PART I: GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

Springfield Elementary School Parental Involvement Policy

2016-2017

Revised: September 30, 2016

School: ___Springfield Elementary School__ District/LEA:__Effingham County_

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, each school that receives Title I, Part A funds must develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to parents of participating children a written parental involvement policy, agreed on by such parents, that contains information required by section 1118 (b)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). The policy establishes the school’s expectations for parental involvement and describes how the school will implement a number of specific parental involvement activities, and it is incorporated into the school’s plan submitted to the local educational agency (LEA).

Springfield Elementary School willadhere to the following as required by law:

  • Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under Title I, Part A, including the planning, review, and

improvement of the school parental involvement policy and the joint development of theschool wide program plan under Section 1114(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA).

  • Update the school parent involvement policy periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school, distribute it to the parents of participating children, and make the parental involvement policy available to the local community.
  • Provide full opportunities, to the extent practicable, for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under Section 1111 of the ESEA in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
  • If theschool wide program plan under Section 1114 (b)(2) of the ESEA is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency.
  • Be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement and 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:

(A)That parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning.

(B)That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school.

(C)That parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child.

(D)The carrying out of other activities, such as those described in Section 1118 of the ESEA.

The Georgia Department of Education

PART II. DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE SCHOOL WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED SCHOOLWIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

JOINTLY DEVELOPED

Springfield Elementary Schoolwill take the following actions to involve parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely manner in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs, including opportunities for regular meetings, if requested by parents, to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their child and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.

At the start of each new school year, the Beginning of Year SES Parent Survey is distributed to all parents for the purpose of gathering input towards parent programs offered at the school. The survey allows parents to provide feedback regarding

-Effective communication between home and school

-Topics for parent workshops designed to help parents better support students’ academic progress

-Suggestions for the use of the 1% of Title I funds set aside for the purpose of enhancing parental involvement.

-Atmosphere of the school

During the last month of the school year, SES holds a parent involvement meeting as a follow-up to the annual survey and for the purpose of reviewing the year’s progress and gathering further input into the development of the Schoolwide Plan/School Improvement Plan (SWP/SIP), School-Parent Compact and the SES Parent Involvement Policy for the upcoming school year. Each of the policies is fully explained to parents before offering them the opportunity to provide their verbal and / or written input. The SES School Council (represented by parents, teachers, administrators, and community members) is also provided this information and encouraged to offer feedback towards the development of each policy.

Once input is gathered from all stakeholders through surveys and/or meetings (parents, students, teachers, and community) and the school data has been fully reviewed and evaluated, the Schoolwide/ School Improvement Plan (SWP/SIP) is developed. The School-Parent Compact is subsequently developed so that it is in alignment with the goals outlined in the SWP/SIP and reflects the input of all relevant parties. The Parent Involvement Policy is also finalized.

Each of the finalized policies (SWP/SIP, School-Parent Compact, and PIP) is presented by the end of October at the Annual Title I Parent Meeting. The primary purpose of this meeting is to inform parents about the final policies.

In April/May of each school year, an End of the Year Title I Survey is distributed to parents in order to garner feedback for the school year. The data, including all unsatisfactory comments, is collected and submitted to our LEA (Local Education Agency). The results of the survey are shared with the School Council so that they may address suggestions and concerns. An End of Year Title I input meeting is also held to allow parents to discuss the year’s progress and offer suggestions towards the school’s ongoing participation with the Title I program.

ANNUAL TITLE I MEETING

Springfield Elementary Schoolwill take the following actions to conduct an annual meeting, at a convenient time, and encourage and invite all parentsof participating children to attend to inform them about the school’s Title I program, the nature of the Title I program, the parents’ requirements, the school Parental Involvement Policy, the Schoolwide/School Improvement Plan, and the School-Parent Compact:

After all stakeholders have had an opportunity to provide input towards the development of the Schoolwide/School Improvement Plan (SWP/SIP), School-Parent Compact, and Parental Involvement Plan (PIP)the annual Title I Parent meeting takes place during the month of September/ October. In order to accommodate the varying schedules of our parents, the annual meeting is scheduled in the early morning with opportunities for an open invitation at any time to discuss the school’s Title I program. This may include a one-on- one meeting with the Parent Liaison or feedback forms offered in the Parent Resource Area and the schoolwebsite. At the September/October meeting, parents are provided with information explaining that SES is a school wide Title I program, how we qualified for Title I, and what our responsibilities are as a Title I school. Additionally, the final products of the SWP/SIP, School-Parent Compact, and PIP are presented for parents’ review.

The annual Title I meeting is advertised through multiple sources including the school website, mass phone calls and email messages, flyers, and the school marquee.

COMMUNICATIONS

Springfield Elementary School will take the following actions to provide parents of participating children the following:

  • Timely information about the Title I programs.
  • Flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide with Title I funds, transportation, child care or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement.
  • 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:

The annual Title I Parent Meeting takes place during September/October after the School Improvement Plan, School-Parent Compact and Parent Involvement Policy are finalized. This is an informational Title I meeting during which parents are presented copies of the finalized plans and policies and are provided details regarding SES’s involvement with Title I, Part A. The Parent Liaison and administrators explain the school’s curriculum, mission statement, and school policies, how SES qualifies for Title I funds and how those funds are utilized at SES. Parents are also advised of their rights to be involved in all aspects of the Title I program at SES.

The parent survey administered at the beginning of the school year offers parents an opportunity to provide days/times most convenient for meeting. Many parents indicate a preference for morning meetings. Other parents, particularly parents that are interested in family learning nights, indicate that evening meeting times are preferable due to work schedules. Therefore, some Title I meetings are offered during mornings and others (family fun learning nights) are offered during evenings throughout the school year to accommodate the varying schedules of parents. Title I meetings are family-friendly, and parents are welcome to bring their children to the meetings. If transportation is indicated as a need, assistance can be provided.

SES Parents are invited to engagements (Open House, the Annual Title I meeting, and the End of the Year Parent Input Meeting) each year to provide input towards the development of our school’s Title I policies, become informed of the final drafts of these policies, and to provide feedback towards the effectiveness of the policies. At these meetings, SES staff and administrators discuss the Schoolwide/School Improvement Plan, School-Parent Compact, and Parental Involvement Policy as well as provide an explanation of the curriculum, benchmark and state mandated testing, and the school & district goals that students are expected to meet.

Each year, SES holds the Managing the Milestonesparent night for the purpose of providing specific information regarding upcoming state assessments and how parents can help their children prepare to perform their best on these assessments.

Parent/Teacher conferences are held semi-annually, in October and February, to provide parents with information regarding the academic performance of their child. Students are released early on conference days so that conference appointments may begin in the early afternoon. Conferences are available in 15 minute increments throughout the afternoon until 7pm in order to accommodate the varying schedules of our parents. Questions about the curriculum and required state testing are addressed at this time, including the proficiency levels the students are expected to meet. When available, the results from state tests and benchmarks are shared and interpreted. School Compacts are also revisited and discussed with parents at conferences.

While parents may participate with conferences as they are offered semi-annually, they are also encouraged to schedule conferences as needed during the school year. Teachers are available before school, during their planning periods, and after school to conference with parents. Parents may choose to meet with teachers in person or via phone conference or may contact teachers by email or other written communications. Teachers maintain a monthly log of all parent contacts and must submit the log each month to the SES Instructional Supervisor.

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.

Parents at SES are informed of school related information, programs, meetings and other activities in a variety of manners. The Parent Liaison and/or school staff sends out important information and meeting dates to all SES parents via our School Messenger automated system. Programs and activities that need to be emphasized or highlighted are posted to the home page announcements on the school website, the Parent Liaison’s homepage, sent out via School Messenger email, sent out via School Messenger phone calls (mass calls to all families), included on the school’s marquee, social media and teacher websites. Materials and information are reproduced in Spanish for our Hispanic families whose primary language at home is Spanish.

SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT

Springfield Elementary School will take the following actions to jointly develop with parents of participating children a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high standards.

Feedback for our School-Parent Compact begins at the close of each year at our End of Year Title I Parent Input Meeting. Parents and staff have an opportunity to reflect on the effectiveness of the School-Parent Compact and decide what needs to be changed, added, or deleted to adjust the compact for the following school year.Analysis of data from the state mandated testing (Georgia Milestones) is also available for making any necessary changes to the compact. Parents are also given the opportunity to provide feedback on the August and May parent surveys distributed each school year.

Teachers and staff have opportunities to provide feedback at faculty and staff meetings, School Council meetings, and School Improvement Committee meetings.

Student input is gathered with help from homeroom teachers. The SES Parent Liaison requests that homeroom teachers gather feedback from students regarding what they feel students, parents, and teachers can each do to best support academic success. This feedback is reviewed, summarized and incorporated into the development of the School-Parent Compact.

RESERVATIONS OF FUNDS

SES will take the following actions to involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent involvement is spent by:

Parents are given the opportunity at the Parent Input Meeting to provide input towards the 1% set-aside of Title I funds and parents are offered the opportunity to give suggestions on how this money should be used for SES. The Annual Parent Survey, distributed to all SES families during the first month of the school year, is also used to garner input on the 1% set-aside Title I funds.

COORDINATION OF SERVICES

Springfield Elementary School will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start and public preschool and other programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children by:

In the spring, “Kindergarten, Here we Come” is held for all students entering kindergarten. Parents are presented valuable information about the kindergarten curriculum, standards, and examples of handwriting, sight words, and a supply list. At this time, parents often meet potential teachers and administrators.

SES maintains a parent resource area with free resources and materials available to any SES family. These materials include pamphlets, books, and other resources available to help their child succeed in school, teach their children organizational and study skills, give opportunities for their child’s educational experience. The resource room is available to parents during the school day. Parents may choose to access the materials at school or check them out to utilize at home.

BUILDING CAPACITY OF PARENTS

Springfield Elementary School will build the parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school and the community to improve student academic achievement through the following:

  • Providing parents with a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.

During our Annual Title I meeting in September/October, a description of the curriculum, assessments used throughout the school year, and proficiency levels are discussed with parents in our School-Wide/School Improvement Plan.

  • Materials and training to help parents to work with their child to improve their child’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement.

SES offers several programs to help parents work with their child to improve academic achievement. The Parent Liaison coordinates workshops based on the areas of interest parents indicate on the Beginning of Year Parent Survey. Parent University coordinates with SES and other schools within the district to provide parenting sessions three times per year covering a variety of topics such as how to use the Parent Portal, understanding the use of technology in the classroom, guidelines for dealing with children with difficult behaviors, and helping fathers become more actively involved in their children’s lives. SES administrators and teachers hold informational sessions each year to explain standardized testing and offer tips to parents to help ensure their child does their best on these assessments.

  • Providing assistance to parents of participating children, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following:
  • The State’s academic content standards.
  • The State’s student 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.
  • How to work with educators.

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