6115 Parent Involvement (Title I)
School-Community-Home Relations/General
District Title I Parent Involvement Policy
Title I Requirement, Section 1118, Parent Involvement
All schools receiving Title I funds must consult with parents of children participating in Title I programs on the design and implementation of those programs. Parents will be provided opportunities to participate in the program planning process and parental involvement activities throughout the year at the school and district level. The goal of Title I parental involvement opportunities build effective partnerships with the school community to support student academic achievement. To ensure that this goal is met, the Title I program is committed to working in partnership with families in the following ways:
The District Level:
The South Kingstown School Department will implement programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents in programs assisted under Title I. Such programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
The South Kingstown School Department understands that as an LEA receiving Title I funds, we are responsible to:
Provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student achievement and school performance
Conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent involvement policy, and identify barriers to greater participation by parents.
Furthermore, the South Kingstown School Department shall establish a District Title I Parent Advisory Council. The Council will meet annually to plan, review, and improve our Title I program.
· Membership in this Council shall consist of the following:
o Title I Director
o Title I Teachers
o Title I Parents
o Title I Building Principal(s)
· Responsibilities of Title I Parent Advisory Council include the following:
o Involve parents in the activities of the school(s) served by Title I funding.
o Provide coordination and support necessary to implement effective parental involvement activities to improve student achievement and school performance
o Build both the school’s and the community’s capacity for strong parental involvement
o Provide parents the opportunity to annually evaluate the effectiveness of the Title I Parent Involvement Policy in improving the academic quality of the school served by Title I funds. This evaluation should include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized in Title I, section 1118.
The School Level:
South Kingstown’s Title I school(s) understand that a child’s academic success is directly related to the family’s involvement in that child’s education. Therefore, we have identified four areas of focus:
1. Policy Involvement:
Convene an annual meeting to inform and explain in an understandable and uniform format to parents their school’s participation in the Title I program, and their right to be involved.
Offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening.
Provide parents of participating children timely information about programs, a description and explanation of curriculum in use at the school, the forms of assessment used to measure student progress and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.
2. Shared Responsibilities:
Develop a school-parent-student compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students share the responsibility for student achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help serve the state’s high standards.
Address the importance of communication between parents and teachers on an on-going basis, such as parent-teacher conferences, report cards, and being involved in their child’s classroom.
3. Building Capacity for Involvement:
Provide assistance to parents in understanding the state’s academic and content standards and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve achievement.
Provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve achievement
Educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals and other staff with the assistance of parents in the value and utility or contributions of parents, in how to reach our to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school.
Ensure that information related to schools and parent programs and meetings is sent to parents in a format that is practical and in a language parents can understand
To the extent feasible, provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request. This may include:
a. Arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between parents and educators
b. Adopt and implement model approaches to improving parental involvement
c. Establish a district wide parent advisory council to provide advice on matters related to parental involvement
d. Develop appropriate roles for community based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities.
4. Accessibility
· To the extent possible, provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children. This would include information in a format to the extent practicable; in a language such parents can understand.
References
Section 1118 of No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001
Approved: 5/08/07