DeBusk Elementary School
GreeneCountySchool System
Parent/Family Involvement Plan
Implementation of this plan is intent on providing in-depth support to ensure understanding and implementation of Federal, State, and local standards for family engagement in the Greene County School System and at DeBuskElementary School. This plan has been developed by a coordinated effort of representatives from the school staff, community members, and parents.
This plan is a living document. The School Parent Involvement Team will meet in October and March of each school year to review and update this plan to correspond with the detected and assessed needs for engagement of the families and community of DeBuskElementary School.
District Technical Assistance and Support
A.The DeBuskSchool Administration will serve as the technical advisor for the school in all aspects of Family and Community Engagement. The administrator’s responsibilities include the following:
1. Serve on the Parent Involvement Planning Team.
2. Attend and participate in the School’s Parent Advisory Board.
3. Schedule on-going and meaningful professional development in
family engagement for professional and support staff.
4. Attend and participate in the school’s Parent Teacher Organization
meetings.
5. Assist the school in planning and evaluating the effectiveness of
activities.
6. Maintain school survey data.
7. Ensure that at least 1% of Title I funds are available for parent
involvement.
B. The DeBusk Parent Involvement Team will guide the following activities:
1. Coordinating the incorporation of Parent Involvement strategies into
the TCSPP and the District Consolidated Plan.
- Using the Family Friendly School-District Family Engagement Policy
Assessment and Development Rubric as a self Evaluation for federal and state compliance.
II.Sharing information with parents
A.School Parent Involvement Plan
The School Parent Involvement Plan will be posted on DeBuskElementary School website. DeBusk Elementary School will develop a parent compact. All parents, faculty, and staff will receive a copy of the parent compact. The parent compact will be available upon request to any parent, staff, school official etc. A copy will be provided to the PTO president to share with the members of the PTO.
B.Student Achievement
At DeBusk Elementary School, grade Reports are issued to parents of students every nine weeks. Mid-term (4 week) reports are issued only to parents of students that have grades that have declined or are unsatisfactory. Parents of students taking the TCAP test will receive the reports of the test as they become available from the state department.
C. School Performance
DeBusk Elementary School reports the TCAP scores to the parents
through a state report sent to DeBusk. Parents receive a letter from the state department of education detailing test scores. Students at DeBusk Elementary are highly encouraged and motivated to do their best during the TCAP testing time.
D. Meetings and Activities
Opportunities for parentparticipation will be advertised using a combination of the following activities.
1. DeBusk School Newsletter and calendar are sent home at the
beginning of each month. Some teachers also send home a weekly newsletter.
2. Meetings, announcements, daily announcements and activities are posted on the DeBuskSchool website, which is updated
frequently.
3. Special events are announced on local radio stations and in the newspaper.
4. Announcements of events, meetings, programs, conferences, and special activities are sent home with students.
5. Parents and staff will be notified through the community safe program of any changes to school schedules - academic and athletic.
E. Access to Children’s Official Records
Board Policy 6.209 directs our schools to provide student records in the following method. “Parents or guardians shall have the right to receive information contained in school records concerning their minor child. The Board, unless informed otherwise, assumes there are no restrictions regarding the non-custodial parent's right to be kept informed of the student's progress and activities. If restrictions are made relative to the rights of the non-custodial parent, the custodial parent shall be requested to submit a certified copy of the court order which curtails these specific rights.” This policy is accessible on the District’s website and a copy is located at each school.
F. Curriculum, Assessment, and Proficiency Levels
1. The curriculum for each grade level is accessible on both the district and state website. The curriculum description is reference to Standard Performance Objectives which are linked to the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP).
2. Assessments
a. Home information pamphlets are issued to each child
before administration of Tennessee Writing Assessment
and before the Achievement Test for elementary
students.
b. The DeBusk School newsletter advertises upcoming assessments and their content.
3. The grading system for the Greene County School System is defined in local Board Policy and by the State Board of Education. This information is made available to parents via Student Handbooks, Newsletters, Report Cards, and on the system/school websites.
III.Defined programs, activities, and training for the involvement of parents at all schools.
A. The following are activities performed in parent involvement:
1.Soon after the start of the school year, the DeBusk parents are provided the opportunity to tour the school and meet the faculty and staff during an open house. In addition each grade will have a grade-level welcoming session, to better acquaint the students with the routines and procedures of each grade.
2. DeBusk parents are provided three (3) scheduled parent-teacher conferences throughout the year. DeBusk personnel respond to parents needs in meetings at anytime convenient to the parent/family member.
3. DeBusk personnel assist and participate in the formation and operation of a parent teacher organization.
4. DeBusk has an active parent advisory committee, which meets at least three times a year with the school administration.
B. Parents are provided with packet information that will include at least
the following:
1. School year calendar and a DeBusk monthly calendar
2. Student discipline policy adopted by the Greene County Board of Education
3. Homework policy adopted by the Greene County Board of Education
4. Attendance policy adopted by the Greene County Board of Education
5. Grading scale adopted by the Greene County Board of Education
6. No Child Left Behind required notifications:
a. Title I eligibility information provided to DeBusk parents at open house and in a pamphlet provided by the Greene County School System.
b.Adequate Yearly Progress status provided to DeBusk parents at parent teacher conferences and on state created grade cards.
c.Rights of parents to request information on teacher qualifications from the DeBuskSchool administration and the Greene County School Office.
d. Right to exclude access of student records from Military Recruiters.
C.The DeBusk Administration will support the available training activities
from GreeneCounty for the following subjects:
1. Training for school leadership teams for implementation of No Child Left Behind requirements in Parent Involvement
2. Strategies for involving parents in Parent-Teacher organizations
3. Strategies for involving parents in DeBusk for the school staff (in-service and staff development)
4. East Tennessee Title I Conference slots are available for school staff members.
- DeBusk is a participant in the annual Greeneville/Greene County
Parenting Fair.
IV.The following strategies are listed to improve homework, attendance and
discipline.
A. Homework
1.DeBusk offers tutoring sessions for reading and math for grades 3, 4 and 5 in the afternoons and some teachers volunteer to tutor before and after school.
2. DeBusk offers homework tips in the parent newsletters.
3. The school’s parent newsletter is available on the school’s web site.
4. Parent/Teacher e-mail about homework.
5. DeBusk’s teachers send home notes/letters to parents.
6. Personal contact is made by DeBusk’s teachers or parents.
- Debusk’s teachers will have Parent/Teacher conferences as
requested.
B. Attendance
1. Explicit attendance policy requires parent contact upon absence.
2. System Intervention Specialist works closely with DeBuskSchool in matters of attendance and parent notification.
3. Five and Ten day letters are sent home to encourage and inform parents of students with excessive absences.
4. To recognize students with perfect attendance for the entire school year here at DeBusk, the DeBusk PTO and/or McDonald's on the Asheville Highway (our Partners in Education) will provide a monetary award for each qualifying student.
5.Distribution of Gold Cards for nine-weeks perfect attendance
C.Discipline
1. DeBusk Elementary follows Greene County School Board Discipline Policy. The policy is available for review in student folders, on line web page and a copy is maintained in school office.
2. Alternative school is available as a resource for students with discipline problems to allow them to remain in school. The school also offers an after-school detention program to limit out of class punishment.
3. DeBusk teachers provide a reward system for good behavior in individual classrooms.
4. DeBusk uses CHARACTER COUNTS! as its character education model.
V.Procedures for parents to learn about the course of study for their children
and have access to learning materials.
A. DeBusk and the PTO sponsors an Open House, Family Reading Night, Parent Night Out (movie night), Book Fair Parent Night, Book Fair Parent Breakfast, Dr. Seuss Day, and Grade-Level welcoming sessions. Parents are invited to participate in these events. The school also offers mathematics parent nights in grades 7 and 8.
B. All elementary curriculum standards are maintained on the system Webpage.
C. DeBuskSchool teachers use parent contacts of all types to share information about the course of study for students.
D. Information is available on line about student requirements for the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP).
VI.Every effort will be made to help parents with limited English, disabilities and
migrants to insure they have access to the DeBusk Parent Involvement Plan and school performance report written in an understandable format. The special accommodations needed for these occasions will be addressed as needed on a case by case method.