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.
Visiting the School
Parents and other responsible adults are always welcome at school. If you know in advance that you will be visiting your child's classroom, we encourage you to notify your child's teacher ahead of time so they are prepared for your visit. We do not allow students to bring friends or other non-registered students to school due to liability and space restrictions. In addition, parents may not bring younger siblings, other children, or babies with them when they visit or volunteer in a classroom. This can be a serious distraction from the learning environment for all students.
Visitor Badges
DoDEA policy mandates use of visitor badges and positive identification of all visitors and contractors. In compliance with this policy, upon arrival, ALL visitors are required to come to the school office, sign in, show identification, and receive a visitor's badge. All visitors MUST sign out and return the visitor's badge upon leaving the building.
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.
Contact for AFNorth ES SAC
Visitors and Volunteers
This applies to:
Modification date
This policy is under review
Visitors and volunteers are always welcome at the school and are actively encouraged to become involved with the school. Your support and participation provides the school and its pupils with a variety of valuable services in the classroom and throughout the school, thus enriching the programs offered to the children. All volunteers are required to be registered and gain a security clearance through their national section office before serving in the classroom or as chaperones on school sponsored trips. If a visitor is not in possession of a NATO ID please contact your national office to receive the relevant paperwork at least one week in advance of your visit.
If you are visiting, or you are coming to volunteer, please sign in with your National Office. When visiting the school, parents may not use the parking lot during bus loading (and unloading). Such actions are extremely hazardous and unsafe for children. The parking lot is closed from 8:35 until 9:00 and from 3:10 to 3:45.
Related regulations
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO)
On behalf of the Parents and Teachers Organization (PTO) Committee, we welcome you all to our Organization, of which you are all automatically members. Our main aim this year is to encourage as much parental involvement in the School as possible, and to promote opportunities for increasing Parent and Teacher interaction. To achieve this aim, we need volunteers to offer their skills, enthusiasm and, above all, time. In a unique community such as ours, with people spread far and wide, and from a variety of backgrounds, we would hope that we all have at least one thing in common: the success of AFNORTH International School. With your support we will find ways to further develop the School community and add value to the excellence of the School. After a very successful year last year, we are keen to build on these achievements this year. Whether you can offer commitment to a PTO Committee position for the whole year, or just an hour occasionally to help a particular event, your support and time will be greatly appreciated, and will directly support our excellent School, and enrich the learning experience of our students. We look forward to meeting you very soon, and thank you in advance.
Visit the PTO Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/afnorthpto
