PART I: GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

2014-2015 School Parental Involvement Policy

Revised: 05/01/2014

School: Gray Elementary School District/LEA: Jones County Schools

The school will adhere to the following as required by law:

  • Involve parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely wayin 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 the school 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 anddistribute it to the parents of participating children and make the parental involvement plan 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 and including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
  • If the school-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 children’s learning;

(B)that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their children’s’ education at school;

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

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

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

  1. Gray Elementary will 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 involvement in the decisions regarding how funds for parental involvement will be used.

In accordance to policy, Gray Elementary will convene meetings in the Spring, to revise our Parent Involvement Policy, Compacts, and Schoolwide Plan. Gray Elementary will solicit feedback and suggestions, from our stakeholders, for revision on each of the plans. Stakeholders will also be invited to review and give feedback on how Parent Involvement funds will be spent. All suggestions and comments from surveys and meetings regarding Title I programs will be sent to the district office. Suggestions will be used if deemed applicable to the improvement of the program. Final policies and plans under Title I will be distributed to all parents at Gray Elementary. Copies may also be obtained in the school’s office and on the school’s website. For parents whose native language is not English, translated copies of the Parent Involvement Policy, Compact, and Schoolwide plan will be made available, upon request.

  1. Gray Elementary will 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 and the school Parental Involvement Policy, the SchoolWide Plan, and the School-Parent Compact.
  • An annual meeting will be conducted at the beginning of the year. Two meeting times will be offered: one in the evening and one during the day. Childcare and light refreshments will be provided for each meeting.
  • Parents will be contacted about the Title I Annual Meeting in a variety of ways to include the following:

The dates will be listed on the packet of Title I documents sent home the first week of school for review.

A flyer will be sent prior to the event and it will be emailed to all parents with a valid email on record.

A call out to all parents will be made prior to the event detailing the meeting.

The event will be posted on the GES web page, in the school newsletter, and on the front marquee.

  • Parents will be informed of the components of the School Wide Title I program during workshops and the Annual Meeting.
  • Title I, Part A requirements will be explained during the parent involvement annual meeting.
  • All unsatisfactory comments regarding the Title I Plan will be collected, considered and attached when the plan is submitted to the LEA.
  • The primary goal of the Gray Elementary Title I Parent Involvement Plan is to encourage a working relationship between parents, teachers, and administration and to increase student achievement in all areas of learning.
  1. Gray Elementarywill take the following actions to offer a flexible meeting schedule, such as meetings in the morning or evenings, and may provide with Title I funds, transportation, childcare or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement.
  • Gray Elementary involves parents in the creation of parent workshops by surveying parents about the activities they have enjoyed in the past and by getting suggestions on activities they would like to have in the future. We encourage parents to give input on the types of parent programs offered. The Gray Elementary School Council, which involves parents, representatives from local businesses, and teachers, provides valuable input from parents on what is needed in order to help improve student success.
  • The Gray Elementary Title I program will offer several parent workshops throughout the school year. A flexible schedule of day and/or evening workshops will be held to accommodate parents’ schedules. Parents will be surveyed about the best times to conduct parent workshops.
  • Resources from each workshop will be posted on the Parent page on the GES webpage. Any documents that where supplied at the meeting will also be available after the meeting in the parent center. Title I funds may be used to provide transportation, childcare, or home visits to reduce parent involvement concerns.
  • Parents will be given invitations to workshops and informational meetings. This information will also be posted on the Gray Elementary web page, in the school newsletter, and on the front marquee prior to the event. A call out will also be sent prior to the event.
  • Workshops and literature will be provided for parents to gainan understanding of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and how this impacts their children.
  • Additional parent workshops will be provided upon request of parents based on comments from surveys.
  1. Gray Elementarywill take the following actions to provide parents of participating children the following:
  2. timely information about the Title I programs;
  3. 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;
  4. opportunities for regular meetings, if requested by parents, to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children. We will respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.

At the beginning of the year, parents will receive a tentative calendar of events for meetings and workshops that will be held during the school year. This information will also be posted on the GES web page. Flyers will be sent and events will be posted on the school marquee prior to each event. A call out will also be sent prior to the event.

The Common Core Georgia Performance Standards (CCGPS: Reading, ELA, & Math) and Georgia Performance Standards (GPS: Social Studies, Science, & Health) that the students will be working on each nine-week period will be communicated to the parents through county curriculum maps. The school curriculum and curriculum maps will be posted on the school website and on teacher/grade level pages. The curriculum maps will be sent home upon the request of parents.

Instructional Formative Assessments (benchmarks) will be used to measure student progress and proficiency levels. These assessments will be given as directed by county guidelines. These assessments are for instructional purposes only and scores will not be sent home to parents. The information attained will be used for further instruction, remediation or enrichment.

Summative assessments will be given after lessons/units with results sent home in signed papers.

Parents will be notified in writing when the CRCT will be given. These dates are on the school calendar on the school’s website.

 CRCT scores will be sent home for parents to review, along with Student Growth Reports.

During the parent workshops, parents will have an opportunity to share experiences with other parents and participate in brainstorming sessions relating to the education of their children.

Suggestions on ways parents can monitor their children’s progress and how to work with teachers to improve their children’s performance will be given during parent workshops and parent/teacher conferences.

Parents willparticipate in decisions relating to the education of their children through parent workshops, parent/teacher conferences, and placement meetings.

Parents will be provided with materials and training on how to help their children with subject areas, technology, and safety through:

Parent workshops

Our parent resource center

Parent-teacher conferences

  1. Gray Elementary 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.
  • Parents will have access to review the school compact and to submit suggestions in writing to the Parent Coordinator.
  • Copies of the Compact will be located in the Parent Resource Centeron the front page of the GES web page,and on the Title I page.
  • In the spring, parents will be invited to attend a meeting either in the evening or during the day to help revise the Compact.
  • Evidence of parent input will be documented through minutes, suggestion box and contact link on the school web page.
  1. Gray Elementarywill build the school’s and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement. This will help to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement. The following activities specifically described below will help to achieve this:

A.Gray Elementarywill provide assistance to parents of participating children, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described below:

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.

The following workshops/meetingswill be offered to help ensure the above areas are met successfully.

Title I Annual Meeting: explains Title I documents

Intervention Night: showsparents ways to monitor their children’s progress and how to work with educators.

Curriculum Night: Parents will be able to see what their students are learning, how they will be tested and ways that can help their child in their current grade level.

Understanding the CCGPS, Instructional Formative Assessments and CRCT: reviews state standards, review local testing benchmarks and state testing.

Additional meetings may be held as the need arises.

B.Gray Elementary will provide materials and training to help parents to work with their childrenand to improve their children’s achievement, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement;

A parent resource center will be housed in the school. This center will provide resources, such as books, games, and other educational materials, that parents can use with their children as entertaining ways to develop the understanding of the standards. These items will be available for parents to check out and use at home with their children.

Workshops will be held throughout the year. Some topics may include:

Intervention Night*

Kindergarten & 3rd grade orientation

Curriculum Night for each grade level (make this part of an open house, but like 3rd week of school) *

Academic/PTO Night: math, science, reading, writing, etc.

Testing Workshop 1.0 (offered in Fall): what to do throughout the year to prepare(Online Assessment System (OAS))

Testing 2.0-(Offered in Spring): how to help your child before theCRCT

Reading Strategies (grade specific, as needed)

Math Skills (grade specific, as needed)

Web Resources for Parents

Using literature to teach math and content areas (grade specific, as needed)

Communicating 101

Writing across the curriculum

Working with Special Needs Children

Parenting skills workshop: appropriate roles and skills to cope with parenting elementary age children.

These topics are based on feedback from parents at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. Surveys will be completed during Intervention and Curriculum Night to determine each workshop thereafter.

C.Gray Elementarywill provide training to educate the teachers, pupil services personnel, principal, 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 the school, by:

educating the faculty and staff about ways to help communicate with parents and build ties between home and school through faculty meetings and/or grade level meetings with teachers communicating ideas to each other on effective methods that have worked for them. Some possible resources/strategies are:

Webinars from Georgia DOE

PD360 Videos

Helpful Hints (monthly/weekly/biweekly emails)

Community Resources: bring in community members to show teachers how they can support the students and the educational process

Role-play skits during faculty meetings

D.Gray Elementary will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start, 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:

inviting parents from the various Pre-K facilities in Grayto attend the following activities:

Bingo for Books

Academic Night

Holiday Craft Night

Reading Under the Stars

Kindergarten Visitation for parents and students: orientation for parents and a lesson for students.

E.Gray Elementary will take the following actions to ensure that 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:

Gray Elementary, when feasible, will provide all parent involvement and student information to parents in a language that they can understand. This includes reading information aloud to parents with disabilities, if necessary.

All meetings and workshops flyers, newsletter, and other announcements will be translated for specified parents, when feasible.

Any document can be translated by parent request when feasible.

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