Parent Involvement Policy
Emerson Elementary School, 2012-2013
Emerson Elementary is committed to the goal providing the safest learning environment and
preparing students academically and socially for responsible citizenship in an ethnically diverse
society. In order to reach this goal, we believe that family and school must work together to ensure
that students are successful in school. Emerson believes that parental involvement is a vital step in
reaching the instructional objectives of our students. The home/school cooperative system will help
each student arrive at his academic potential as well as develop responsibility and self-discipline.
The combined efforts of home and school assist the student in extending learning beyond the
classroom and in improving classroom achievement.
Emerson has established such programs as the following to encourage strong parent involvement at
the school-wide level:
 Parent Advisory Council/SDMC members
 School Open House
 Meet the Teacher Day
 On-Going Parent Conferences
 Morning and Evening Meetings
 Family Literacy Night
 Family Science Night
 Explanation of Assessments and Promotion Standards Meeting
Emerson will implement these and other activities that will encourage parental involvement through
the Title 1 Program. Individual staff personnel must and will assist in carrying out these activities
as well as participate in workshops and meetings.
All activities will be in compliance with Houston Independent School District Parental Involvement
policies and guidelines and the Texas Education Association. Parents will have an adequate
opportunity to participate in all segments of parent involvement activities.
Our school holds an official Open House by September of each school year to review with parents
Title 1 School requirements and the school’s Parent Involvement Policy. In addition, the principal
gives parents an update on school test data, adequate yearly progress status, and also facilitates a
review of the school’s improvement plan.
Parents are invited to participate in a variety of meetings and activities over the course of the school
year; some held in mornings and some in the evenings to accommodate flexible schedules. Effort
will be made to provide training opportunities to parents via links on our school website making
information accessible twenty four hours a day.
Parents will be invited to participate in parent-teacher conferences to discuss their child’s progress.
Teachers may receive parents in the morning, during the school day, and/or after school to
accommodate as many parents as possible.
Our school annually invites parents to participate in review and revision meetings to examine and
discuss our School Improvement Plan and Parent Involvement Policy.
Our school communicates with parents in a language that is understood. The state’s curricular and
assessment expectations, school wide requirements in relation to the delivery of instruction, the
techniques utilized to evaluate student work, and individual classroom routines pertinent to the
academic success of our students is communicated to parents. Information is communicated
through the website, monthly School Grade Level Newsletters, Parent Notes, parent/teacher
conferences, ARD meetings, individual notes/calls home, Family Fun Nights, Open House, Meet
the Teacher, Progress Reports, Report Cards, benchmark results, TPRI/TEJAS Results to solicit
parent participation and deliver important information in hopes of creating productive dialogue
between home and school concerning improved student achievement.
Our school shall provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve
their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster
parental involvement.
Due to the volume of paper that is sent home each year from school to home, written information is
purposefully compact and concise as possible. Emerson Elementary has made it a practice to send
home school correspondence in English and Spanish to ensure all information related to our school
is understandable. Beginning this year flyers for those that need it will be sent home in Arabic. A
translator assists our school with oral communication when necessary.
Parents of all students, regardless of English proficiency, mobility or disability, are considered to be
an important part of our learning community. All parents are afforded the opportunity to be
involved in their child’s school environment. For this reason, if a special need is identified that
would help a parent to more fully understand the educational process and the academic progress of
his/her child, assistance will be provided to that parent. This type of support often comes in the
form of interpreted school documents in a parent’s primary language, having an interpreter on hand
to translate important information at school wide meetings and events, and working with an
interpreter to provide translation in parent/teacher conferences.
Last revised September, 2013