Central's Supportive Assistance Program

Central Elementary School
Parental Involvement Policy
Central Elementary School is dedicated to the belief that strong parent involvement plays a vital role in creating an effective academic and social environment for our students. Strong parent involvement helps to ensure student success both academically and socially. A strong collaboration between school and parents builds success both in school and at home.

PART I. GENERAL EXPECTATIONS
Central Elementary School agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:
•        Consistent with section 1118, the school will ensure that the required school level parental involvement policy meets the requirements of section 1118 of the ESEA, and includes, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d) of the ESEA.
•        Schools will notify parents of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. The policy will be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.
•        In carrying out the Title I, Part A, parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school will provide full opportunities 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 and including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in language parents understand.
•        If the school-wide program plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1114(b) of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school submits the plan to the local educational agency (school district).
•        The school will 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 parental involvement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the 1 percent reserved goes directly to the schools.
•        The school will build its own and the parent’s capacity for strong parental involvement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement.
•        The school will provide parental involvement activities under section 1118 of the ESEA in the areas of improving student achievement, child development, child rearing and additional topics parents may request.
•        The school will 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.

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

1.                  Central Elementary School shall take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its school parental involvement plan under section 1118 of the ESEA:

• Host meetings with parents to develop and review the parental involvement plan

• Incorporate parental suggestions and changes into the development of the Title I plan

• Provide training to parents and teachers in order to facilitate informed, empowered parental participation and parent/teacher partnerships

2. Central Elementary School shall take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under Title I Part A of the ESEA:

•        Provide parents with opportunities to participate in the local school improvement council meetings and facilitate active parent participation in the decisions that affect students

•        Provide opportunities for parents to meet with the educational staff, both formally and informally, to discuss school review and improvement suggestions and concerns

•        Survey parents annually about Title 1 services and school concerns

3. Central Elementary School shall hold an annual meeting to inform parents of the school’s participation in Title I, Part A programs, and to explain the Title I, Part A requirements and the right of parents to be involved in Title I, Part A programs. The school will invite all parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs to this meeting.

•        Open House

•        CPT Meeting

•        Parent Involvement Programs

•        A Title I Brochure will be provided to any parents unable to attend any of the previously listed informational meetings.

4.   Central Elementary School shall provide parents of participating children information in a timely manner about Title I, Part A programs that includes a description and explanation of the school’s curriculum, the forms of academic assessment used to measure children’s progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.

•        Student Report Cards
•        Student Agendas
•        School Parent Compacts
•        WESTEST Results
•        West Virginia Writing Assessment Results
•        Interim Reports
•        Parent-Teacher Conferences

5. Central Elementary School shall at the request of parents, provide opportunities for regular meetings for parents to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions about the education of their children. The school will respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible by:

•        Communicating to parents through the school newsletter

•        Communicating to parents through notes in individual student agendas

•        Meeting with parents before or after school

•        Providing parent training on requested needs

•        Communicating to parents through personal notes

•        Communicating to parents through the school’s website

6. Central Elementary School shall provide each parent an individual student report about the performance of their child on the State assessment in at least math, language arts and reading by:

•        Sending home the WESTEST results
•        Sending home the West Virginia Writing Assessment results

7. Central Elementary School has teachers who are highly qualified and certified for the positions they hold in the school. All teachers participate in ongoing professional development in the research-based curriculum practices of standards based instruction, differentiated instruction, co-teaching models, and guided reading. The school will take the following actions to provide each parent timely notice if their child has been assigned or has been taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified within the meaning of the term in section 200.56 of the Title I Final Regulations (67 Fed. Reg. 71710, December 2, 2002):

•        Sending home a notice to inform parents of the situation
•        Providing parents with the opportunity to voice concerns and /or questions pertaining to the situation

8. Central Elementary School shall provide assistance to parents of children served by the school, as appropriate, in understanding 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 Part A, how to monitor their child’s progress, and how to work with educators.
•        Parents will be directed to the WV Department of Education’s website (http://wvde.state.wv.us/csos/) for content standards. Printed versions of the content standards will be given to parents if the parent does not have access to a computer with internet upon request.
•        Student achievement topics and topics regarding Part A will be provided for parental education and as informational handouts

•        Providing parent workshops

9. Central Elementary School shall provide materials and training to help parents work with their children in the areas of improving student achievement, (including literacy training and using technology), child development, child rearing, and additional topics parents may request.

•        Provide parent workshops
•        Holiday Books
•        Read Across America Day
•        Family Fun Night

10. Central Elementary School shall, with the assistance of its parents, educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, principals and other staff in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools, by:

•        Providing teachers and administrative staff with materials, videos, and books (resources) regarding what works with parents as partners in education

•        Providing school staff with assistance in becoming a family friendly climate that encourages parent volunteers, bulletin boards welcoming parents, family learning events

•        Providing parent-educator partnership trainings and community networking     opportunities

11. Central Elementary School shall, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers Program, public preschool, and other programs. The school will also conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children, by:

•        Parents from the WV Pre-K programs are able to participate in all Title 1 school wide parent involvement programs and activities.
•        Providing Pre-K Learning Backpack Workshops
•        Providing Kindergarten Registration
•        Providing Kindergarten Orientation

12. Central Elementary School shall take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent-programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to 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:
•        Provide opportunities for non-English speaking parents to participate in parent   involvement policy development.
•        Provide materials for low literacy parents
•        Utilize county resources to provide additional support if needed

PART III.       DISCRETIONARY SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

                Central Elementary School, in consultation with its parents, chooses to undertake to build parents’ capacity for involvement in the school and school system to support their children’s academic achievement, such as the following discretionary activities listed under section 1118(e) of the ESEA:

•                    involving parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of that training;
•                    providing necessary literacy training for parents from Title I, Part A funds, if the school district has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for that training;
•                    paying reasonable and necessary expenses associated with parental involvement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions;
•                    training parents to enhance the involvement of other parents;
•                    arranging school meetings at a variety of times, or conducting in-home conferences between teachers or other educators who work directly with participating children, arrange meetings with parents who are unable to attend conferences at school in order to maximize parental involvement and participation in their children’s education;
•                    adopting and implementing model approaches to improving parental involvement;
•                    establishing a school parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in Title I, Part A programs;
•                    developing appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses, including faith-based organizations, in parental involvement activities.

PART IV.       ADOPTION

This School Parental Involvement Policy has been adopted jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by written and verbal comments from the Central Elementary Parent Advisory Council.

This policy was adopted by Central Elementary School on September 26, 2008 and will be in effect for the period of one school year. The school will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before October 31, 2008.

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                  Principal

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