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), and General and Flag officers representing the commanders of unified combatant commands, major service commands, military services, military departments and heads of applicable Intelligence Agencies. The DoDEA Director serves as the Executive Secretary.
European Schools Council (ESC)
The ESC is composed of European Command (EUCOM) Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy representatives. ESC work with subordinate command representatives to develop programs for improving dependents' education and recommend helpful initiatives to the DoDEA Director. The ESC chairperson also represents the European Command on the ACDE.
District Advisory Council (DAC)
The DAC advises the district superintendent on matters of interest to the district.
School Advisory Committee (SAC)
The School Advisory Committee (SAC) and School Advisory Board (SAB) are organizations that fosters participation in school affairs by members of the school and military communities and provides a coordinated process to address and resolve issues at the lowest practical level. SAC members advise the school principal on school matters, deal with issues brought to their attention by the school community, and establishes goals and objectives for the academic year.
SAC meetings are held at least four times a year and notices are sent to parents prior to each meeting. These meetings are public meetings, though they are not meetings of the public. Parents and staff members are encouraged to attend SAC meetings to learn more about school programs and issues, and are invited to submit items to SAC members to be placed on the meeting agendas. The function of the SAC is to make recommendations and advise the principal on:
- school policies, student activities, and administrative procedures
- instructional programs and educational resources within the school
- allocation of resources within the school to achieve educational goals
- administrative and logistical support services provided by the installation commander and applicable service commands
- policies and standards of the installation command and military services related to the above.
Neither the SAC nor the SAB addresses matters pertaining to personnel policies or practices, compensation of school staff, grievances or school employees, or internal management of DoDEA or their programs. If you have any questions or concerns about the school's curriculum or environment, give one of the SAC representatives a call (a list of current representatives is available in the office) or attend one of the SAC meetings.
Brussels American School Advisory Committee
The Brussels American School Advisory Committee (BASAC) and Installation Advisory Committee (IAC) are combined to function as a school and installation advisory committee. As such, the BASAC (which also includes the IAC) acts as a liaison between the school administration, the community and the USAG commander to assure a positive school environment for the children of the Brussels American School. The BASAC has two main jobs; 1) to foster participation in school affairs by members of the school and military communities and; 2) to provide a coordinated process to address and resolve issues at the lowest practical level. We do this by advising the BAS Principal and the USAG Brussels Commander on issues within their jurisdiction as it pertains to the school.
Because every parent, teacher, student and military commander shares in the responsibility to work collectively to support BAS in its delivery of educational programs to our students, the BASAC is comprised of three parent representatives, three faculty representatives and one student representative. The committee also has the following liaison members who are invited to attend all meetings: the school principal and/or assistant principal, the USAG Commander, and the exclusive bargaining representative of the school employees. The Presidents of the PTSA and Booster Club are also encouraged to attend these meetings.
Community members are highly encouraged to communicate issues with a BASAC member, to submit a BASAC issues form (which can be found on the BAS website), and to come to the meetings to follow up on submitted issues or to simply listen and be part of the solution discussions. BASAC meetings are generally held bi-monthly on the fourth Thursday of the month starting in September at 1730 at the school. BASAC points of contact are listed in the PTSO Student Directory or can be reached by contacting the front office at the BAS.
We look forward to working with you during the 2011/12 school year and thank you in advance for your support.
Sincerely from your BASAC members,
Joe Hall
Chairman
Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO)
Join the Brussels American School Parent Teacher Student Organization and become a vital part of the BAS support team. All parents of BAS students, BAS students and BAS faculty may join the PTSO. Members receive a PTSO roster annually and provide the framework for academic volunteers and fund-raising at the school. By being a PTSO member you can make a difference at the school; make new friends; sharpen your communication and organizational skills; and discover talents you may not have realized you had.
In addition to being "on call" to assist when needed at the school, through its fund-raising efforts, the BAS PTSO provides scholarships to seniors; covers costs of interpreters when classes go on field trips; covers costs for reading promotion days such as the Reading Counts Kick-off in the fall, Dr. Seuss day held in the Spring, and Passport Day, a half-day reading activity held every May. The organization also funds requests from teachers for assistance with class plays and the annual school talent show.
PTSO board meetings are held every month. General membership meetings will be announced at the beginning of the school year. In addition to these meetings, the PTSO sponsors several events throughout the year including the Welcome Back to School Barbeque, Fall Festival, Winter Fest and the International Dinner.
BOOSTER CLUB
Booster Club is a non-profit organization which is the primary supporter of Brigand sports. Its primary mission is to support ALL students participating in the Brigand sports program through fundraising, Brigand Wear sales, concessions and manpower. This organization welcomes all parents to be a part of the Brigand family.
Booster Club meets on the first Wednesday of the month in the PTSO room next to the MPR at 11:50.
