MIT MS & HS: Parent Involvement and Engagement, Please.
Dear MITA Scholars and Families,
We are deeply grateful for your commitment to M.I.T. Academy. When you chose our school and completed the registration process, you partnered with us in a shared vision—one started in 1999 by parents and community leaders dedicated to active family involvement and engagement.
Today, our charter school thrives because of that partnership. Strong parent involvement is what keeps our school strong, helps us recruit staff and students, and ensures our charter continues for years to come.
With our middle and high schools now united on one campus, we are excited to combine resources and build an even more connected community.
Back-to-School Night. We look forward to connecting with families at Back-to-School Night. The evening will begin with an ice cream social and an informational session on dual and concurrent college enrollment before classroom visits at 6:00 PM.
M.I.T. Academy SOAR Parent & Guardian Ambassador. Our code of conduct is Safety, Ownership, Achievement, & Respect (SOAR). We are seeking caregivers who are committed to being a positive role model to act as a SOAR Ambassador to promote and enhance a safe and secure environment before school, morning break, lunch and after school. Students will know that we care and that we work as a team when they experience:
More adult presence and visibility
Increased school-home connection
Positive adult interactions
All SOAR Ambassadors are supervised by staff and must meet the following requirements:
Listed as an emergency contact for an MITA student(s);
Submitted TB test or a TB risk assessment clearance completed by a healthcare provider within the past two years;
Megan’s Law database clearance.
Please complete this Google Form to sign up for October: https://forms.gle/1K716n9NkfpDwSSJ6
MITA School Site Council (SSC). Congratulations to Mr. Orlando Cortez and Ms. Cynthia McDowell for their selection to the GTA Board of Directors. They are both active MIT parents. Mr. Cortez has been an invaluable member of the School Site Council for several years. In addition to representing parent interests, he leverages every opportunity to provide leadership feedback to the students. We appreciate MITA parent involvement and engagement at the Board of Directors level. With Mr. Cortez serving as a member of the GTA Board of Directors, we currently have a parent school site council vacancy. For more information about the SSC and its meeting dates, visit this webpage: https://mitahs.gtaschools.org/38112_2.
The MITA School Site Council is composed of 10 members (5 staff and 5 non-staff). Our current council members are as follows:
Administration: Li Saeteurn
Teachers: Julie Angold, Johnny Conrad, and Harrison Paul
Other Staff: Michelle Ann Flores
Parent/Community 1: Vicki Wilson
Parent/Community 2: Vacant
Student 1 MIT HS: Christelle N.
Student 2 MIT HS: Christabel N.
Student 3 MIT MS: Vacant
The MIT MS Leadership class will facilitate the election of a middle school student council member. MIT parents and caregivers are encouraged to self-nominate or nominate someone to fill the current vacancy. If two or more individuals are nominated, then an election will be held. Please complete the SSC Parent/Community nomination by emailing mainoffice@mitacademy or use this Google Form: https://forms.gle/jgQhbP1odp2n5dCs8
English Learner Advisory Council (ELAC). Diversity is our strength. It is beautiful to see and hear students use different languages with pride and confidence. A significant number of MIT families speak a language other than English. Multilingual students who are reclassified as Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) maintain high school engagement, meet university-eligibility course requirements (such as A-G requirements in California), and graduate at rates comparable to or exceeding non-EL peers. ELAC connects parents of EL students with the school. The committee collaborates with the school on strategies to best support English Learners. For more information about ELAC, visit this webpage: https://mitahs.gtaschools.org/38113_2.
The first ELAC meeting of this school year is on Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 6:00 PM. For more information, contact Mr. Ernst Louis-Jacques.
SCHOOL CULTURE SURVEY. When school climate is high, student achievement is high. At MIT, we strive to create a disruption-free learning environment where students and staff can focus on teaching and learning. We value feedback and actively seek input from all stakeholders to improve student achievement. At this time, we have 50 MIT SCAI parent surveys completed. Completing the survey is a great first step to initiating your Parent Engagement and Involvement journey.
Click on this link for the SCAI Parent Survey:
https://assc.questionpro.com/GA-MITParentsF26
In-Kind Donations: Halloween Teach-o-Treat. Traditions support a thriving community. At MIT, the Halloween “Teach-o-Treat” is an exciting event for students. With a combined school, we would appreciate donations of individually wrapped treats. Please drop them off in the main office, H2. For more information, visit this webpage: https://mitams.gtaschools.org/91243_2.
MIT Middle School ASB Leadership is hosting a haunted house. The theme is an abandoned hospital and morgue. We welcome donations of Halloween decor looking for a second home. If you have questions, please contact Mr. Destin Tunca at dtunca@mitacademy.org.
In-Kind Donations: Student Store. We will have a list of items that families can donate to the Student Store. Bottled water is a regular item at the Student Store and is always accepted. Donations to the Student Store support grade-level activities. They also support our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program. There are many ways for a student to earn an MIT buck, which can be used to purchase items in the store. There are over 2K MIT bucks in circulation.
As always, thank you for choosing MIT. Thank you for helping us to grow parent involvement and engagement. Please feel free to reach out with questions and ideas.
In partnership,
Lai Saeteurn, Director of Schools, lsaeteurn@mitacademy.org
Liz Saldana, MIT MS Site Director, lsaldana@mitacademy.org
Ernst Louis-Jacques, MIT HS Site Director, elouis-jacques@mitacademy.org
Miriam Ascencio, MIT MH Office Supervisor, mascencio@mitacademy.org