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Tag Archives: Antelope Valley Charter School
Have You Filled Out the Multipurpose Family Income Form?
If you haven’t had a chance yet, please read on. Thank you for your time!
The start of school means getting to know new friends, facilitators, and routines, adjusting to a new way of learning, and, of course, filling out lots of paperwork!
One form that is especially important for schools to receive from families is called the Multipurpose Family Income Form. This form needs to be filled out for every learner and submitted each year by October 1. It can be submitted in a variety of ways. You can fill it out via a fillable PDF (attached) and email it to betty.lara@ileadav.org, fill out a paper form (attached in English, attached in Spanish) and drop it off at the front office, or — in our newest, completely digital way — you can complete it via the My Mealtime online platform. This new option ensures the confidentiality of your form and can be done from home. Please see the attached instructions (here and here) on how to access this option. Please email all forms (by October 1) and any questions to betty.lara@ileadav.org.
Some people have heard that it is necessary to fill out this form only if you want your child to qualify for free or reduced-price school breakfast and/or lunch. The truth is that it is important for EVERY family to fill out this form because doing so helps bring much-needed additional money and services directly to our school!
Our school receives funding from the state and federal governments to support the needs of low-income learners. For each learner who qualifies for free or reduced price breakfast/lunch, our school receives thousands of additional dollars in funding. Studies show that many eligible students, in particular middle school and high school students, do not complete this form each year, leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding for our school on the table. Even a small increase in eligible forms collected results in significantly more money to support our learners and school.
What is the Multipurpose Family Income Form?
This form collects basic information about your learner so our school can determine their eligibility for free or reduced-price breakfast/lunch, and also so that our school can qualify to receive extra money and programs. You may have heard this form referred to in the past as the School Meal Application Form or School Lunch Form. The name has changed because it is really about more than school breakfast/lunch.
What if my child doesn’t want to eat school breakfast/lunch? Why should I fill out the form?
Even if your child chooses to bring their own breakfast/lunch or snack or if they eat lunch at home, filling out the form is very important! It ensures that our school gets all of the funding and benefits available to support facilitators and learners.
How does filling out the Multipurpose Family Income Form help our school?
Schools get more money in their budgets to support learners. Our school qualifies to receive more money per learner from the state and federal government, which they can pass on to our school.
Help! The form is confusing!
Income information: Some parents have asked whether they need to provide this information if they know that they are not eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The form does require that families enter income. This information is not shared and is required for those seeking free or reduced-price meal eligibility. However, a family that does not wish to be considered for eligibility may fill out a form, complete learner information in step 1, write “do not qualify” in the first box in step 3, and then complete the name, signature, and date lines in step 4.
Last 4 digits of Social Security Number: If you don’t have a social security number or don’t want to submit the last 4 digits of your social, you can check the box that says “don’t have one” and still be eligible for free or reduced-price breakfast/lunch.
Is the Information I submit confidential?
The information you submit on the Multipurpose Family Income Form cannot be shared by our school.
Personal information submitted on the form is not shared with the state or federal government; only the number of learners who qualify for free or reduced breakfast/lunch is shared.
Facilitators are not told which learners qualify for free or reduced breakfast/lunch benefits.
Our school does not share information with other organizations that provide benefits. But if your child does qualify for free or reduced-price breakfast/lunch, you may use the eligibility form provided by our school to qualify for other benefits through providers.
If your child qualifies and chooses to eat breakfast/lunch at school, the process is the same as it is for a learner who is paying full price.
Why is the payment system different?
Our school allows families to deposit funds and fill out applications online via My Mealtime. If you don’t already have an account, please visit https://ileadav.org/school-lunch-program/mealtime-parent-directions for directions.
What if I still have questions?
If you run into any problems, you can always contact the staff at our school for individual assistance. You can reach them by calling (661) 494-7442 or emailing betty.lara@ileadav.org.
We thank you for your continued support of iLEAD Antelope Valley!
Dawn Roberson
Director
Helpful Links
Online application for Free/Reduced Meals
Parent Guide to MealTime Apply Online
Fillable PDF Application for Free/Reduced Meals
Printable Application for Free/Reduced Meals (English)
Printable Application for Free/Reduced Meals (Spanish)
iLEAD Antelope Valley Meal Charge Policy
Letter to Households (English and Spanish)
iSUPPORT Dates to Add to Your Calendar
It really does take a village to raise our kids, and we are so happy to have our families in our tribe!
Join our parent volunteer group: iSUPPORT!
Our school community and children need us, their families, volunteering. Our participation makes a huge impact. We are heroes to our children, and the staff members are grateful for the help.
Upcoming Meetings:
October 1
November 5
December 3
We will be meeting by video conference on Zoom. Please check your ParentSquare messages for the times, links, and meeting IDs! Looking forward to seeing you there!
Reminders: Fall 2020 Distance Learning Instructions
Below you will find information about tech tools necessary for this year: Student Email, PowerSchool, and Zoom. If you need any support, please submit a Tech Ticket.
1. Student Email
If you are a returning learner, your school email and password from last year has not changed, and you can log into your email at https://mail.google.com/.
If you are a new learner, your facilitator will be able to provide you with your new email address, or you may submit a Tech Ticket and our technology team can assist you.
An email is not required to log into Zoom.
2. PowerSchool Account Instructions
Click HERE for PowerSchool learner and family training.
You should now have access to your courses. Your facilitator will contact you through PowerSchool with a welcome announcement and instructions on how to get started.
- Your courses are located here: ilead online.learning.powerschool.com.
- Please bookmark this page on your child’s browser. You can access PowerSchool Learning on a desktop, laptop, tablet, or phone. To download the learning app for Apple, click HERE.
- Please log into your new account and bookmark this domain to access your courses.
Your username: Firstname.Lastname or firstname.lastname
Your temporary password: changeme (for new learners only)
Note: if you are a returning learner, your password has not changed.
If you need any assistance logging in, please submit a Tech Ticket.
Do not use the Google log-in option. Scroll down to see the example below.
. 
3. Zoom
Zoom Cheat-Sheet for Parents and Caregivers
Zoom Camera Tips for Learners
Please click HERE to visit our Knowledge Base of tips and tutorials.
Please click HERE for technical support.
iLEAD Antelope Valley: Partnering with Home and Community
At iLEAD Antelope Valley, we don’t believe that education happens solely within the four walls of a school. On the contrary, we believe education that produces well-rounded children is a result of synergy and collaboration between the school, the home, and the community.
That is why it is so important to us to build strong partnerships between families and communities. Parents and community partners are key resources to supporting learners’ success, which is why iLEAD Agua Dulce actively and consistently involves parents, finding ways to support them and extend learners’ education at home.
Through our relationships with various community partners, we are able to provide learning experiences that broaden kids’ perspectives, not to mention often give back to the community. Strong community partnerships are a win-win.
There are several ways we promote parent involvement. We strongly encourage parents to volunteer at their learners’ school during the year, with opportunities including classroom volunteering, tutoring, attending board of directors meetings, participating in events, and more. We also encourage parents to take an active role in their children’s learning.
Other community-related partnerships we encourage and facilitate include partnering with industry professionals, business leaders, government and civic leaders, community leaders, nonprofit leaders, higher-education partners, entrepreneurs, and more. Fostering these relationships provides learners with a wealth of knowledge, advice, and insight, in addition to access to real-world learning opportunities and experiences.
Collaboration is at the heart of iLEAD Antelope Valley’s project-based learning model. When synergy is found between learners, families, and communities, something really special happens — the foundation is set for authentic learning that produces inspired leaders with promising futures.
Zoom Schedules
Parents, during our Meet the Facilitator Zoom meetings, facilitators spoke to you about the A and B cohorts (groups). Learners will check in daily for Morning Meeting/Advisory and, depending on the cohort schedule, should be with their facilitator at least three times per day. Your learners should not be on Zoom from 9:00-3:30. Instead, they’ll be on for 45-60-minute intervals, with time for PE (see below) and, at some point, enrichment workshops. Please reach out to the school office if you have any questions or concerns.
Coach Ali’s PE Schedule
(Please check your email, or email ali.vasconez@ileadav.org, for the Zoom links.)
Monday
TK-Kinder / Ms.McReynolds – 10:10am – 10:40am
Kinder / Ms. Calderon – 10:10am – 10:40am
1st / Ms. Calderon – 1:30pm – 2:00pm
1st / Mr. Leon – 1:30pm – 2:00pm
Tuesday
2nd / Ms. Basty – 10:10 – 10:40 AM
2nd / Mr. Bryan – 10:10 – 10:40 AM
3rd / Ms. Baham – 10:40 – 11:20 AM
3rd / Ms. Bogna – 10:40 – 11:20 AM
Wednesday
4th / Mr. Bogdan – 11:00 – 11:30 AM
4th / Ms. Reed – 11:00 – 11:30 AM
5th / Ms. James – 12:00 – 12:30 PM
5th/6th / Mr. Suzuki – 12:00 – 12:30 PM
6th / Mr. Z – 12:00 – 12:30 PM
Thursday
7th / Ms. Tucker – 1:00 – 1:30 PM
7th/8th / Ms. Lee – 1:00 – 1:30 PM
8th / Mr. Hamann – 1 :00 – 1:30 PM
Master Agreements: Please Sign (Again)
Parents, recently we sent out our master agreements to you. Some signed online, and others used their phones. We were not aware until August 25, but phone signatures did not go through. You have received another agreement. Thank you for signing again from a laptop or computer. We apologize for the inconvenience.
iLEAD Antelope Valley Culture: Project-Based Learning
Spend even just a few moments inquiring about iLEAD Antelope Valley’s approach to education, and one of the first things you’ll hear about is project-based learning, or PBL. It’s at the core of our approach to school and a proven asset to education.
So what is project-based learning? In PBL, learners actively explore real-world challenges to acquire deeper knowledge of the subject at hand. Research shows that learners increasingly retain and enjoy what they’re learning when PBL is done well.
This educational model helps students learn the valuable collaboration, academic, and problem-solving skills our global economy will demand from them. Through the PBL method, learners tackle engaging projects about real-world issues that require critical thought, inquiry, and synthesis, and culminate in regular Presentations of Learning (or POLs) to their peers, facilitators, community members, and parents.
The PBL model requires learners to research, collaborate, and carefully weigh information and evidence in a nuanced problem-solving environment. It teaches learners to accept feedback, create solutions, and present their findings in a high-performance context — preparing them for the rigors of the 21st-century economy and the challenges of a global world.
PBL provides the following benefits:
- PBL makes school more engaging: In PBL, students are active, not passive. Projects engage their hearts and minds and provide real-world relevance for learning.
- PBL improves learning: At the completion of a project, learners understand content more deeply, remember what they learn, and retain it longer than is often the case with traditional instruction. Because of this, students who gain content knowledge with PBL are better able to apply to new situations what they know and can do.
- PBL builds skills for college, career, and life: Learners are preparing for life in a world where success requires more than basic knowledge and skills. In a project, students learn how to take initiative and responsibility, build confidence, solve problems, work in teams, communicate ideas, and manage themselves more effectively.
- PBL helps address standards: Common Core and other current education standards emphasize real-world application of knowledge and skills, as well as the development of success skills like critical thinking/problem-solving, collaboration, communication in a variety of media, and speaking and presentation skills. PBL helps learners effectively meet these goals.
- PBL embraces technology: Kids enjoy using a variety of tech tools that are a perfect fit for PBL. With technology, facilitators and learners not only find resources and information they need; they also collaborate more effectively and connect with experts, partners, and audiences.
- PBL makes teaching more enjoyable and rewarding: Projects allow facilitators to work closely with active, engaged learners doing high-quality, meaningful work. In many cases, facilitators rediscover the joy of learning alongside kids.
- PBL connects kids and schools with communities and the real world: Through PBL, learners have opportunities to solve real problems and address actual issues, and as such they learn more about interacting with adults and organizations, are exposed to workplaces, and can identify and develop career interests.
In short, project-based learning is at the core of the iLEAD Antelope Valley model because we believe it is at the heart of how kids learn best. Time and again, we’ve seen how PBL helps learners develop academic skills, build leadership skills and character, and lay the foundation for promising careers.
iLEAD AV Exploration School Photo Portraits: August 26
iLEAD AV Exploration partners with Michelle McCoy Photography for our school photos! More information will be shared soon, including details on available photo packages and optional school ID cards for purchase. Save the date and stay tuned!
- Date: Tuesday, August 26
- Time: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
We’re looking forward to a fantastic year at iLEAD AV Exploration!
