Family Resources
Below you can find a list of resources we think you may find helpful. You can also visit our Instructional Resources page to check out our list of teacher-approved resources that you can use to help your student improve their skills.
Student Safety Information
- Safety Notification Communications Plan
- Parent Talking Guide after Safety Incidents
- Prosecutor Response to School Threats
Affordable Connectivity Program
Barry County Chamber of Commerce
Help shape your community’s future!
The Barry County Chamber & Economic Development Alliance (BCCEDA) is working with Antero Group to develop a rural economic development strategy focused on three downtown corridors in Nashville, Delton, and Woodland.
Take the Barry County Rural Economic Development Survey and help shape a vibrant and prosperous future.
The deadline for responses has been extended from February 11 to March 1, 2024. The feedback provided will help guide the outcomes, goals, and action items being developed for each community. Please share this information with residents, business owners, and community members within your networks!
Barry County Substance Abuse Task Force
Talking with your teen matters, take time to talk with them about healthy relationships, substance use, and mental health. Help youth grow into healthy responsible adults. Research confirms what young people already know—what parents have to say matters. That's why parents play a powerful role in helping adolescents make healthy decisions. But if you think talking to your son or daughter is tough, or it makes you nervous, know that you're not alone. Other parents feel the same as you.
Barry-Eaton District Health Department - Connections
The Connections Program was developed to connect community members within our district to needed services such as health/food/housing & transportation, Covid-19 prevention, mental health resources, or help navigating and securing insurance benefits to improve health disparities and outcomes. Our CHWs have assessed individual and family needs and provided the necessary assistance to minimize barriers. In most cases, referrals are likely to be completed in one appointment, but some may take more than one. Our CHWs can see community members in the office, in their homes, virtually, or by phone. At this time, there are no eligibility requirements.
Building Healthy Communities
October Newsletter – Week 1
Building Healthy Communities: October is National Eat Better, Eat Together Month
October is National Eat Better, Eat Together Month! Family meals are a great time to teach children about healthy eating habits and show them what a healthy meal looks like. It is important to never force or pressure children to eat a particular food, but rather encourage trying new foods in a happy and comfortable manner. You can help expand your child’s healthy food choices by encouraging them and being a role model. To help make family meals a part of your family routine, set a regular family mealtime while minimizing distractions like TV, and focusing on communicating with one another. Also remember to eat at the table to focus on each other and eating mindfully. Check out these tips to Make the Most of Mealtime and keep Healthy Family Communication! This month we are starting to teach our nutrition education lessons. October will begin with a lesson on MyPlate and a lesson on Mindful Eating. To reiterate these lessons at home, ask your child what they learned in class about the food groups while you are enjoying mealtime! Learn more about the BHC program by visiting: bhcwsu.org!
October Newsletter – Week 2
Building Healthy Communities: Stocking Your Pantry on a Budget
Healthy eating begins with making healthy food purchases. Eating healthy does not need to cost more! Here are some tips to save money and stock up your home with nutritious foods:
- Fruits and vegetables that are local or in season tend to be less expensive – check out our resource on Shopping by the Season!
- Frozen or canned fruits and vegetables have equal nutritional content and are a less expensive way to up your produce intake - look for low sodium!
- When items you use frequently go on sale, stock up and freeze if needed!Plan weekly meals and healthy snacks – sticking to a list is a great way to avoid costly impulse buys.
- Canned beans, lentils and canned tomato products are healthy additions to soups.
- Oatmeal and whole grain cereals are a healthy way to fill you up to start the day.
Here are some additional ideas to Shop Healthy & Save! Also, check out these helpful tips on how to Involve Kids in the Kitchen and how to help curb Picky Eating!
October Newsletter – Week 3
Building Healthy Communities: A Healthier Halloween at School
Halloween is full of fun and excitement– even without the candy! Children get plenty while trick or treating, so it’s important to aim at making healthier choices around this time, at home and at school. We need your help to remember to send your student to school with nutritious foods and cut back on high-sugar snacks and candy! For the Halloween spirit, choose orange fruits or veggies, like orange slices or baby carrots with a low-fat yogurt dip! We want to celebrate Halloween in the most health-conscious ways and foster a healthy school environment so students can learn at their best! Check out these ideas for fun and healthy Halloween treats! Here are some more ideas on ways to Celebrate Healthily!
October Newsletter – Week 4
Building Healthy Communities: A Healthier Halloween at Home
Halloween is near! This is an exciting holiday for children to dress up and perhaps trick-or-treat. If you celebrate Halloween, you know this holiday focuses on collecting and eating snacks with very little nutritional value and high sugar and fat content. Here are a few suggestions for a slightly healthier Halloween:
- If you give out candy, put it away until that day, so your family doesn’t choose it for snacking on
- If you’re trick or treating, use a smaller collection bag so it fills up faster
- Donate leftover candy to your local dentist offices or libraries– they often have programs to use it for other causes
- Remind your kids to brush their teeth after they eat, especially candy! Here’s some tips on Oral Hygiene to share
- For a family fun night to celebrate Halloween, try this recipe to make a Spooky Pizza together!
Children with Special Needs Fund
The Children with Special Needs Fund provides support for children in Michigan with special health care needs not available through any other funding source. The Fund helps with the purchase of equipment and services that promote optimal health, mobility, and development, enhancing the lives of children and their families.
Common Childhood Illnesses
Early Literacy Resources
Eaton RESA has put together some great information and resources to help your child become a better reader.
Parents' Read-At-Home Tools for Student Success
Family Internet Connectivity Assistance
Emergency Broadband Benefit Program
The Emergency Broadband Benefit Program is a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program that provides a temporary discount on monthly broadband bills for qualifying low-income households. If your household is eligible, you can receive:
- Up to a $50/month discount on your broadband service and associated equipment rentals
- Up to a $75/month discount if your household is on qualifying Tribal lands
- A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer (with a co-payment of more than $10 but less than $50)
A household is eligible if a member of the household meets one of the criteria below:
- Has an income that is at or below 135% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines or participates in certain assistance programs, such as SNAP, Medicaid, or Lifeline;
- Approved to receive benefits under the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program, including through the USDA Community Eligibility Provision in the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 school year;
- Received a Federal Pell Grant during the current award year;
- Experienced a substantial loss of income due to job loss or furlough since February 29, 2020, and the household had a total income in 2020 at or below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers; or
- Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating provider's existing low-income or COVID-19 program.
Affordable Connectivity Program
The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) helps low-income households pay for internet service and connected devices. Eligible households may receive:
Up to $30/month discount on internet service.
Up to $75/month discount if the household is on qualifying Tribal lands.
A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, tablet, or desktop computer (with a co-payment of more than $10 but less than $50).
FCC National Broadband Map
The Michigan Department of Education continues to support efforts to address the “Homework Gap” for students. To further those efforts, MDE, in partnership with the Michigan Office of High-Speed Internet (MiHI), is sharing the opportunity to check federal data on available broadband connections in each community. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released the National Broadband Map. The map, at the address level, shows available internet service levels and the internet service providers (ISPs) that offer them. The information given for each location is based upon data submitted by ISPs and may contain errors. The MiHI is urging all Michigan residents to review address-level data for their address of residence and submit challenges to correct the data as presented. The MiHI also notes that challenges may be filed on behalf of other residents (neighbors, family, friends, etc.).
Food Service
- Nutrislice Breakfast & Lunch Menus
Great Start Readiness Program
The Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) is Michigan's state-funded preschool program for four-year-old children. The program is administered by the Michigan Department of Education
Khan Academy
Khan Academy offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. They offer math, science, computing, history, art history, economics, and more, including K-14 and test preparation (SAT, Praxis, LSAT) content.
Michigan Learning Channel
The Michigan Learning Channel (MLC) is a statewide public television partnership offering instructional content to support the education of students and to provide alternative resources for families and teachers. Designed to enrich school learning, the instructional content is aligned with Michigan’s educational standards and follows widely accepted sequences for mastering skills throughout the school year.
The lessons, generally about a half-hour each, are presented by a diverse group of educators, delivered as if the teacher is in a classroom setting. Nearly every program has supplemental educational activities and resources to build on the lesson.
This programming is being broadcast on special on-air channels established by each of the participating public television stations in Michigan. It is also available as a livestream and stored for on-demand viewing on a variety of digital platforms, ensuring accessibility to all students, teachers, and families in the state.
All content is offered at no cost to schools, families, and caregivers.
NWEA Testing
OK2SAY
Nearly all school and law enforcement personnel using the confidential reporting system OK2SAY indicate it is useful and helpful in stopping harm before it occurs.
Seventy-three percent report they were unaware of the problem before the tip was submitted. OK2SAY empowers Michigan students to help prevent violence and make their schools safe by confidentially reporting threatening behavior. Anyone can report tips on criminal activities or potential harm directed at students, school employees, or schools. Tips can be submitted 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The program’s 2020 Annual Report shows that OK2SAY received 3,743 tips spanning 31 categories, with the top three types of tips being:
- Suicide threats - 896 tips
- Drugs – 456 tips
- Other (e.g., anxiety, stress, depression, harassment) - 436 tips
OK2SAY is available 24/7 and tips can be submitted in the following ways:
Call: 8-555-OK2SAY (855-565-2729)
Text: 652729 (OK2SAY)
Email: OK2SAY@mi.gov
OK2SAY website: www.ok2say.com
OK2SAY mobile app:
PBS
Detroit Public TV responded to the learning needs of families with children at home as a result of Michigan schools being closed because of the COVID-19 crisis by curating resources from across the PBS system.
Powerschool Parent Portal
Do you want to be able to check your child's attendance and grades at any time? Use the PowerSchool Parent Portal.
NOTE: PowerSchool has updated their portal. To login, you'll use the email address connected to the account you created, click "Continue", and then use the password you created for the account. For those who use the PowerSchool app, no changes have been made to log in at this time.
Technology Support
WhyTry: The Parent Guide to Resilience
The objective of this parent’s guide is to help you develop a resilient mindset. It will give you tools to help your kids do the same. A resilient mindset means that in the face of a personal or family challenge, you find a way to thrive instead of shutting down and giving up.