One City is known for having some of the highest levels of parental involvement in Dane County, and we take great pride in this as well.
It is not unusual to see 70 percent or more of our families represented at school-hosted events and activities, and 100 percent participation in parent-teacher conferences.
Through our two-generation School Model, we work alongside our families to address their personal, family and professional needs and aspirations, to the extent that we are able and appropriate.
We have worked directly with employers and employment agencies, such as the Urban League of Greater Madison, to help our parents secure employment and job training.
FAST® (Families and Schools Together) is an internationally acclaimed parent engagement program that helps children thrive by building strong relationships at home, and between home and school.
One City’s leadership team worked with 16 One City parents to develop One City’s Parent Council in the spring of 2018. The parent council’s mission is “to support and inform One City Schools staff, and be an advocate and resource for One City’s parents and children.”
The Council officially launched in September 2018 and has an executive committee. The executive committee meets at least monthly and hosts a Monthly Parent Council Meeting. Each meeting features news and information from One City’s leadership and staff, a question and answer period with One City’s staff, Board representatives and partners, guest presenters and a healthy family meal prepared and served by One City’s Executive Chef and volunteers.
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One City’s Bylaws require that we have at least two parents of children attending our schools as voting members of our Board of Directors. Our two current parent Board members were nominated by the CEO and Chair of the Board and voted on by the Board of Directors.
However, going forward, Parent Board members will be recommended by other parents with children enrolled in the school and actively participating in with One City’s Parent Council.
One City’s vertical expansion from solely a preschool into a full elementary charter school was precipitated and guided by parent feedback. In the process of determining our long-term organizational direction, five separate 90-minute feedback sessions were held with families in the winter of 2017/2018 to ensure that One City was aware of and responsive to what our families needed.
The structure of our extended school day and school year is a direct product of parents’ articulated desire for a school model that included more instructional time. Family input and engagement has been core tenet of how this school has been built.
One City has taken its effort to provide value to its children, families and team members to a uniquely new level by partnering with Abenity, Inc. (www.ocs.abenity.com), a leader in the employee engagement and loyalty field, on the launch of its “One City Family Perks” Program.
This new program gives One City families and employees free access to more than 300,000 local and national discounts, enabling them to save money on thousands of hotels, restaurants, movie tickets, concerts, retailers, florists, car dealers, theme parks, national attractions, concerts and events. This includes grocery stores, clothing stores, and educational, athletic and recreational programs and events for children and adults that are important to their everyday needs.
Families and employees have access to a central online location to find and discover new savings and perks offered to them as a benefit of their enrollment or employment at One City.
All One City Parents and Guardians receive exclusive access to a free LinkedIn Learning Pro User License, donated by LinkedIn Learning. Its parent company, LinkedIn, is the world’s largest professional network with nearly 675+ million users in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
LinkedIn’s vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce. LinkedIn’s mission is simple: to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. LinkedIn Learning provides more than 16,000 best-in-class online courses covering a comprehensive range of topics spanning education, business and industry.
This online professional development platform allows One City parents to expand and sharpen their workplace competencies, knowledge and skills, and position themselves to seize new professional opportunities. Courses are taught by some of the most notable leaders in their fields in the world.
