FAIRLESS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLParental Involvement Policy

PART I.GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

Fairless Elementaryagrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

  • Will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parent.
  1. Convene an annual meeting to explain the Title 1 program to parents and inform them of their right to be involved in the program.
  2. Offer a flexible number of meetings, to meet parent’s needs.
  3. Involve parents, “in an organized, ongoing and timely way,” in planning, review and improvement of Fairless’ Title 1 program.
  4. Provide timely information about its Title 1 program to parents, describe the curricula, the student assessments and proficiency levels students are expected to meet, provide opportunities for regular meetings, respond promptly to parent suggestions, and offer child care at the school during such meetings.
  5. Provide parents with an opportunity to submit dissenting views regarding Fairless Elementary school-wide program plan if the plan is not acceptable to them.
  6. Fairless Elementary will adopt the school-parent compact as a component of its Parental Involvement Policy.
  • The school will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, by providing information and school reports 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 plan for Title I, Part A, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school will submit any parent comments to the district for review.

Fairless Elementary School agrees to be governed by the following 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.FAIRLESS ELEMENTARY WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

Fairless Elementarywill take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district wide parental involvement plan.

Fairless Elementary 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:

  • Family Events
  • Parent Workshops
  • Open House
  • Parent Conferences.

Fairless Elementarywill 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. The school 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 (and with the involvement of parents) its parental involvement policies:

  • Open House
  • Parent/Teacher Conferences
  • Parent comments (can be submitted at any time)

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

The Fairless Elementary staff will provide assistance to parents in such areas as understanding the Pennsylvania State Standards. They will also offer assistance on information about state and local assessments, the requirements of this act and how to monitor their child’s progress. Fairless Elementary staff members will also provide parents with information as to how they can work with educators to improve the performance of their children and information as to how they can participate in decisions relating to the education of their children. This information will be shared at the annual meeting mentioned as well as in newsletters and on the web site.

Fairless Elementary will provide materials and trainings to help parents work with their children to improve achievement. Materials will be distributed throughout the year by way of email, written notices and/or pamphlets.

Fairless Elementary will educate all staff members regarding the value of parent involvement and the positive impact it has on student achievement and in understanding how to utilize parents as equal partners.

To the extent feasible and appropriate, Fairless Elementary will invite parents of students attending Head Start and all other parents of preschool age children to fully participate in activities that help children have a smooth transition from pre-school to kindergarten. These activities include, but are not limited to, Family Curriculum Nights and Kindergarten Orientation.

Fairless Elementary will ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that information related to school and parent programs, meetings and other activities is sent to the home of participating children in the language used in homes.

Fairless Elementary will provide reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents may request. They will take suggestions from parents by email, verbally, or in written form.

To the extent that is practical, Fairless Elementary will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency or with disabilities, including providing information and school profiles in a language and format that parents understand.

PART III. DISCRETIONARY DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

  • 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;
  • in order to maximize parental involvement and participation in their children’s education, arranging school meetings at a variety of times, or conducting in-home conferences between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents who are unable to attend those conferences at school;
  • developing appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses, including faith-based organizations, in parental involvement activities; and
  • providing other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under section 1118 as parents may request.]

PART IV.Responsibilities for High Student Academic Achievement:

Fairless Elementary School will:

  1. Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables students to meet the Pennsylvania student academic achievement standards as follows: Students are assessed three times a year with a universal screening tool. Using this data and teacher data, students receive support in areas of weakness by highly qualified personnel. All of the students and their data are reviewed every 6 weeks with grade level teachers and intervention specialists to check on their progress and make further decisions to support the student’s learning environment.
  2. Hold parent-teacher conferences (at least annually) during which this compact will be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievement. Specifically, those conferences will be held: Parent-Teacher conferences are held two times a year: Fall and Spring.
  3. Provide parents with frequent reports on their children’s progress. Specifically, the school will provide reports as follows: Parents are provided progress reports around the middle of each grading period. Report cards are received at the end of each 9 week grading period. Parents can also access student grades on the parent portal located on Fairless’ website. Response to intervention meetings will be utilized to inform parents of student progress as well.
  4. Provide parents reasonable access to staff. Specifically, staff will be available for consultation with parents as follows: Staff is available to parents by many forms of communication. They can be reached by email, voice mail, or phone. Conferences between individual parents and teachers will be scheduled when deemed necessary. Parents can contact the school office or their child’s teacher to set up a conference.
  5. Provide parents opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class and to observe classroom activities, as follows: The school district welcomes parents to volunteer in the classroom. The elementary principal and classroom teachers will provide information regarding volunteer opportunities within the school and classrooms during parent meetings and conferences held at the beginning of the school year.

We, as parents, will support our children’s learning in the following ways:

  • Make sure our child is at school, on time, for the entire day, every day (unless excused).
  • Make sure that homework is completed.
  • Read to or with our child for 20 minutes each day.
  • Monitor amount of television children watch.
  • Volunteer at our child’s school, and participate in parent activities when possible.
  • Participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to our child’s education.
  • Promote positive use of our child’s extracurricular time.
  • Stay informed about our child’s education and communicating with the school by promptly reading all notices from the school or the school district either received by my child or by mail and responding, as appropriate.
  • Serving, to the extent possible, on the advisory committee, or in other school groups for parents.
  • Ensuring that our child meets his/her responsibilities as included in this compact.

We, as students, will share the responsibility to improve our academic achievement and achieve the state’s high standards in the following ways:

  • Do my homework every day and ask for help when I need it.
  • Read at least 20 minutes every day outside of school time.
  • Give my parents or the adult who is responsible for my welfare all notes and information given to me from my school every day.

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SchoolParentStudent

Revised 2014/15