PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY FOR TITLE I STUDENTS
In accordance with Section IOIO of the Every Student Succeeds Act ("ESSA"), Public Law 1114-95, it is the policy of the Plainville Board of Education (the "Board") to provide parents and family members of students participating in the district's Title I programs meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children within these programs. To facilitate parental and family participation, the Board encourages parents and family members of Title I eligible students to be involved in regular meetings, communications, and activities that will inform them about the district's Title I programs, to participate in the improvement of such programs and to help improve their child's progress within these programs.
This policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed upon by, parents and family members of children participating in Title I programs. The district shall distribute this written Parent and Family Engagement Policy to parents and family members of participating students in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. The policy shall be made available to the public and updated periodically, as necessary to carry out the requirements of the parent and family engagement portion of Section 1010 of ESSA.
The Board shall conduct, with the meaningful involvement of Title I parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this policy in improving the academic quality of the schools receiving Title I funds. The Board shall use the findings of such evaluation to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the policy. Such annual evaluation shall include identifying:
1. barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by 20 U.S.C. § 6318 (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited lite racy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background);
2. the needs of parent and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and
3. strategies to support successful school and family interactions.
Each year, each school within the district that is involved in Title I programs shall conduct a meeting, at a convenient time, to involve parents in the planning, review and
improvement of programs funded by Title I. All parents of anticipating children must be invited
and encouraged to attend. At this meeting, parents shall be given a description and explanation of the Title I programs, the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, the achievement levels of the challenging State academic standards, and information regarding the importance of parental involvement and their right to be involved.
In addition to the required annual meeting, and if requested by parents, schools within the district that are involved in Title I programs shall offer opportunities for regular meetings at flexible times of the day in order to allow parents to formulate suggestions for the Board's Title I programs and their application to their child(ren)'s programs; and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions related to the education of their children. Parents will be given opportunities to participate in the joint development of the district's Title I plan, as required by Section 1006 of ESSA, and in the process of any school review and improvement in accordance with the State's plan, as required by Section 1111 of ESSA. At any time, if a parent is dissatisfied with a school's Title I program, he/she shall have the opportunity to submit comments for review at the district level.
The Board will provide the coordination, technical assistance and other support necessary to assist and build capacity of Title I schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance. Parental and family engagement in Title I programs shall be coordinated and integrated with parental and family engagement strategies, to the extent feasible, under other federal, state, local and district programs.
In order to build the schools' and parents' capacity for strong parental involvement, the Board shall:
1. provide assistance to parents of students participating in Title I programs in understanding topics such as the challenging state academic standards, state and local academic assessments, the requirements under Title I, and how to monitor their child's progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children;
2. provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy);
3. educate teachers, specialized instructional suppo1i personnel, staff and administrators, with the assistance of parents, about how to better communicate and work with parents;
4. to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with other federal, state and local programs, including public preschool programs, conduct other activities that encourage and support parent participation;
5. ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings and other activities is sent to participating parents in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand;
6. provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents may request; and
7. inform parents and parental organizations of the existence and purpose of parent resource centers within the State.
School-Parent Compact
This policy further requires that each school involved in Title I programs shall jointly develop with parents of participating children a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the State's high standards. The school-parent complacent shall:
1. describe the school's responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables Title I students to meet the challenging State academic standards;
2. indicate the ways in which each parent will be responsible for suppo11ing their child's learning, volunteering in their child's classroom, and participating, as appropriate, in decisions related to their child's education and positive use of extracurricular time;
3. address the importance of ongoing teacher-parent communication through parent-teacher conferences, frequent reports to parents, reasonable access to school sta ff, and oppo11unities to volunteer, participate in , and observe their child's classroom activities; and
4. ensure regular, two-way, meaningful communication between family members and school staff, and, to the extent practicable, in a language that family members can understand.
The Board authorizes the Superintendent, or his/her designee, to develop a school-parent compact and other procedures such as those relating to meetings, parent communication and