Loma VerdeElementary School
Parent and Family Engagement Policy
SocorroIndependentSchool District
2017-2018
Statement of Purpose
Loma Verde Elementary is fully dedicated to providing quality education for every child. The involvement of parents, family members, grandparents, caregivers, community members, teachers, faculty and staff, creates a partnership that will help accomplish our objectives. Research has shown that children who know that their parents and family members are involved and interested in their education tend to be more responsible for their own behavior and learning. Their schoolwork, grades and work habits improve.
We recognize that learning begins at home. Parents and family members must understand the requirements of each grade level (Appendix A). Parents and families who are aware of the requirements can better support their children in their learning and better work with educators to positively increase student progress.
We are also aware that some students may need extra assistance to meet these goals. Title I Programs as well as other programs are available to these students at our campus in order to reach those goals.
Loma Verde will include parents and family members in all aspects of the campus Title I Program. Our goal is a school/home partnership that will enable all students to be successful.
Parent and Family Engagement in Policy Development
An advisory committee comprised of parents, family members,community members, faculty, staff and administrators have met to develop our schools Parent andFamily Engagement Policy. This committee will also meet at least annually to update the policy to meet the changing needs of students, parents and family members, and campus.
Annual Meeting for Title I Parents/Caregivers
Socorro Independent School District Schools receive and use Federal Title I funds. LomaVerdeElementary School will hold at least one annual meeting to review Title I guidelines and services offered through the district. All stakeholders will be given a copy of the school's current Parental and Family Engagement Policy, and will be offered a chance to become involved in revising and updating the Policy as needed. People may volunteer to serve on the district wide or campus Advisory Committees (or both).
The annual meeting will be held at least twice, for the convenience of parents and family member- a morning and an evening meeting will be scheduled. Translation will be available in some form (written, verbal or both). Parents and family members will be sent written notices about the meeting times and the notices will be in the languages that are represented in our school community.
Annual evaluation or surveys will be used in determining strategies for school improvement in revising the parent and family engagement policies at both the district and campus levels.
Parent - Student - Teacher Compact
In accordance with Title I regulations, Loma Verde Elementary School advisory committee has developed and will annually update the Parent - Student -Teacher Compact. This compact is designed to increase the sharing of responsibility between families and schools for the high performance of students.
Parents and students are encouraged to discuss the contents of the compact and understand their individual responsibilities within the school community. It is important that parents, students and all school personnel understand the responsibilities listed and our commitments to one another. This compact explains the sharing of responsibility for promoting student achievement.
Parent and Family Engagement Opportunities
Loma Verde Elementary School will provide a variety of opportunities for parents and family members, students and faculty to work together. Each year we will assess the needs of families and children in our community, through a variety of measures such as: questionnaires sent home to parents. The responses will be used to tailor the Title I Program to meet these needs. Workshops and other trainings will be available (some for parents and family members, and some for parents and children) to match the expressed needs of the school community.
Should parents and family members need more information regarding Title I programs or other learning opportunities, staff such as the Curriculum Coach, Counselors, and Parent and Family Engagement Liaison will be available at our campus.
Some programs that will continue to be available at our campus will include:
- STAAR Meetings for parents and family members
- Communications through use of Counseling Department Newsletter & Websites
- Family Nights to include math, science, reading and technology
- Career Day
- Physical Education Department sponsored events
- School Website updates to provide most current information regarding upcoming school events, School Improvement Team (SIT) meeting minutes, State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) resources and other Title I - Special Programs offered.
Staff- Parent Communications
It is our hope to increase Staff - Parent communications every year. Parents are encouraged to call and speak to their child's teacher, not only when there is a concern, but also to create a better rapport with one another. We will provide students with a Loma Verde Bear Planner to facilitate additional opportunities of communication between parents and school personnel.
Parents will be notified of events and other school sponsored activities in both English and Spanish. Parents will be notified of conference days and times verbally or written. Parents that need or wish to have a translator available during conferences should notify office staff prior to the meeting (at least one day in advance).
Staff is continually working on how to improve home-school communications. Should parents have suggestions on how to improve communication, please contact the Parent and Family Engagement Liaison on campus.
Evaluation
There will be an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the Title I parent and family engagement program and parents will be asked for their input. The evaluation will include an assessment of how much parent and family engagement is increasing and what barriers to parental participation still need to be overcome. The campus will revise its Parent and Family Engagement Policy on the basis of this annual review.