CODE H7

Title I, Part A Parental Involvement Policy[1]                

 

The _________________District[2] maintains programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents of students receiving services, or enrolled in programs, under Title I Part A of Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  These programs, activities and procedures are described in school district and school level compacts.[3]

 

Definition:

 

Parent: Includes a legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis (such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the child’s welfare).[4]   

 

School District Parental Involvement Compact.[5]

The superintendent or his or her designee shall develop an LEA-Level Parental Involvement Compact according to Title I, Part A  requirements.  The LEA Compact shall include: (1) the school district’s expectations for parental involvement, (2) specific strategies for effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance, and (3) other provisions required by law.  The superintendent or designee shall ensure that the Compact is distributed to parents of students receiving services, or enrolled in programs, under Title I Part A.

 

School Level Parental Involvement Compact.[6]

Each building principal or his or her designee shall develop a School-Level Parental Involvement Compact in accord with Title I, Part A requirements.  The School Level Parental Involvement Compact shall include: (1) a process for continually involving parents in its development and implementation, (2) how parents, the entire school staff and students share the responsibility for improved academic achievement, (3) the means by which the school and parents build and develop a partnership to help students achieve the State’s standards, and (4) other provisions as required by law.  Each principal or designee shall ensure that the compact is distributed to parents of students receiving services, or enrolled in programs under Title I, Part A.

 

Date Warned:

Date Adopted:

Date Last Reviewed:

Legal Reference(s):    

  • Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (“No Child Left Behind Act”), 20 USC §6318.

·         16 V.S.A. §144b.  Definition of “LEA” for NCLBA purposes.

Title I, Part A Parental Involvement Policy:

Appendix A.

 

Sample School District Parental Involvement Compact.[7]

 

This school district compact outlines the joint responsibility of the School District. and parents.  The following opportunities for parental involvement are provided by the __________School District.

 

1.  The school district involves parents in the joint development of its plan to help low-achieving students meet challenging achievement and academic standards (NCLBA §1112), and the process of school review and improvement (NCLBA §1116) by:

  1. Establishing a school district committee with parents and representatives of other impacted programs, including Head Start.
  2. Establishing communication between the school district staff and parents.
  3. Developing a school district process, through newsletters, electronic communications of other means, to communicate with parents about the plan and to seek their input and participation.
  4. Training personnel on effective collaboration strategies for parents with diverse backgrounds that may impede participation, such as language difficulty.

 

2.  The school district provides 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 by:

  1. Providing workshops to assist schools in planning and implementing strategies.
  2. Establishing training programs for school personnel and parents responsible for communication strategies at the school level.
  3. Providing information to parents about the assessment tools and instruments that will be developed to monitor progress.
  4. Seeking input from parents in developing workshops and other activities.

 

3.  The school district builds the capacity of schools and parents for strong parental involvement by:

  1. Providing ongoing communication about the school district committee through newsletters or other written or electronic means.
  2. Utilizing the schools’ parent-teacher organizations to assist in identifying effective communication strategies.
  3. Providing a master calendar of school district meetings to discuss pertinent topics.

 

4.  The school district coordinates and integrates parental involvement strategies under this Compact with parental involvement strategies under other programs by:

  1. Sharing data from school and other programs to assist in developing new initiatives to improve student achievement and school improvement.

 

5.  The school district conducts, with involvement of parents, and annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of its parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of schools served under Title I, Part A, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by Title I, Part A or the parental involvement policy and compact of the district. (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background), and use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, its parental involvement policies by:

  1. Evaluating the effectiveness of the content and communication methods through a variety of methods, including: focus groups, surveys, workshops, and informal meetings with staff, parents and teachers.
  2. Identifying potential policy and compact changes to improve and revise programs.

 

6.  The school district involves parents in the activities of the schools served under Title I, Part A by:

  1. Providing communication and calendar information to parents of planned meetings, discussions or other events and encouraging participation.
  2. Providing school and parent-teacher organization coordination of events.

 

 


Title I, Part A Parental Involvement Policy

Appendix B

 

School Level Parental Involvement Compact[8]

 

This parental involvement compact outlines joint responsibilities of the school and parents.  Opportunities for parental involvement are provided by the school by:

 

1.  Convening an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children are invited and encouraged to attend, inform parents/guardians of their school’s participation under Title I, Part A and to explain the requirements of Title I, Part A and the right of the parents to be involved.[9]  The principal or his or her designee shall:

  1.  Invite all parents of participating children to the annual meeting at school.
  2. Explain the rights of parents to be involved in establishing this compact.
  3. Introduce and involve the building representatives on the S.U.-level committee.
  4. Provide an overview of Title I and give parents an opportunity to express questions and concerns.
  5. Indicate mechanisms by which the committee work will be communicated to parents.
  6. Seek the involvement and input of parents.
  7. Provide child care so that all parents who would otherwise be unable to attend may attend.

 

2.  Offering a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evenings, and may provide, with funds provided under Title I, Part A, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement.[10]  The principal or his or her designee shall:

  1. Provide parents with opportunities to ask questions and discuss informally student academic achievement and school performance.
  2. Engage school-based parent organizations to assist with communication and implementation needs.
  3. Develop and use outreach programs to involve community groups and organizations.

 

3.  Involving parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and involvement of programs under Title I, Part A, including the planning, review, and improvements of the school parental involvement compact and the joint development of the school wide program plan under NCLBA[11],  except that if the school has in place a process for involving parents in the joint planning and design of the school’s programs, the school may use that process, if such process includes an adequate representation o parents of participating children.[12]  The principal or his or her designee shall:

  1.  Identify and establish a process by which an adequate representation of parents of participating children can occur.
  2. Establish a schedule for the school-based committee to plan, review, and recommend improvements to the S.U. parent involvement policy.

 

4.  The principal or his or her designee shall:[13]

  1.  Provide parents of participating children timely information about programs.
  2. Communicate updates through the use of school newsletters, the school web site, email and telephone contact, and home visits if needed.
  3. Provide a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.
  4. Provide parents, upon request, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate as appropriate in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any suggestions as soon as practicably possible.
  5. Develop means for parents to ask questions and receive answers.
  6. If the school plan developed under Section 1114(b)(2) of the NCLBA is not satisfactory to parents of participating children, submit any comments from parents to the S.U. board when the plan is made available to the S.U. board, and provide a process consistent with board policies and procedures on complaints, for parents to express their concerns to the school district board of directors.

 

5.  Shared Responsibilities for High Student Academic Achievement.[14]

  1. The school is responsible for providing a high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables children served under Title I, Part A to meet the state’s student academic achievement standards.  Each parent of a participating child is responsible for supporting their children’s learning by:

I    Monitoring attendance, homework, and television viewing.

II  Volunteering in their child’s classroom and participating as appropriate in decisions relating to their children’s education and extracurricular activities.

 

  1. Communication between teachers and parents occurs through:
    1. Parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools at least annually, during which the compact shall be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievements.
    2. Frequent reports to parents on their children’s progress.
    3. Reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class, and observation of classroom activities.

 

6.  Building Capacity for Involvement.[15]

A.  To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school’s involved, each school shall:

I.        Provide assistance to parents of children served in understanding the State’s academic content standards and State student academic achievement standards, State and local assessments, monitoring a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children.

II.    Provide materials and training to help parents work with their children.

III. Educate teachers and other staff in the value and utility of contributions of parents and how to effectively communicate with and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs that will build ties between them.

IV. To the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, the Home Instructions Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents and Teachers Program 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.

V.    Ensure that information is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and language that can understand.

B.  To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school’s involved, each school may:

I.   Involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training.

II. Provide necessary literacy training from funds received under Title I if the District has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training.

III. Pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement activities, including transportation and child care costs to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions.

IV. Train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents.

V.  Arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between teachers and other educators, in order to maximize parental involvement and participation.

VI. Adopt and implement model approaches to improving parental involvement.

VII. Establish a District-wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in Title I supported programs.

VIII. Develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities.

IX. Provide other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request.

 

7.  In carrying out the parental involvement requirements of this compact, the school, to the extent practicable, will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency or disabilities, including providing information and school reports  in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents understand.[16]

 

 


[1] This policy is mandatory for LEAs and schools that receive Title I, Part A funds.  20 U.S.C. §6318(a)

(2).

[2] 16 V.S.A. §144b(c) makes school districts LEAs for purposes of complying with the sections of federal law that apply to this policy.

[3] See footnotes 4 and 5 below for an explanation of the use of the term “compact” in this model policy.

[4] Source:  20 USC §7801(31). ESEA definition of “parent.”

[5] See, 20 USC §6318(a)(2) requiring each LEA receiving Title I Part A funds to “develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parent involvement policy.”  This requirement is accomplished in this model policy by requiring the superintendent or his or her designee to develop an LEA compact in accord with Title I policy requirements.  A compact, as such, is not required of LEA’s under Title I, although a compact is required of title I schools. The use of a compact by LEAs is suggested here in order to minimize the extent to which procedures must be made part of board policies. A sample LEA Parental Involvement Compact is provided in Appendix A attached to this model policy.

[6] See, 20 USC §6318(b) requiring each school served under Title I, Part A to  “develop jointly with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parent involvement policy, agreed on by such parents, that shall describe the means for carrying out the requirements of subsections (c) through (f).” In addition Section 6318(d) requires Title I schools to develop, “as a component of the school-level policy,” a school-parent compact.  The compact must be jointly developed with parents of children served under Title I, Part A, and must include certain components.  A sample School Level Parental Involvement Compact with the required components is provided in Appendix B attached to this policy.

[7] Each of the numbered components of this sample is required by Title I, Part A (the No Child Left Behind Act).  The numbered paragraphs correspond to requirements in 20 USC §6318(a)(2)(A)-(F).  The sub-paragraphs are suggestive only, and are offered as examples of activities that might be undertaken to accomplish the numbered requirements.  Processes for involving parents in the accomplishment of the activities listed in this sample must be developed in consultation with parents.

[8] Each of the components in the numbered paragraphs of this sample is required by Title I, Part A (the No Child Left Behind Act).  The bulleted sub-paragraphs are suggestive only, and are offered as examples of activities that might be undertaken to accomplish the numbered requirements.  The numbered paragraphs correspond to requirements in 20 USC §6318(b)-(f).  Processes for involving parents in the accomplishment of the activities listed in this sample must be developed in consultation with parents.

 

[9] 20 USC §6318(c)(1). 

[10] 20 USC §6318(c)(2).

[11] 20 USC §6314(b)(2).

[12] 20 USC §6318(c)(3).

[13] 20 USC §6318(c)(4) & (5).

[14] 20 USC §6318(d).

[15] 20 USCA §6318(e). Numbered Sections AI-AV are required by this section of Title I, Part A (the NCLBA), numbered sections BI-BIX are enumerated in this section of the law but are not required.

[16] 20 USCA §6318(f).