Title I School Parent Involvement Guidelines/”Policy”
Effingham Elementary School
Schoolwide School
1) Parents will be involved in the planning, review and improvement of the school’s Parent
Involvement Policy.
At Effingham Elementary School a review and revision of the Title I School
Guidelines/”Policies” will occur each spring. All parents will have the opportunity
to be involved in this process. The guidelines/policy will be included in the
Student/ Parent Handbook that is sent home with each child at the beginning of
each school year.
2) An annual meeting will be held to inform parents of the school’s participation in the Title I
program and to explain the requirements of the program and their right to be involved.
The Title I Annual Meeting will be held each fall at Effingham Elementary School in
conjunction with Open House. During this meeting, parents will be provided with
an overview of the Title I Program. Examples of the type and range of different
intervention models will be discussed. Parents will be asked to make a
commitment to assist in the development and direction of the Title I Program. The
importance of ongoing parent involvement and communication will be highlighted
during this meeting.
3) Parent meetings, including parent conferences will be held at different times during the
day.
District wide, parent conferences are offered in the morning, afternoon and
evening over a two-day period each November. Teachers make every effort to
meet the scheduling needs of parents by scheduling conferences and progress
meetings as needed beyond the hours set aside by the school district. Teachers
frequently schedule meetings during early morning hours or during the evening to
assist parents in their efforts to be involved in the education of their children.
Title I staff will be available to meet with parents and teachers during conferences
to discuss student progress.
EES: Page 2
4) Title I funds may be used to pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with
parent involvement activities, including transportation, child care, or home visit expenses
to enable parents to participate in school related meetings and training sessions.
The importance of parent involvement is recognized at EES. Childcare will be
made available during educational events for parents, during parent/teacher
conferences and PTO meetings. Parents will be notified in the School Newsletter
that childcare will be available during these times. In addition, parents will be
encouraged to contact the school office if they require transportation to a school
function or event.
5) Parents will be involved in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s Title I
program.
Parent meetings will be held throughout the year in order to obtain input into the
development and improvement of the Title I program. Meetings will be scheduled
at the convenience of parents who choose to be involved in this process.
6) How are parents involved in the joint development of the School wide Program Plan
under Section 1114? (Applies only to Title I schools operating a School Wide Program)
Parents, a community member and school staff were actively involved in the
development of Effingham’s revised School wide Plan in the fall of 2009. A parent
meeting will be held annually in the spring to review and revise the School wide
Plan as needed.
7) How does the school involve parents in the joint development of the School
Improvement Plan under Section 1116?
(Applies only to Title I schools identified for School Improvement)
Effingham Elementary School is not designated as a school in need of
improvement.
EES: Page 3
8) How does the school provide parents of participating children with timely information
about the Title I program?
Effingham Elementary School provides parents with information in various ways.
A Title I Annual Meeting is held in the fall in conjunction with Open House. School
newsletters are sent home to parents and are posted on the school website twice
per month. Parents receive a copy of “Parents Make a Difference” on a regular
basis throughout the school year. In addition, newsletters sent home by
classroom teachers often contain information about Title I sponsored activities or
events. Parents also learn more specifics about the Title I support their child
receives from Teachers during Parent/ Teacher Conferences or at parent meetings
held throughout the school year.
9) How does the school provide parents of participating children with 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?
Formal assessment reports outlining results from the NECAP and NWEA tests are
sent home or distributed directly to parents each year. Student progress is
shared with parents during conferences/meetings when discussion centers
around the curriculum covered in the classroom. Student achievement, as
measured on the standards based report card, break subject areas down into skill
categories for grading. Report card descriptors are noted.
A copy of grade level expectations is available to parents at Open House and are
sent home to parents who are unable to attend.
Many classroom teachers communicate with parents via a class newsletter on a
regular basis regarding the curriculum that is being taught in the classrooms. An
attempt will be made to increase the use of technology in the area of parent
communication.
Parents will be made aware of the School District and EES websites via the School
Newsletter. Helpful information that is available on the website will be highlighted
in the Newsletter to increase parent awareness of its existence.
EES: Page 4
Family activity nights, as well as parent education meetings, will be held to share
academic expectations with parents and provide them with support to assist their
children at home.
A NECAP for Parents/Test Taking Strategies session will be held at EES to assist
parents with the reinforcement of test taking strategies that can be reviewed at
home.
10) How will the school provide assistance to parents in understanding the State’s
academic content standards and student achievement standards, local academic
assessments and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with teachers to improve
the achievement of their children?
See #9
11) The school will provide, 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 practicably
possible.
Parents will be surveyed as to the types of opportunities they would like to have
available during the school year in order to best assist their children at home. At
this time parents expressed interest in obtaining the following information:
*ways to help your child read at home
*Homework Strategies for Parents
When possible, a digital recording will be made of each parent education session.
This DVD will be available to parents upon request for their viewing at home.
School Staff will investigate ways to engage parents early on in a child’s school
career by attempting to gather the support, participation and input of parents who
currently have children in the kindergarten through grade 2 age range.
12) A school-parent compact was jointly developed with parents and the compact outlines
how parents, the entire school staff and students will share in the responsibility for
improved student achievement.
At our meeting on October 6, 2010 we will review and revise the EES Learning
Compact. The compact will be reviewed annually each spring and will be revised
as necessary.
EES: Page 5
The Learning Compact is included in the Student/Parent Handbook and is signed
by the School Principal and sent home each fall for parent and student review and
signature. The signed Compact is then returned to EES.
13) How does the school provide materials and training to help parents to work with their
children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using
technology, as appropriate, to foster parent involvement?
Parents are invited to attend meetings that provide educational opportunities to
enhance their ability to assist their children. Information will be provided as to
how parents can support student learning at home. Meetings will be held at times
most convenient for parents and will be recorded, if possible, and sent home to
parents who are unable to attend. Childcare, as well as transportation to the
meetings, will be offered. The following activities were discussed for possible
inclusion on the calendar:
*Family Math Night
*Family Reading Night
*Parent Back to School Night
*Continue and build upon the Summer Book Giveaway
author or storyteller?
Note: Offerings will be adjusted annually based upon the feedback received on
the EES Parent Survey.
A resource library for Parents will be started at EES.
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