Pen Argyl Area School District

Pen Argyl Area School District Current File: IKA

Policy Date Adopted:05/23/06

Date Revised: 09/20/16

PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN TITLE I PROGRAMS

PURPOSE: The purpose of the Parent and Family Engagement policy is to: (1) insure the active participation of all parents, including those whose children receive Title I services, in the planning and implementation of district reading instruction programs; (2) provide information to parents about Title I funds and the services provided by those funds: (3) assist parents to develop reading strategies and materials to be used at home and (4) encourage parents to feel responsible for their children’s successes in school.

AUTHORITY: Title I, Section 1118 of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB)--direct parental involvement to include a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d). Section 1112 --district-wide parental involvement policy; Section 1111--full opportunities for participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, parents of migratory children; to provide them with information and school reports in an understandable and uniform format, and include alternative formats upon request, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand. Section 1116--to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement.

DEFINITIONS:

Every Child Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA) Reauthorized version of Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Parental Involvement The participation of parents in regular, two-way and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities including ensuring that:

parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;

parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;

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.

Title I Section of ESSA Act that identifies candidates to receive reading assistance.

English as a Second LanguageIdentifies students for whom English is not the native language.

Local Education Agency (LEA) The district representative responsible for coordinating Title I programs and activities.

DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITY. The Board shall delegate to the Assistant Superintendent the responsibility to oversee the district’s Parental Involvement programs in accordance with Board-approved procedures as outlined in this policy.

POLICY REQUIREMENTS:

The Pen Argyl Area School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district wide parental involvement plan under section 1112 of ESSA:

Organize a Title I Schoolwide Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) to meet regularly throughout the school year to include representation of Limited English Proficient (LEP) parents.

PAC will review existing parental involvement policy.

PAC will recommend changes that reflect current district practices and philosophy.

PAC will approve and submit the revised policy for school board action.

The Pen Argyl Area School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of ESSA:

Actively recruit Title I parents to participate in school review and improvement planning as a sub-committee of the PAC.

Provide the opportunity for the Title I PAC to participate in a review of appropriate data and propose school improvement initiatives to assure continued academic progress.

The PAASD will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance:

Conduct a Title I parent and teacher survey.

Conduct an annual review of the Title I Compact and Parent Involvement Policy.

Provide resources including child care to allow for parent trainings.

Design and evaluate feedback process.

The PAASD will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parental involvement policy in improving the quality of its Title I, Part A schools. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parental involvement activities (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). The school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its parental involvement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parental involvement and to revise, if necessary (with the involvement of parents) its parental involvement policies.

The District will provide coordination, technical assistance and other support necessary to assist the Title I PAC to:

Develop user friendly parent involvement resources.

Guide in the formulation of written policies

Plan for an effective, home-school parental involvement program.

Assure that efforts will be made to make all support materials available in the native language of parents.

Plan for the dissemination of policy and support materials to all parents in the Pen Argyl Area School District.

Provide ample opportunity for parental feedback using a variety of means of communication.

Involve parents in opportunities for math and reading training through locally developed inservicesand workshops.

The PAASD will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following other programs: Home Instruction for Preschool Youngsters and state operated preschool programs.

Annual contact with Head Start to determine district parent eligibility for at-home program.

Revise the district preschool Reading and Math standards as needed.

Communicate with local preschool programs regarding transition and progress of incoming Kindergarten students.

The PAASD will build the schools’ and parent’s capacity for strong parental involvement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the schools involved, parents and the community to improve student academic achievement through the following activities specifically described below:

The school district will, with the assistance of its Title I Part A schools, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following:

The Pennsylvania Core Standards.

Pen Argyl Area K – 12 curriculum in the content areas.

The Pennsylvania and local academic assessments including alternative assessments.

Student progress monitoring.

Parent and teacher collaborations in specific areas in reading and math.

New parent orientation to include details on the Title I program, name and phone of Title I contact person(s).

The school district will, with the assistance of its schools, provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate to foster parental involvement, by:

Teach me to Read At Home program for parents of at risk incoming kindergarten students.

Revising and sharing the Help Me packet for parents of Title I students.

Preparing parents to use a summer review packet.

Continuing the Summer School Program for Title I students.

The school district will, with the assistance of its schools and 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:

Involving parents and teachers in the development of strategies to increase participation in district sponsored parent programs.

Integrate Adult Basic Learning and GED learning opportunities for parents.

The school district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers Program, 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:

Annual contact with Head Start to determine district parent eligibility for the at-home program.

Make referrals to Families First, the Pen Argyl Area School District Family Center.

Work with Title I PAC to run and update the Family ResourceCenter.

The school district will take the following actions to ensure that the 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, and to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand by:

Including Title I information in district publications.

Adding a Title I link to the school websites.

Providing translations of all relevant documents for Limited English Proficient parents.

Developing and distributing a quarterly Title I progress report to include progress monitoring in Reading.

ADOPTION:

The District wide Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by a series of joint meetings with parents during the spring of eachschool yearand reviewed annually.

The school district will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before October 1 of each school year.

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