The Board of Education believes that positive parent and family engagement is essential to student achievement, and thus encourages such involvement in school educational planning and operations.  Parent and family engagement may take place either in the classroom or during extra-curricular activities.  However, the Board also encourages parent and family engagement at home (e.g., planned home reading time, informal learning activities, and/or homework “contracts” between parents, family members and children).  The Board directs the Superintendent of Schools to develop a home-school communications program in an effort to encourage all forms of parent and family engagement.  The District is using Schoology, School Messenger and Building Newsletters.

Title I Parent and Family Engagement- District Level Policy

Consistent with the parent and family engagement goals of Title I, Part A of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and its reauthorization in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Board of Education will develop and implement programs, activities and procedures that encourage and support the participation of parents and family members of students eligible for Title I services in all aspects of their child’s education.  The Board also will direct all its schools receiving Title I, Part A funds to develop and implement school-level parent and family engagement procedures, as further required by federal law.

For purposes of this policy, parental involvement refers to the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication, involving student academic learning and other school activities.

At a minimum, parent and family engagement programs, activities and procedures at both the district and individual school level will provide opportunities for parents and family members to:

• Play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
• Be actively involved in their child’s education at school; and
• Be full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child.

The federal definition of the term “parents” refers to a natural parent, legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis (such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the child’s welfare).

District and school level Title I parent and family engagement programs, activities and procedures will provide opportunities for the informed participation of parents and family members (including those who have limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory children).

As further required by federal law, parents and family members of students eligible for Title I services will be provided an opportunity to participate in the development of the district’s Title I plan, and to submit comments regarding any aspect of the plan that is not satisfactory to them.  Their comments will be forwarded with the plan to the State Education Department.

Parents and family members also will participate in the process for developing either a comprehensive or targeted “support and school improvement plan” when if the school their child attends is identified by the State as needing this plan.

Parent and family member participation in development of district wide Title I plan

The Board, along with its superintendent of schools and other appropriate district staff will undertake the following actions to promote parent and family member involvement in the development of the district-wide Title I plan:

•     hold open forums during the day and evenings to accommodate various  parent schedules,

•     seek a parent representative designated from recognized booster or parent organizations,

•     conduct an online/paper survey.

Development of school level parent and family engagement approaches

The superintendent of schools or designee will require that all district schools receiving federal financial assistance under Title I, Part A are provided coordination, technical assistance and all other support necessary to assist them in planning and implementing effective parent and family engagement programs and activities that improve student achievement and school performance.  As appropriate to meet individual local needs, the superintendent or designee will survey parents of Title I students on ways to increase parent participation in their child's school and education by email and mail.

Building capacity for parental involvement

to build parent capacity for strong parental involvement to improve their child’s academic achievement, the district and its Title I, Part A schools will, at a minimum:

1.         Assist parents in understanding such topics as the state’s academic content challenging academic standards, state and local academic assessments, Title I requirements, how to monitor their child’s progress and how to work with educators to improve the achievement of their child.  To achieve this objective, the district and its Title I schools will offer parent teacher conferences, open houses, academic program information nights.

2.         Provide materials and training to help parents work to improve their child’s academic achievement such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy). To achieve this objective, the district and its Title I schools will provide information to parents related to Next Generation Standards and schoology parent portal.

3.         Educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, in understanding the value and utility of a parent’s contributions and on how to:

• reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners;

• implement and coordinate parent programs; and
• build ties between parents and the schools.

4.          Provide information related to school and parent-related programs, meetings and other activities to the parents of children participating in Title I programs in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats, upon request, and to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.

Coordination of parental involvement strategies

The district will coordinate and integrate strategies adopted to comply with Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements with parental involvement strategies adopted in connection with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs. It will do this by parent engagement night.

Review of district wide parent and family engagement policy

The Board, along with its superintendent of schools and other appropriate staff will conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of Title I schools, including the identification of barriers to greater participation by parents in activities under this policy, and the revision of parent and family engagement policies necessary for more effective involvement.  To facilitate this review, the district will conduct the following activities: open house, curriculum nights, movie nights, etc.

Ref:     20 USC §§6318(a)(2); 7801(38), Every Student Succeeds Act (§1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act)

            U.S. Department of Education, Parental Involvement, Title I, Part A, Non-Regulatory Guidance, April 23, 2004