Greenleaf Elementary School Title I Parent Involvement Policy 2015-­‐16 Greenleaf Elementary is committed to the goal of providing quality education for every child in this district. To this end, we want to establish partnerships with parents and with the community. Everyone gains if home and school work together to promote high achievement by our children. Neither home nor school can do the job alone. Parents play an extremely important role as children’s first teachers. Their support for their children and for the school is critical to their children’s success every step along the way. Greenleaf Elementary recognizes that some students may need extra assistance available through the Title I program to reach the state’s high academic standards and to help students achieve grade level standards. Greenleaf Elementary intends to include parents in all aspects of the school’s Title I program. The goal is a school-­‐home partnership that will help all students in the district to succeed. PART I. SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY REQUIRED COMPONENTS A. Greenleaf Elementary will jointly develop with parents the school parent involvement policy. The policy will be available on the school website. Parents will be invited to review and revise the Title 1 Parent Involvement Policy with Greenleaf staff prior to May 27, 2016. B. Annual Fall and Spring Parent Involvement Event The fall Title 1 event will be to inform parents about Greenleaf’s Title 1 program and its services. Parents of qualifying students will be invited to attend a meeting at Greenleaf Elementary before the end of September 2015. (Date and time TBD.) Title 1 teachers will present information regarding how the program works, and what parents can expect if their child qualifies for Title 1. Transportation can be arranged to school meetings and parent/teacher conferences if necessary. Translators are available to attend meetings. We will also have an annual parent involvement meeting in the spring, which will enhance student learning. (Date and time TBD.) Parents will be provided with a survey regarding Greenleaf’s current parent involvement practices. All of our meeting dates and parent involvement dates will also be on the Greenleaf school website. C. Offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation or child care, as such services relate to parental involvement. Parent conferences are scheduled twice a year (November and February) afternoon and evening times available to parents. Parents will be invited to attend the November and February parent/teacher conferences with classroom teachers. Title 1 teachers will provide a phone conference during conference week. Transportation, translators, and childcare will be made available as needed. D. Involve parents in the planning, review, and revision of the school plan under section 1112, school-­‐wide under section 1114 and the process of the school review and improvement under section 1116. Our Title One Parent Advisory committee will meet to plan and review our parent involvement policy and procedures at the meeting to be held before the end of May 2016. This meeting will be held at Greenleaf Elementary. Copies of the above school plan sections 1112, 1114, and 1116 will be kept on file with the principal’s secretary and made available to all interested parents for review. E. Provide parents of participating children – a.
Timely information about programs under this part; Information about the Title One program will appear on the Greenleaf Website (under district196.org/gl, flyers that are sent home with students, and via mail). All communication will be translated into Spanish. Greenleaf’s Title I program services reading and math students in grades kindergarten through five. Students are typically serviced in a small group setting of 1 to 4 children per group and taught by certified teachers. The students are identified using various types of testing such as: The Benchmark Assessment test, MCA tests, district MAP tests, OLPA, as well as other classroom assessments. Teacher judgment can also be used to qualify students. The Title I teachers will use the District 196 guidelines given to identify qualifying students. 2 b. A description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet; Curriculum: In August, a school calendar is given to all parents. Included is an outline of our district’s curriculum in all areas. District 196 curriculum is also available on the district website: www.district196.org. Specific grade level curriculum for Greenleaf classrooms is available on the school website: www.district196.org/gl. Forms of academic assessments, i.e. The Benchmark Assessment System will be given 4 times a year to determine student’s reading level. MAP tests are given in grades 2-­‐5, in September /October and parents are notified of their child’s proficiency levels. MCA tests are another statewide assessment given in the spring. Student proficiency grade level expectancies: These are shared by the classroom teacher at each parent conference and at the Annual Title 1 Fall Parent Involvement Event. Those expectations are also available to parents at any time during the year. c. If requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as possible. At the fall Title 1 Parent Involvement Event, parents will be told that they may request a meeting with any Title 1 teacher to discuss their child’s educational needs and experience. Parent compacts and letters sent home will also extend this invitation. School administration will also be available for parent consultation upon request. Fall and spring parent/child family events will take place in the fall of 2015 and spring of 2016. The focus of these events will be to encourage parental academic support at home. F. Parents may provide feedback if Title 1 services are not satisfactory. All parental feedback on modifying our school wide Title I program will be duly recorded when the plan is forwarded to our LEA (Local Educational Agency). These parent suggestions may also be considered at school-­‐wide/district-­‐wide Title I Parent Advisory Council meetings. Concerns can also be addressed with Greenleaf’s Principal, Michelle deKam Palmieri at Michelle.Palmieri@district196.org. 3 PART II REQUIRED SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Title I Compact/Permission Our compact will be sent home with Title 1 students who qualify for services. Compacts should be signed by the parent/guardian and returned to school. Currently all district Title 1 programs use the same compact. This compact is reviewed yearly by Title 1 district supervisors. As new students are added to the Title 1 program, parents will be given compacts and Title I information. -­‐Provide parents with reasonable access to: staff, volunteering opportunities and classroom observation opportunities. Parents will be able to access staff through phone calls, e-­‐mails, written correspondence and school meetings. Opportunities to observe the child’s classroom will be available on a reasonable basis, monitored by the administration. Parents can volunteer in many areas in the classroom including reading books, helping with holiday parties, going on field trips, and involvement in the Site Council. BUILDING CAPACITY REQUIREMENTS FOR INVOLVEMENT To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, each school and local educational agency assisted under this part – a. Shall provide assistance to the parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the State’s academic content standards and State student academic achievement standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of this part, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children; Our school/school district shall assist parents in understanding the following: • state academic content standards • state students academic standards • state/local academic assessments i.e. MCAs, MAPs, etc. Parents are notified of the purpose of student assessment through letters, websites, and at parent/teacher conferences. Results of student assessment scores are sent home with letters of explanation. Teachers also offer further guidance in the understanding of the assessments. 4 Our school/school district shall offer ways for parents to work with school staff to improve the achievement of their children. School District 196’s curriculum frame works are aligned with the Minnesota Academic Standard’s Benchmarks. Daily work in the classroom and at home are aligned with the state standards. Greenleaf parents will be informed if their child qualifies for Title 1 services under the guidelines and eligibility of services. They will be informed periodically when the Benchmark Text Level Assessment (reading) and MAP tests (reading and math) are given. Parents will be updated with current scores to show improvement and also informed when there needs to be an intervention among staff and parents. b. Shall educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in 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 school; The school social worker and family cultural advocate will provide families with information about community resources as available. Greenleaf classroom and Title I teachers have resources available for parents to help their children with academic tasks at home. c. Shall ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents can understand; Title 1 invitations, survey, and compacts will be in appropriate languages. d. Shall provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this as parents may request. Upon request, parents are provided with additional activities to work with their children at home by classroom teacher and Title 1 teachers. 5 PART III ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS In carrying out the parental involvement requirements of this part, districts and schools, to the extent practicable, shall provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with children with limited English proficiency, parents with children with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents can understand. -­‐ We use our family cultural advocate, district interpreters and our ELL teachers to communicate for the participation of parents at our school. -­‐ Language interpreters are always available at conferences when necessary. We are also supported by the social worker at Greenleaf. PART IV ADOPTION The Parent Involvement Policy was revised by Greenleaf Elementary Title 1 staff and parents and will be in effect for the period of the school year. The Parent Involvement Policy/Procedures will be on the school’s website. The following Title 1 teachers were involved in the revisions of this document: Karla Winkelman, Mark Ceilley, Teri Bumpers, Michelle O’Keefe and Kendyl Blasier. The revision meeting for the following school year will be held prior to May 27, 2016. Michelle deKam Palmieri, Principal (Signature of Title I Authorized Representative) June 6, 2015 (Date) 6