EAA of Michigan Parent Involvement Policy
Mission Statement
The mission of the EAA of Michigan (the “EAA”) is to transform traditional public school education
and to provide a prototype for 21st century teaching and learning.
Section I
General Expectations
In an effort to establish and maintain parental involvement, the EAA shall implement and adhere to
the following requirements as mandated by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (“ESEA”)
§§ 1111, 1111 and 1118:
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Establish programs, activities and procedures that will promote involvement of parents in all
EAA schools with Title I, Part A programs. These programs, activities and procedures will be
planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
Ensure that any and all EAA parent involvement policies satisfy the requirements of the ESEA,
which includes but is not limited to, a school-parent compact (NCLB, Section 1118) that
explains what parents, school staff and students will do to improve student progress; how
schools and families will build a partnership to help children learn, and how the school and
families will communicate regularly with each other.
Incorporate this district-wide policy into the EAA’s LEA plan which has been developed in
accordance with ESEA.
Provide ample opportunity (to the extent practicable) for migratory parents and parents with
limited English proficiency and/or disability to participate and become involved with the
education of their children as required under ESEA. Thus, the EAA will provide school-related
information and reports in an understandable and uniform format, which may include,
alternate formats (upon request), and to the extent possible, in a language that the parent
understands.
If the LEA plan developed by the EAA is not satisfactory to the parents of participating
children, the EAA will forward any and all parental comments to the Michigan Department of
Education upon submission of its LEA plan.
The EAA shall be governed by the following statutory definition of “parental involvement”
and expects that all EAA Title I schools will carry out programs, activities and procedures in
accordance with this definition:
Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way and meaningful
communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring
that :
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Section II
A.
Parents play an important role in helping their child to learn;
Parents are encouraged to be activity involved in their child’s education at school;
parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, s appropriate, in
decision-making and advisory committees to assist in the education of their child;
all activities described by the law are included in our plans.
Description of how the EAA will implement required District-wide Parental
Involvement Policy Components
The EAA shall take the following actions in an effort to involve parents in the joint
development of its district-wide parental involvement plan as mandated by ESEA §1112:
i.
provide written notification to parents of the district parent involvement policy at the
beginning of each school year
ii.
Include a “Response and Comment Form” in the policy for parents to return to the
school which seeks parent feedback of the policy. The aforementioned form shall
include language ensuring that parental feedback is welcomed and that any
comments will be submitted with the district’s plan to the state
iii.
Hold an annual District-wide meeting in the spring of each school year that provides
incentives for parent participation and includes a review of the parent involvement
policy and seeks feedback and suggestions for the following school year.
iv.
Utilize the close relationship with the school and local newspapers to advertise
meetings seeking parental input.
PART I. DESCRIPTION OF HOW DISTRICT WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL
INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS
1.
The EAA of Michigan will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development
of its district wide parental involvement plan under section 1112 of the ESEA:
 Notify parents in writing the current district parent involvement policy at the beginning
of each school year and when a student is referred and enrolled in the program
 The policy will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis after feedback from all
stakeholders including parents, students (where appropriate), community members,
staff and administrators.
 Hold an annual division-wide meeting in the spring that provides incentives for parent
participation and includes a review of the parent involvement policy and seeks feedback
and plans for the following year.
 Utilize the close relationship with the home school and local newspapers to advertise
meetings seeking parent input.
2.
The EAA will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and
improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:
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3.
The EAA will provide the necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to
assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement
activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance:
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4.
Require that at least two meetings per year are scheduled with parents to share best practices
for parental involvement
Provide two days during the school year for parent-teacher conferences
Provide financial support for parent activities
Provide central office and school level support for parent meetings
Provide schools with ELL parent resource materials in other languages(to the extent possible)
In accordance with Title I, Part A, the EAA will coordinate and integrate parental involvement
strategies into other programs which includes but is not limited to:
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Require each school to establish an active School Reinvention Team that consists of parents
and other community members who provide input and help guide the school leadership team
in making decisions about the overall operation of the school
Each School Reinvention Team shall include the input of parents when developing the School
Improvement Plan that is required by the district and state.
Coordinating transitions from preschool to elementary school by working with the family
services personnel associated with the Great Start Programs
Including preschool classrooms (when possible) in elementary settings to connect parents
early to their child’s home school.
Include preschool parents in home school newsletters, school assemblies and parent night
activities during the preschool year
The EAA will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual
evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parental involvement policy in improving the
quality of its Title I, Part A schools. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater
participation by parents in parental involvement activities (with particular attention to parents
who are economically disadvantaged or disabled as well as those who have limited literacy or
English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background).
With the support of the Detroit Parent Network, the district will use the findings of the
evaluation about its parental involvement policy and activities to design strategies for more
effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents)
its parental involvement policies.
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6.
Annually each school will collaboratively develop with input from Title I parents, survey forms
to seek input on parent involvement activities in the school
Based on parent feedback, each school will develop practices to address the issues identified
The EAA will build the schools’ and parent’s capacity for strong parental involvement in order
to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school
involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement through the
following activities specifically described below:
A. The district will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, provide assistance to parents
of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics
such as the following, by undertaking the actions described in this paragraph:
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Local, State, National and International content standards,
Local, State, National and International academic achievement standards,
the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,
the requirements of Title I, Part A,
how to monitor their child’s progress, and
how to work with educators:
o Information will be provided to parents explaining content standards and expectations
for student achievement through presentations, literature, newsletters and parent
conferences
o Information will be provided to parents explaining academic assessments given
throughout the year through presentations, literature, newsletters and parent
conferences
o Information concerning parent-teacher conferences and working with educators will be
provided prior to scheduling conferences and will be discussed in parent meetings
o Information on starting and maintaining a Parent-Resource Room at the school
o Information will be provided to parents describing Title I requirements and activities and
programs at their child’s school
B. The district will, with the assistance of its schools, provide materials and training to help
parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement, such as
literacy training, and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement, by:
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Providing parent workshops at the school and district level that help parents support
their child’s education at home, give them the skills to monitor student progress
online, provide access to materials to help parents work with their children on reading
and math and other materials and training that may be identified throughout the year
C. The district will, with the assistance of its schools and parents, educate its teachers, principals
and other staff, in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal
partners, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to implement and
coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools, by:
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The EAA will conduct at least two annual meetings with principals and SRT parent
representatives to discuss and review parent involvement programs and strategies to
help students be successful in school
The EAA will also inform parents of the purpose and existence of various parent
organizations.
D. The district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental
involvement programs and activities with Great Start Program
E. The district will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school
and parent- programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating
children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon
request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand:
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EAA will work with building level principals on the need for understandable and
uniform formats for disseminating parent information including alternative forms
upon request
 EAA will maintain parent information and resources on the Division web site.
 To the extent possible, private schools will be notified of parent meetings, workshops
and resources available to their parents through the district.
PART II. DISCRETIONARY DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS
In order to maximize parental involvement and participation in their children’s education, the EAA
may include the following activities:
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Involving parents in the development of training for teachers, principals and other
educators to improve the effectiveness of training on parental involvement
Training parents to enhance the involvement of other parents
Adopting and implementing model approaches to improve parental involvement
Developing appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses
including faith-based organizations in parental involvement activities
Providing other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under Section
1118 as parents may request.