Pelham Elementary School
Title 1 Parent Involvement Policy
2013-2014
Revised May 31, 2013
2013-2014 Pelham Elementary School
Title 1 Parent Involvement Policy
Statement of Purpose:
The involvement of parents and community members is critical to the success of education. Ongoing efforts will
be made to solicit input from parents and community members and to seek their involvement. Members of the
school, the community, and parents will always be included in the development of the Parent Involvement Plan.
This Parent Involvement Policy, correspondence, and planned activities include the students living at any
residential facilities (such as Open Door) in the Pelham Elementary School attendance area.
Based on the needs identified by parent and staff surveys conducted in the fall and spring of the school year, the
following strategies were outlined:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
A Parent Involvement Plan and school/parent/student compact is distributed to parents and
students in the fall of the school year or as new students are enrolled in school. The Parent
Involvement Plan is revised and reviewed each year by the Parent Involvement Council of each
school. Parents and community members are invited to join this council any time throughout the
school year and they meet 3-4 times. The Parent Involvement Council is a way for parents and
community to give their input in the Title plans and policies of the school. The compacts and policies
are available in both English and Spanish versions. The Parent Involvement Plan and the school
compacts are also available for parents and community members, on the school website and in a Title
1 notebook in the schools’ main office and media center. In addition, all students receive a student
handbook which includes the “Parents Right to Know”, code of conduct, procedures, and calendar of
events. During the first week of school, teachers review this information with students. Parents are
asked to sign that they have read the handbook and discussed the content of it with their children.
A Title 1 Annual meeting will be convened to discuss the school wide program, including parents’
rights to be involved in the school wide plan. The Title 1 Annual Meeting will take place at a
convenient time to ensure that all parents of participating Title 1 students are invited and encouraged
to attend. This meeting will be another way to inform parents of Title 1 requirements and their right
to be involved.
All parents are invited to attend parent meetings/workshops which will be held during the school day
and after school hours. Specific dates and times are included in the school calendar of events
through the monthly parent involvement newsletter, school flyers, school website, newspaper,
posted on the school marque, facebook, and the school phone message system.
Parents are invited to join the Parent Involvement Council (which are at each school) and / or the
District Parent Involvement Council for the school. These councils review and revise the Title 1
documents for the school year and look ahead to prepare for the next school year. The councils also
assist in planning parent involvement workshops, activities, and resources for the needs of parents
derived from the results of the annual parent and community surveys.
Parents will be provided information on school performance, state wide assessments, school
curriculum, and other matters concerning parents.
(1)
a.
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
Information on school performance is sent home with students annually. Additional copies are
available in the office.
b. The results of norm-referenced and standardized tests are sent home with students who have
participated in these tests. The Pelham City School Parent connect website (www.pelhamcity.k12.ga.us) provides all parents with the results of classroom performance via the internet
through Infinite Campus Parent Portal and the Georgia Department of Education website
(www.gadoe.org)
c. Information about the school curriculum is conveyed to parents through parent/teacher
meetings, monthly newsletters, pamplets in the school lobby, student agendas, and the school
website. Parents may also access school curriculum information on the-www.ga.standards.orgwebsite, under Common Core GPS.
d. Workshops will be provided to help parents navigate these websites.
e. Parent Meetings/Workshops are planned to give parents opportunity to give suggestions, share
with other parents, and participate and decision making relating to their child’s school.
f. Parents and community members will be given timely response to their concerns and
suggestions, and all unsatisfactory comments will be given to the LEA.
The Pelham Elementary school and Title 1 Program will help parents to understand topics of concern
for their students.
a. The school will provide information on National goals for education and the State’s Standards.
b. The school will provide information and explanation of School Improvement plan and
components of the School wide plan and corrective actions if necessary.
c. The school provides parents with help to understand and prepare for state and local
assessments.
d. The school will explain title 1 requirements and how they pertain to parents.
e. The school will help parents understand how to monitor their student’s progress through the
parent portal on the school website.
The Parent Involvement Program will provide workshops and necessary information to train or help
assist in getting training needed for parents to achieve the skills needed to help their student’s
achievement. The Parent Resource Center has been established to offer academic resources,
computer access, books, and materials for parents. Information about local area instructors and
training programs are available for parents as well as early childhood development activities, books
and learning helps in the PIRC.
The Parent Coordinator will provide appropriate staff development presentations to all school staff
that educate them on the value and contributions of parents and how to communicate and work with
parents as a team. The goal in this education for staff is to build up the parents as partner’s
relationship and ties between home and school.
The Parent Coordinator coordinates and integrates parental programs and activities with the Pre-K
program, Migrant and Homeless when applicable.
The Parent Involvement Program and Pelham Elementary School develop partnerships with local
businesses and community-based organizations in parental involvement activities. Some of the
activities that the community will participate in are: Partners in Education, Health/Resource fairs,
Reading Nights, Book Fairs, Family Math Nights/Mathfest, Parent Lunch-n-Learns, Volunteer Program
and Parent Workshops, Muffins for Moms, Donuts for Dads, the Rotary Reading Room, and English
Classes.
(2)
XI.
XII.
XIII.
The Title 1 Survey is available for parents, community and school faculty input, in which needs are
measured from, for the school. Parental Involvement activities and Parent Workshops are planned by
the Parent Involvement Council in relation to parent and community needs based from the survey
results.
The school provides necessary help, information, and opportunities, when applicable, to parents of
Limited Proficiency (LEP), parents of migratory children and parents with disabilities. The school
offers parent involvement communication in a language and format that parent can understand.
Local English classes that are held free of charge are advertised to parents with LEP.
The school/parent/student compact is developed as a tool to help student achievement. The parent
compact was developed by representatives from the school district, parents, students, and faculty of
each school. The Parent Involvement Council of each school reviews and revises the compact each
year. The compact addresses the importance of communication between teachers and students,
through parent/teacher conferences, frequent reports on student progress, reasonable access to
staff, and opportunities to volunteer. All parents, students, and a school representative are asked to
participate and sign the compact to show their support. Compacts are located in the Student
Handbook and on the school website.
PES Parent Involvement Council Members:
Kimberly NeSmith
Talzonda Randall
Jerissa Boyd
Myra Dawson
Melinda Singletary
Consandra Davis
April Brooks
Torrey Williams
Cindy Smith
Katie Carter
Wanda Sellers
Mary Ann Reese
(3)