Jan Schiff Elementary PTO
We're so glad you're here.
Learning a new school takes time. We hope to smooth the transition. In fact, many of us have been in this position ourselves. We've tried to address common questions below, but if you don't find the answer you're looking for, please get in touch!
01
How do I register?
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Visit www.fortbendisd.com to complete new student enrollment forms if you are new to the district or returning from another district.
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Call the Schiff office to make a registration appointment: 281-634-9450
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See the FBISD Schiff website for details of what to bring to your appointment
02
How does the school communicate?
Important information and handouts come home in students' Tuesday folders each week. The principal also emails a newsletter the same day. Teachers communicate with parents via email weekly, sending out announcements and the following week's homework assignments so families can plan ahead. Skyward, FBISD's family access portal, provides access to an online gradebook, allowing parents to see their own student's grades.
The PTO uses this website, its new Facebook page, and weekly emails to keep parents up-to-date on events, volunteer opportunities, and pertinent information.
Am I welcome on campus?
Yes! Parents are welcome to join their student for lunch anytime. Sign in at the front desk with your ID, and head to the cafeteria.
We also have many volunteer opportunities on campus that provide contact with students. We'd love your help!
03
How do I get involved?
There are many ways! Join a committee. Volunteer at school events or fundraisers. Become a Shark-a-thon sponsor. Help at a class party. Chaperone a field trip. Donate skills, resources, or money.
The bonus? Working with folks is a quick way to build community and get to know people!
Please note that anyone who volunteers on campus, whether helping with class parties, chaperoning field trips, or participating in other capacities, is required by the district to complete a simple background check online every year. Click here to fulfill this requirement.
Our volunteer coordinator, Tracey Grzanich, would love to meet you and chat about how you can contribute to our incredible school. Please shoot her a quick note: volunteer@schiffpto.org.
04
How does dismissal work?
With a school as large as Schiff, dismissal must be engineered to run as a finely-tuned machine. And with the construction happening this year, dismissal should prove even livelier.
At the beginning of the year, you will be asked to indicate how your child should be released each day. You can change this during the year, temporarily or permanently, but this designation determines where your child goes at dismissal. If you need to change the dismissal plan for a day, simply email your child's teacher as soon as possible. There are several dismissal possibilities:
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walker
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biker
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car rider
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carpool/HOV (for those picking up 3 or more children)
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bus rider
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day care
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extended day
Bikers and then walkers are escorted to the corner of Discovery Lane and Drayton Hall where they are released to parents or to head home on their own. Note: Kindergarteners cannot leave unsupervised.
Car riders pick up their children at the front entrance of the school.
Carpool/HOV's dismissal: Enter the side parking lot, near the cafeteria and gym for pick up of 3 or more students. Please do not arrive before 3:40 because the busses will be in the lane.
Bus riders and day care riders will be escorted to appropriate buses.
Extended Day will be escorted to the Extended Day room.
05
Where is Schiff located?
Schiff Elementary is conveniently located in the safe, quiet neighborhoods near the "front" of Sienna Plantation, providing easy access to both industry in Sugar Land via Hwy 6 and to the Medical Center in Houston, courtesy of the Fort Bend Tollway. As a result, Schiff attracts professionals from around the world.
06
What is Schiff like?
Schiff is a big school that manages to feel small.
Front desk staff quickly learn parent faces and names. Teachers greet parents and students warmly in the halls. The school is physically organized by grade level, facilitating communities within the larger student body. Our principal, Mrs. DeFlora, is warm, respectful, and responsive to parent requests and concerns.
Meeting the needs of every student is a high priority. Every spring, the principal requests parent input regarding the personalities, strengths, and needs of their individual child and then works diligently through the summer to match students with teachers to create the best learning environment for every student.
Fort Bend County is the most diverse county in the country, attracting professionals from around the world, and our student body proudly reflects this incredible global diversity. Children have the privilege of learning about the world by simpling playing together on the playground.
Quarterly award ceremonies acknowledge students for perfect attendance, perfect punctuality, honor roll, bringing up grades, outstanding writing, outstanding math performance, and exemplary citizenship.
When you visit, you'll notice quiet, colorful hallways. Students walk to lunch and outclasses (LAMMPPS: Library, Art, Music, PE, Science) with "fins and bubbles," the staff's clever way of keeping children's hands and mouths productively engaged. Bright bulletin boards recognize star students, super staff, and special events.
If you come in the morning, you'll catch Finz TV, the school-sponsored, student-led morning announcements broadcast in every classroom.
On any day, at any time, you'll find parents volunteering: in the VIPS room to create cut-outs and posters for classrooms and halls, during kindergarten lunch to help little hands open packaging, in the library during Book Fairs, in the Shark Store where students use Sand Dollars earned for exemplary behavior to purchase goodies, in the staff lounge setting up teacher appreciation luncheons, and in the gym helping fourth graders fasten knee pads and roller blades during PE.
Schiff is truly a school community dedicated to students.