Policy 6172.4

Instruction

Parent and Family Engagement Policy for Title I Students

The Board of Education (Board) endorses the parent involvement goals of Title I and encourages the regular participation by parents and family members of Title I eligible children in all aspects of the program. The education of children is viewed as a cooperative effort among the parents, school and community.  In this policy, the word “parent” also includes guardians and other family members involved in supervising the child’s schooling. Therefore, complying with Section 1010 of The Every Student Succeeds Act, P.L. 114-95, the Board will provide parents and family members of students participating in District Title I programs meaningful opportunities to participate in the education of their children within these programs.

Pursuant to federal law, the District will develop jointly with, agree on with and distribute to parents and family members of children participating in the Title I program a written parent and family engagement policy. This policy shall be distributed in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.  In addition, this policy shall be made available to the public and updated periodically, as necessary to fulfill the requirements of the parent and family engagement portion of ESSA (Section 1010).

At the required annual meeting of Title I parents, parents will have opportunities to participate in the design, development, operation and evaluation of the program for the next school year.  Proposed activities shall be presented to fulfill the requirements necessary to address the requirements of parental and family engagement.

In addition to the required annual meeting, additional meetings shall be held, at various times of the day and/or evenings, for parents of children participating in the Title I program. These meetings shall be used to provide parents with the following:

1. The ability to be involved in an organized, ongoing, and timely way in the planning, review and improvement of Title I programs;
2. The opportunity to be involved in an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this policy in improving in those schools receiving Title I funds the academic quality;
3. Information about programs provided under Title I;
4. A description and explanation of the curriculum in use, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet;
5. Opportunities to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children; and
6. The opportunity to bring parent comments, if they are dissatisfied with the school’s Title I program, to the district level.

Title I funding, if sufficient, may be used to facilitate parent attendance at meetings through payment of transportation and childcare costs.

The parents of children identified to participate in Title I programs shall receive from the school Principal and Title I staff an explanation of the reasons supporting each child's selection for the program, a set of objectives to be addressed, and a description of the services to be provided.  Opportunities will be provided for the parents to meet with the classroom and Title I teachers to discuss their child's progress.  Parents will also receive guidance as to how they can assist in the education of their children at home.

The required annual evaluation of the District’s Title I program shall include identifying:
1.      Barriers to greater participation by parents in program activities, with particular attention given to parents who are economically disadvantaged, disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, 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 which can support successful school and family interaction.

Each school in the District receiving Title I funds and involved in Title I programs shall jointly develop with parents of children served in the program a “School-Parent Compact” outlining the manner in which parents, school staff and students share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement in meeting State standards.

The “School-Parent Compact” shall:

1. Describe the school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment enabling children in the Title I program to meet the State’s challenging academic achievement standards;
2. Indicate the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning, such as monitoring attendance, homework completion, monitoring television watching, volunteering in the classroom, and participating, as appropriate, in decisions related to their child’s education and positive use of extra-curricular time; and
3. Address the importance of parent-teacher communication on an on-going basis, with at a minimum, parent-teacher conferences, frequent reports to parents, and reasonable access to staff.
4. Ensure regular, two-way, meaningful communication between family members and school staff, and to the extent practicable, in a language understandable to family members.

Information about parental involvement and actions taken to improve parental involvement shall be included, as required, in the strategic school profile submitted annually by the Superintendent to the Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education. Such actions to improve parental involvement may include methods used to engage parents in the planning and improvement of school programs and to increase support to parent’s efforts at home to assist their children on learning activities.

This policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed upon by, parents and family members of children participating in District Title I programs.

(cf. 1110.1 – Parent Involvement)
(cf. 6161.3 – Comparability of Services)

Legal Reference:         Connecticut General Statutes

10-220(c) Duties of boards of education

Improving America’s Schools Act, P.L. No. 103-382, Sec. 1112 Local Education Agency Plans.

20 U.S.C. §6318, as amended by Every Student Succeeds Act, P.L. 14-95 §1010 (2015)

20 U.S.C. §7801 - Definitions

Policy adopted:           June 20, 2018                                        
NEWTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, Newtown, Connecticut
6172.4
Form

SAMPLE LETTER FOR PARENTS

[Insert School Letterhead]

[Date]

[Parents’ Name]
[Parents’ Address]

Re:      Meeting for Parents of Students Participating in Title I Programs

Dear [insert parent name]:

Each year, [insert name of school] must conduct a meeting to involve parents of students participating in programs conducted under Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 in the planning, review and improvement of programs funded by Title I. This year, the meeting will be held on [insert date, time] at [insert location of meeting].

At this meeting, parents will be provided with a description and explanation of the Title I programs available in the district, the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used, the challenging State academic standards, and information regarding the importance of parental involvement. We welcome this opportunity to speak with parents of participating students and to inform you of the important work being done within our school.  All parents of students participating in Title I programs are encouraged to attend and participate in the discussion.

Enclosed with this letter is a copy of the District’s/Board of Education’s “Parent and Family Engagement Policy for Title I Students.”

We look forward to seeing you on [insert date and time]

Sincerely,


School Principal
Enclosure
pc: Superintendent of Schools


6172.4
Appendix A
Instruction

Parent and Family Engagement Policy for Title I Students

School-Parent Compact

The name of school and the parents of the students participating in activities, services, and programs funded by Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the ESSA, (participating children), agree that this compact outlines how the parents, the entire school staff, and the 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 that will help children achieve the State’s challenging standards.

This school-parent compact is in effect during school year ______________.

Required School-Parent Compact Provisions

(provisions bolded in this section are required to be in the Title I, Part A school-parent compact)

School Responsibilities

The name of school will:

1. Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the participating children to meet the challenging State's student academic achievement standards as follows:

[Describe how the school will provide high-quality curriculum and instruction, and do so in a supportive and effective learning environment.]
2.         Communicate with parents regarding their child’s progress and provide timely information about Title I programs and assessment tools;
3.         Encourage ongoing communication between teachers and parents;
4.         Educate staff about the importance of parental involvement;
5.         Hold parent-teacher conferences (at least annually) during which this compact will be discussed as it relates to the individual child's achievement. Specifically, those conferences will be held:
[Describe when the parent-teacher conferences will be held.]
6.         Provide parents with frequent reports on their children's progress. Specifically, the school will provide reports as follows:
[Describe when and how the school will provide reports to parents.]
7.         Provide parents reasonable access to staff. Specifically, staff will be available for consultation with parents as follows:
[Describe when, where, and how staff will be available for consultation with parents.]

8.         Provide parents opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child's class, and to observe classroom activities, as follows:
[Describe when and how parents may volunteer, participate, and observe classroom activities.]
9.         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.

Teacher Responsibilities

Teachers participating in the Title I programs will:

• Communicate with parents on an ongoing basis;
• Participate in parent-teacher conferences, at least annually, during which the school-parent compact will be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievement;
• Provide frequent reports to parents to volunteer, participate and observe their child’s classroom activities.

Parent Responsibilities
We, as parents, will support our children's learning in the following ways:
Describe the ways in which parents will support their children's learning, such as:

• Providing a positive and healthy learning environment at home and a proper place to do homework;
• Communicating with teachers on an ongoing basis;
• Participating in parent-teacher conferences during which the school-parent compact will be discussed as it relates to their child’s achievement;
• Monitoring attendance.
• Making sure that homework is completed.
• Monitoring amount of television their children watch.
• Volunteering in my child's classroom.
• Participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to my children's education.
• Encouraging positive use of my child's extracurricular time.
• Staying informed about my child's education and communicating with the school by promptly reading all notices from the school or the school district either received by my child or by mail and responding, as appropriate.
• Serving, to the extent possible, on policy advisory groups, such as being the Title I, Part A parent representative on the school's School Improvement Team, the Title I Policy Advisory Committee, the District-wide Policy Advisory Council, the State's Committee of Practitioners, the School Support Team or other school advisory or policy groups.