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RI Department of Education Resources of 46

TITLE I, PART A Parent AND family Engagement Toolkit

Rhode Island Department of Education

January 2020

Table of ContentsClick on the live links below, and throughout the document, to move throughout the document.

Part One: Parent and Family EngagementIntroduction page 3

Parent and Family Engagement Matters: What the Research Tells Us page 4

Overview of the Title I Parent and Family Engagement Requirements pages 5-6

Year at a Glance Planning Guide pages 7-8

Implementing Evidence-based Parent and Family Engagement Practices pages 10-12

Tips for Communicating with Families page 13

Ideas for Measuring Parent and Family Engagement Outcomes page 14

Documentation Tips pages 15-16

Part Two: Applicable Sections of the Every Student Succeeds ActESSA, Section 1116: Parent and Family Engagement page 18

ESSA, Section 1112(e): Parents Right-to-Know pages 19-22

Part Three: Parent and Family Engagement ChecklistsTitle I Parents’ Right to Know Checklists page 24

Title I Parent and Family Engagement Reserves Checklists page 25

LEA Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy Checklist pages 26-28

School Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy Checklist pages 29-31

Title I School-Parent Compact Checklist page 32

Title I Annual Meeting Checklist page 33

Parent and Family Engagement Activity Checklist page 34

Part Four: Title I Parent and Family Engagement TemplatesLEA Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy Template page 36-41

School Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy Template pages 42-44


Introduction

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law on December 10, 2015. ESSA replaced the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, and reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). The reauthorized law sets high standards and contains policies that will help prepare all students for success in college and future careers, including standards for parent and family engagement.

The purpose of Title I, Part A is to provide all children “significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.”1 To achieve that, states must develop accountability systems to identify and support schools with academically struggling students, and LEAs and schools must use their Title I, Part A funds to improve student outcomes, including academic achievement.

ESSA defines parent and family engagement “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;

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

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; and

that other activities are carried out, such as those described in section 1116” of ESSA.2”

Local Education Agencies (LEAs), charters and state-operated schools must meet the parent and family engagement requirements in Section 1116 of ESSA to receive their Title I funds. All LEAs that receive Title I funds must carry out a variety of activities as a condition of participating in the program including:

Developing policies and providing services to engage parents and families,3

Notifying parents of each student attending any of its Title I schools that they may request, and the agency must provide to parents upon request (and in a timely manner), information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers and paraprofessionals;4

Notifying parents of children in Title I schools when their child is being taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher is assigned;5 and

Providing equitable services to eligible private school students, including services to parents of participating Title I students.6

Using this Toolkit

The Title I Parent and Family Engagement Toolkit provides LEAs with information, resources and tools to organize and implement the required Title 1 Parent and Family Engagement component in Section 1116 of ESSA. The goal in compiling this information is to streamline the work for Title I Coordinators as they develop, implement and document the parent and family engagement portion of their Title I program.

1 ESSA, Section 10012 ESSA Section 8101(39)3 ESSA, Section 11164 ESSA Section 1112(e)(1)(a)5 ESSA Section 1112(e)(1)(B)(ii)6 ESSA Section 1117


Parent and Family Engagement Matters: What the Research Tells Us

Dr. Karen Mapp, a leading researcher in the field of parent and family engagement, emphasizes in her work that family engagement activities must focus on improving student outcomes, and encourages practitioners to review their activities and strategies for working with families to ensure that they meet this goal. The following is a summary of the latest research and findings highlighted by Dr. Mapp and others in the field.

Reading at Home MattersExposure to books early and often, in a child’s home language, matters. Children who are read to at home are almost ½ year ahead of their peers, and reading on grade level by 3rd grade.7

Understanding How Schools Work Makes a DifferenceStudents whose parents understand how the school works and are knowledgeable about the available resources (e.g. grading policies, attendance, promotion, availability of higher-level classes) have children who tend to:

earn early higher grades and test scores

be promoted on schedule

enroll in higher-level programs

adapt more easily to school and have better attendance

have improved social skills and behaviors8

Parents who know about more than the basic level courses and credits, may be better able to inspire their children if they have the knowledge themselves. When asked, students said parents pushing them made a difference.

Time Invested Up-Front Building Relationships with Families Makes a DifferenceEmerging research from Soo Hong, a colleague of Dr. Mapp, shows that knowing a child’s family, and having children be aware their teachers are in communication with their parents, is key to creating a positive learning environment. Successful strategies include:

getting to know families over the summer and at the beginning of the school year; and

exchanging contact information with families, to create an open line of communication.

Teachers who share their contact information with families find that parents are very respectful of this access. While the initial investment is very hard, once families are engaged and the lines of communication are open, their work is easier.9

7 Mapp, K.L. (2014). Building the Capacity for Effective Family-School-Community Partnerships. From the Providence Public School Department, Providence, Rhode Island.8 Henderson, A.T. & Mapp, K.L. (2002). A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement. National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools, SEDL Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. http://www.sedl.org/connections/resources/evidence.pdf9 Mapp, K.L. (2014). Building the Capacity for Effective Family-School-Community Partnerships. From the Providence Public School Department, Providence, Rhode Island.


http://www.sedl.org/connections/resources/evidence.pdf

Overview of the Title I Parent and Family Engagement Requirements

ESSA Terminology

ESSA Section 1116 uses the terms “parent” as well as “parents and family members”, and the term continues to have the same meaning as it did under NCLB. “Parent” is defined as 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).”

ESSA Section 1116 also uses both “parent and family engagement” as well as “parent involvement”, and the two terms are used interchangeably throughout Section 1116 of ESSA. The term parent involvement is defined as 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;

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

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; and

that other activities are carried out, such as those described in section 1116” of ESSA.”10

Parents Right-to-Know

LEAs must notify all parents of children attending Title I schools of:

their right to request, and receive in a timely manner, information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers and paraprofessionals;11; and

when their child is being taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher is assigned.12

Parent and Family Engagement Policies

LEAs that receive Title I, Part A funds must meet the Parent and Family Engagement requirements outlined in section 1116 of ESSA. These include:

developing a District Parent and Family Engagement Policy;

developing a School Parent and Family Engagement Policy for each participating Title I school;

developing School-Parent Compacts for each participating Title I school; and

if the LEAs allocation is more than $500,000, the LEA must reserve at least 1% of its Title I allocation for parent and family engagement activities, ninety percent of which must be distributed to schools.

LEAs with one school may create a single Parent and Family Engagement Policy, provided it incorporates the requirements the district and the school requirements.

10 ESSA Section 8101(39)11 ESSA Section 1112(e)(1)(a)12 ESSA Section 1112(e)(1)(B)(ii)


Use of Funds

An LEA with an allocation of more than $500,000 must reserve at least 1% of its Title I allocation for parent and family engagement activities, before allocating funds to its Title I, Part A participating schools. Ninety percent (90%) of the funds set aside for parent and family engagement must be distributed to Title I participating schools, with priority given to high need schools. 13

Parents and family members of children receiving Title I services must be involved in decisions about how the funds are allotted for parent engagement activities.

Note: Title I, Part A funds are subject to an equitable services requirement.14 This means LEAs must reserve funds to provide Title I services to eligible private school students, teachers and other educational personnel, and families, as applicable. An LEA with an allocation of more than $500,000 must reserve at least 1% of its equitable services set aside to support parent and family engagement activities for parents of participating Title I private school students.

Evidence-Based Practice Requirements

LEAs must conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members of participating Title I students, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all Title I schools, including identifying—

barriers to greater participation by parents in Title I parent engagement 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 needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and

strategies to support successful school and family interactions;

The LEA must then use the findings from the annual evaluation to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and revise, if necessary, the LEA parent and family engagement policy.

13 Please note ninety percent is a change from NCLB which required LEAs to distribute ninety-five percent of the reserved funds to schools.14 ESSA, Section 1117.


Year at a Glance Planning GuideThe following document has been created to help LEAs as they move through the school year. It is a suggested timeline only.

Fall

Component Key Tasks

Involve Parents of Title I Participating Students in the Planning, Review and Improvement of Title I Program, Policies and Plans

Distribute the LEA and School Parent and Family Engagement Policies to parents and community members: o In targeted assistance schools, distribute the policies to parents of

participating children.o In schoolwide programs, distribute the policies to all parents.

Begin to implement services and activities outlined in the district’s policy, including supporting participating Title I schools in providing parent and family engagement.

Support to Title I Schools, Teachers and Staff

Provide technical assistance and support to Title I schools in implementing their parent and family engagement programs.

Plan training for teachers and staff, with the assistance of parents, on working with parents as partners.

Deliver PD at a time during the year that works for LEA and Title I Schools. Note: Schools and staff are more likely to benefit from training and TA that

is sustained over time.

Parent and Family Engagement Activities

Design evidence based parent and family engagement activities, offered at flexible meeting times.

Begin implementing activities that assist parents in supporting their child’s learning.

Document outcomes and gather parent feedback to inform program and policy evaluations.

Title I Annual Meeting Conduct the Title 1 Annual Meeting for parents of participating children. Invite and encourage all parents of participating Title I students to attend.

Parents Right-to-Know Send notification of parents’ “right to know” teacher and paraprofessional qualifications to ALL parents in each Title I participating school.

Distribute “4 or more weeks letter”, when needed, throughout the year and maintain documentation on file.

Share information with parents on the level of achievement and academic growth of their student and any State academic assessment results.

Private Schools Work with private school officials to outreach to parents of eligible students in private schools to design parent and family engagement activities, to meet the identified needs of those families as applicable.

Deliver services, as determined by the LEA, in consultation with private schools.

WinterRI Department of Education Resources of 46

Component Key Tasks


Continue to implement services and activities outlined in the district’s policy, including supporting participating Title I schools in providing parent and family engagement.


Continue providing technical assistance and support to Title I schools in implementing their parent and family engagement programs.

Implement training for teachers and staff, with the assistance of parents, on working with parents as partners.


Continue to implement parent and family engagement activities offered at flexible meeting times.


Parents Right-to-Know Distribute “4 or more weeks letter”, if needed, and maintain documentation on file.


Private Schools Deliver to parents of eligible students in Private Schools relevant parent and family engagement activities that meet the identified needs of those families.

Spring/SummerComponent Key Tasks


Continue to implement parent and family engagement strategies. Involve parents and family members of participating Title I students in the

development/evaluation and revision of: LEA Plan15; Schoolwide Plans; CSI or TSI School Plans; and Parent and Family Engagement Policies.

Use the findings from the evaluation of the Parent and Family Engagement policy to design evidence-based strategies for P&FE.

Share any concerns identified by parents about the schools Title I Schoolwide Plan with RIDE, if applicable.


Continue providing technical assistance and support to Title I schools in implementing their parent and family engagement programs.

Implement training for teachers and staff, with the assistance of parents, on working with parents as partners.

Gather feedback to inform program improvement planning.

15 ESSA’s LEA Plan requirements include the following Title I-A requirements: the nature of the SWP and TAS programs, the strategies the LEA will use to implement effective parent and family engagement, and how the LEA will carryout their CSI and TSI program responsibilities. ESSA Sec 1112 (b)(3, 5 & 7).



Continue to implement parent and family engagement activities, offering flexible meeting times.


Parents Right-to-Know Distribute “4 or more weeks letter”, if needed, and maintain documentation on file.


Private Schools Deliver to parents of eligible students in private schools relevant parent and family engagement activities that meet the identified needs of those families.


Implementing Evidence Based Parent and Family Engagement Practices

Title I, Part A Evidence-Based Practice Requirements

As state earlier, LEAs must conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members of participating Title I students, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the District Parent and Family Engagement Policy parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of Title I schools. LEAs must then use the findings from their annual evaluation of the District Parent and Family Engagement Policy to design evidence-based strategies and activities for more effective parent and family engagement16.

What are Evidence-Based Practices?

Evidence-based interventions are practices or programs that have evidence to show that they are effective at producing results and improving outcomes when implemented. The kind of evidence described in ESSA has generally been produced through formal studies and research. Under ESSA, there are four tiers, or levels, of evidence:

Tier 1: Strong Evidence – supported by one or more well-designed and well-implemented randomized control experimental studies.

Tier 2: Moderate Evidence: supported by one or more well-designed and well-implemented quasi-experimental studies.

Tier 3: Promising Evidence: supported by one or more well-designed and well-implemented correlational studies (with statistical controls for selection bias).

Tier 4: Demonstrates a Rationale: practices that have a well-defined logic model or theory of action, are supported by research, and have some effort underway by an SEA, LEA, or outside research organization to determine their effectiveness.

Most parent and family engagement practices will fall under Tier 4: Demonstrates a rationale, which is sufficient to meet ESSA requirements.

Additional information about evidence-based practices can be found on the School Improvement page of the RI Department of Education’s website.

16 ESSAS Section 1116 (a)(2)(E)RI Department of Education of 46

Strong Evidence

Moderate Evidence

Promising Evidence

Demonstrates a Rationale

https://www.ride.ri.gov/InformationAccountability/Accountability/SchoolImprovement.aspx

What Strategies Make a Difference?

Dr. Karen Mapp developed a framework for family-school partnerships entitled Partners in Education: A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships, for the US Department of Education. This framework builds on existing research that suggests family-school partnerships can only thrive if both families and staff have the capacity to engage in strong partnerships. Research on promising practices in family engagement and adult learning and development identifies five key factors that are important to capacity-building interventions.

Activities and strategies must be:

Linked to Learning – Aligned with school and district achievement goals and connect parents to the teaching and learning goals for the students.

Relational – A major focus of the initiative is on building respectful and trusting relationships between parents, educators, school and district leadership and the larger school community.

Developmental – The initiatives focus not only on providing a service, but also on building the intellectual, social, and human capital of stakeholders engaged in the program.

Collaborative – Learning is conducted in groups, rather than individual settings, and is focused on building strong learning communities and networks.

Interactive – Participants are given opportunities to test out, practice, and apply new skills.17

When these factors are present, adult participants are more likely to learn from the experiences and have a desire to apply what they have learned.

Parent and Family Engagement Activity Planning: Pulling the Requirements Together

If LEAs can demonstrate that their activities and strategies have the quality Karen Mapp lays out, then they would meet the Tier 4 expectations for having a well-defined rationale, which is part of the Tier 4 expectations for evidence-based practices. The following checklist was designed to assist LEAs in developing activities that demonstrate a strong rational, along with other requirements in ESSA.

Data What qualitative and quantitative data was used to inform parent and family engagement needs?/assist the

school and district in building parent and teacher capacity? Does this include feedback from required stakeholders (e.g. parents of participating Title I students)?

Goal What is the goal of the activity? Link to Learning: Does the activity align to school and district achievement goals? Does it help parents

understand and support their students in achieving these goals? Relational: Does the activity help foster respectful and trusting relationships between parents, educators, school

and district leadership and the school community? Developmental: Does this activity build the intellectual, social, and human capital of stakeholders engaged in

the program, while also providing a service?

Description What is the activity?

17 Mapp, K.L and Kuttner, P.J.(2014). Partners in Education: A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family–School Partnerships, A publication of SEDL in collaboration with the US Department of Education. http://www.sedl.org/pubs/catalog/items/family132.html RI Department of Education of 46

http://www.sedl.org/pubs/catalog/items/family132.html

https://www2.ed.gov/documents/family-community/partners-education.pdf

https://www2.ed.gov/documents/family-community/partners-education.pdf

When will it be held?

Audience Is this activity designed to build the capacity of parents and families, teachers and staff or both groups?

Person(s) Responsible Who will be responsible for this work? For example:

o Are schools planning and designing activities to build parent capacity for families?o Are schools planning and designing activities to build staff capacity with families?o Are LEAs planning and designing activities to build staff capacity? family capacity?

Format Collaborative: Is learning conducted in groups and focused on building strong learning communities and

networks? Interactive: Are participants given opportunities to test out, practice, and apply new skills?

Measuring Effectiveness How will progress/success will be measured? How will feedback be collected? How will feedback and outcomes be documented?

Funding Considerations What supports are needed to make this work possible? Will this activity be locally or federally funded?18

18 Keep in mind, when federal funds are used to support parent and family engagement in a targeted assistance school, then the activity and strategies can only benefit parents of participating Title I students.RI Department of Education of 46

Tips for Communicating with All Families In order to successfully engage parents, LEAs need to be thoughtful about the communication methods and strategies they use with families. The following tips and strategies can assist LEAs with this process.

Tips for Written Communication

Clearly written content should help families:

Find what they need,

Understand what they find; and

Use what they find to meet their needs19.

Create clear, concise content:

Use short and simple sentences.

Use common, everyday words (that translate easily).

Use personal nouns.

Avoid jargons/idioms/acronyms (and slashes).

Design clear pages with logical organization:

o Use tables, lists, illustrations and photographs to help readers understand your points and highlight key ideas

o Use bold and italics

o Do not overload the page – families scan more than they read

Test out your assumptions.

Tips for Quality Translations

Convey meaning rather than doing a word-for-word translation.

Ensure the translator is certified if the material to be translated is a legal document.

Find a translator who knows the culture of both language groups.

Ask families for feedback about the document’s readability.

Use short, digestible sentences and words instead of bureaucratic jargon.

The RI Department of Education’s Multilingual Learner (MLL)/English Learner page has additional information about translators and interpreters.

19 Federal Plain Language GuidelinesRI Department of Education of 46

Test Your Assumptions

How do I know if a document helps families find what they need and take action? Seek feedback from parents of participating Title I students. Be sure to include families with diverse needs.

https://www.ride.ri.gov/StudentsFamilies/EnglishLearners.aspx#40321619-resources-for-families

https://www.plainlanguage.gov/guidelines/

Ideas for Measuring Parent and Family Engagement Outcomes

ESSA Requirement Possible Activities Measure of Effectiveness

Sharing with families what students should know and be able to do (by grade in October, in January, in June).

Conduct parent workshops Provide monthly newsletter

articles, update websites Hold Q & A nights for parents Hold topical parent coffee hours

Workshop evaluations Pre/post survey Parent Focus Group

Provide materials and training, such as literacy training and using technology, to foster parent involvement to help parents work with their children to improve achievement.

Conduct parent workshops Provide monthly tip sheet Hold topical parent coffee hours Circulate take home kits Develop and distribute targeted

take home activities

Workshop evaluations Pre/post survey Levels of use Parent Feedback on Home

Activities (e.g. checklist) Student Outcomes

Educate school personnel, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, how to reach out, communicate and work with parents.

Conduct an in-service workshop with participating parents

Provide written materials

Workshop evaluation Pre/post survey

Coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with other organizations such as Head Start, Parents as Teachers, etc.

Develop Family Orientations that focus on family engagement for each key educational transitions and coordinate with other wrap around organizations, i.e. transition from HS/PreK to elementary, ES to MS, etc.

Number of jointly sponsored events and activities

Ensure that information related to school and parent involvement programs, meetings and other activities is sent to parents in an understandable format and language that parents can understand.

Develop policy and procedure related to the distribution of information

Post on website

Pre/post survey Parent Focus Group Measure traffic on site

Provide reasonable support for parent and family engagement activities as parent may request.

Document requests and supports provided.

Pre/post survey Parent Focus Group

Adapted from O’Brien, T & Boland, T. No Child Left Behind Act: Title I, Part A Section 1118: Parental Involvement, Policy Compliance and Evaluation Guidance, Colorado Department of Education.

RI Department of Education of 46

http://www.cde.state.co.us/sites/default/files/documents/fedprograms/dl/ti_parents_pipolicycomp.pdf

http://www.cde.state.co.us/sites/default/files/documents/fedprograms/dl/ti_parents_pipolicycomp.pdf

Title I Documentation Tips

The following tip sheet is designed to assist Title I Coordinators in the LEA’s implementation of the Title I program at the district and school levels.

Tips for Strong Documentation

Agendas – Include the name of the event, location, date, time, and key accomplishments, along with a record of any speakers/presenters their related materials.

Sign-in Sheets – Include the name of the event, location, date and time along with signatures and roles of individuals in attendance (e.g parent, teacher, principal).

Meeting Notes/Minutes – In addition to the name of the event, location, date and time, include: who was in attendance (name of individuals and their roles e.g. teacher, principal, Title I Parent, Title I Coordinator); actions taken; and the information shared.

Note: In TAS, LEAs need to be able to demonstrate that only parents and families of participating Title I students are involved in the process.

Examples of Documentation to Collect, by Task

LEA Support to Participating Title I Schools

Meetings and Technical Assistance - agenda, sign-in sheet, summary notes and related handouts

Monitoring and Support - activities/correspondence log

District and School Parent and Family Engagement Policies and Compacts

LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy – Single school LEA’s may have one joint policy, and a school compact.

School Parent and Family Engagement Policy – each participating Title I school must have a school policy.

School-Parent Compact – A separate compact is needed each student participating in Title I program.

Evaluation Results - Findings and recommendations, including any policy changes that were made as a result of the policy evaluations.

Distribution checklist

Title I Workgroups and/or School Improvement Teams (Planning, Review and Improvement)

Meetings/Workgroups: agenda, sign-in sheet, minutes, and copies of Title I relevant handouts and materials


What do I save?The following questions can assist you in thinking about organizing your Title I information:

What documentation do I need to implement my Title I programs?

What documentation do I need to demonstrate compliance?

What documentation would support a seamless transition in the event of my absence (where to find information, key contacts, implementation timelines, etc.)?

Required Parental Involvement Reservation of Title I Funds

Reservation Plan: CRP, District Parent Involvement Policy/Annual Plan and School Parent and Family Engagement Policy/Plan, etc.

Documentation of Reservation: CRP, UCOA spread sheet, etc.

Evidence that parents were involved in decisions about how each Title I participating school uses its portion of the required 1% reserve: SIT team meeting minutes, Title I workgroup agendas, parent surveys, etc.

Note: Districts implementing Private School programs must also document the Parental and Family reservation of funds and the plan for parent involvement activities to meet the needs of the participating private school students and their families.

Annual Meeting and Family Engagement Activities

Annual Meeting: announcement flyers/emails, invitations, agendas, meeting handouts, minutes, sign-in sheets, an evaluation summary, invoices for costs related to the meeting (if expenses are charged to Title I, Part A), etc.

Family Engagement Activities: agenda, sign-in sheet, evaluation summary, related handouts, invoices for costs related to the meeting (if expenses are charged to Title I, Part A), etc.

Accessibility: It is also helpful to maintain copies of any resources provided to families in other languages, and/or make note of any translators, interpreters or other services that were provided to support accessibility for families.

Parent Right to Know Policies and Notifications

Notification of Teachers and Teacher Assistants not Meeting State Licensure Requirements:

Written procedure for notifying parents if their children are taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who does not meet applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.

Copies of any letters distributed, if applicable.

Documentation of teacher and teacher assistant qualifications.

Right to Know Requirements:

Written procedure for notifying parents of their right to know teacher and paraprofessional qualifications.

Copies of letters distributed each year.

Districts and schools may choose to do more than the law requires for notification, especially for hard to reach families. Additional types of documentation include: home visit logs, letters, minutes, screen shots, email, district phone notification system, etc.


Applicable Sections of the Every Students Succeeds

Act


ESSA, Section 1112(e)(1): Parents Right-to-Know

(e) PARENTS RIGHT-TO-KNOW

(1) INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

(A) IN GENERAL.— At the beginning of each school year, a local educational agency that receives funds under this part must notify the parents of each student attending any school receiving funds under this part that the parents may request, and the agency will provide the parents on request (and in a timely manner), information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers, including at a minimum, the following:

(i) Whether the student’s teacher—

(I) has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction;

(II) is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived; and

(III) is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher.

(ii) Whether the child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.

(B) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—In addition to the information that parents may request under subparagraph (A), a school that receives funds under this part must provide to each individual parent of a child who is a student in such school, with respect to such student—

(i) information on the level of achievement and academic growth of the student, if applicable and available, on each of the State academic assessments required under this part; and

(ii) timely notice that the student has been assigned, or has been taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who does not meet applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned.

ESSA, Section 1116: Parent and Family Engagement

SEC. 1116. PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT

(a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY POLICY—

(1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency may receive funds under this part only if such agency conducts outreach to all parents and family members and implements programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents and family members in programs assisted under this part consistent with this section. Such programs, activities, and procedures must be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.

(2) WRITTEN POLICY.—Each local educational agency that receives funds under this part must develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy. The policy must be incorporated into the local educational agency’s plan developed under section 1112, establish the agency’s expectations and objectives for meaningful parent and family involvement, and describe how the agency will—


(A) involve parents and family members in jointly developing the local educational agency plan under section 1112, and the development of support and improvement plans under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 1111(d).

(B) provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of all participating schools within the local educational agency in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance, which may include meaningful consultation with employers, business leaders, and philanthropic organizations, or individuals with expertise in effectively engaging parents and family members in education;

(C) coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies under this part with parent and family engagement strategies, to the extent feasible and appropriate, with other relevant Federal, State, and local laws and programs;

(D) conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all schools served under this part, including identifying—

(i) barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by this section (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);

(ii) the needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and

(iii) strategies to support successful school and family interactions;

(E) use the findings of such evaluation in subparagraph (D) to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parent and family engagement policies described in this section; and

(F) involve parents in the activities of the schools served under this part, which may include establishing a parent advisory board comprised of a sufficient number and representative group of parents or family members served by the local educational agency to adequately represent the needs of the population served by such agency for the purposes of developing, revising, and reviewing the parent and family engagement policy.

(3) RESERVATION—

(A) IN GENERAL—Each local educational agency must reserve at least 1 percent of its allocation under subpart 2 to assist schools to carry out the activities described in this section, except that this subparagraph must not apply if 1 percent of such agency’s allocation under subpart 2 for the fiscal year for which the determination is made is $5,000 or less. Nothing in this subparagraph must be construed to limit local educational agencies from reserving more than 1 percent of its allocation under subpart 2 to assist schools to carry out activities described in this section.

(B) PARENT AND FAMILY MEMBER INPUT.—Parents and family members of children receiving services under this part must be involved in the decisions regarding how funds reserved under subparagraph (A) are allotted for parental involvement activities.

(C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Not less than 90 percent of the funds reserved under subparagraph (A) must be distributed to schools served under this part, with priority given to high-need schools.

(D) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds reserved under subparagraph (A) by a local educational agency must be used to carry out activities and strategies consistent with the local educational agency’s parent and family engagement policy, including not less than 1 of the following:

(i) Supporting schools and nonprofit organizations in providing professional development for local educational agency and school personnel regarding parent and family engagement strategies, which may be provided jointly to teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, early childhood educators, and parents and family members.


(ii) Supporting programs that reach parents and family members at home, in the community, and at school.

(iii) Disseminating information on best practices focused on parent and family engagement, especially best practices for increasing the engagement of economically disadvantaged parents and family members.

(iv) Collaborating, or providing subgrants to schools to enable such schools to collaborate, with community-based or other organizations or employers with a record of success in improving and increasing parent and family engagement.

(v) Engaging in any other activities and strategies that the local educational agency determines are appropriate and consistent with such agency’s parent and family engagement policy.

(b) SCHOOL PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Each school served under this part must jointly develop with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy, agreed on by such parents, that must describe the means for carrying out the requirements of subsections (c) through (f). Parents must be notified of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practical, provided in a language parents can understand. Such policy must be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.

(2) SPECIAL RULE.—If the school has a parent and family engagement policy that applies to all parents and family members, such school may amend that policy, if necessary, to meet the requirements of this subsection.

(3) AMENDMENT.—If the local educational agency involved has a school district-level parent and family engagement policy that applies to all parents and family members in all schools served by the local educational agency, such agency may amend that policy, if necessary, to meet the requirements of this subsection.

(4) PARENTAL COMMENTS.—If the plan under section 1112 is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the local educational agency must submit any parent comments with such plan when such local educational agency submits the plan to the State.

(c) POLICY INVOLVEMENT—Each school served under this part must—

(1) convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children must be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of their school’s participation under this part and to explain the requirements of this part, and the right of the parents to be involved;

(2) offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement;

(3) involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under this part, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan under section 1114(b), except that if a 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 of parents of participating children;

(4) provide parents of participating children—

(A) timely information about programs under this part;

(B) a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the achievement levels of the challenging State academic standards; and

(C) if requested by parents, 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 such suggestions as soon as practicably possible; and


(5) if the schoolwide program plan under section 1114(b) 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.

(d) SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT—As a component of the school-level parent and family engagement policy developed under subsection (b), each school served under this part must jointly develop with parents for all children served under this part 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. Such compact must—

(1) describe the school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children served under this part to meet the challenging State academic standards, and the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning; volunteering in their child’s classroom; and participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children and positive use of extracurricular time; and

(2) address the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum—

(A) parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, at least annually, during which the compact must be discussed as the compact relates to the individual child’s achievement;

(B) frequent reports to parents on their children’s progress;

(C) reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class, and observation of classroom activities; and

(D) ensuring regular two-way, meaningful communication between family members and school staff, and, to the extent practical, in a language that family members can understand.

(e) BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVOLVEMENT—To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, each school and local educational agency assisted under this part—

(1) must provide assistance to parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the challenging State academic standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of this part, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children;

(2) must provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), as appropriate, to foster parental involvement;

(3) must educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school;

(4) must, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool 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;

(5) must ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practical, in a language the parents can understand;

(6) may involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training;


(7) may provide necessary literacy training from funds received under this part if the local educational agency has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training;

(8) may 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;

(9) may train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents;

(10) may arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents who are unable to attend such conferences at school, in order to maximize parental involvement and participation;

(11) may adopt and implement model approaches to improving parental involvement;

(12) may establish a districtwide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in programs supported under this section;

(13) may develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities; and

(14) must provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request.

(f) ACCESSIBILITY.—In carrying out the parent and family engagement requirements of this part, local educational agencies and schools, to the extent practical, must provide opportunities for the informed participation of parents and family members (including parents and family members who have limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory children), including providing information and school reports required under section 1111 in a format and, to the extent practical, in a language such parents understand.

(g) FAMILY ENGAGEMENT IN EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—In a State operating a program under part E of title IV, each local educational agency or school that receives assistance under this part must inform parents and organizations of the existence of the program.

(h) REVIEW.—The State educational agency must review the local educational agency’s parent and family engagement policies and practices to determine if the policies and practices meet the requirements of this section.


Parent and Family Engagement Checklists


Title I Parents’ Right to Know Checklists

At the beginning of each school year, any LEA receiving Title I funds must notify parents of every student attending any Title I school of their right to know the professional qualifications of their child’s classroom teacher and paraprofessional, as outlined below. LEAs are also required to provide an explanation of parents’ right to know during the Annual Title I meeting.

Parents’ Right to Know QualificationsLEAs must notify parents of each student attending any Title I school of their right to request, and receive in a timely manner, information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers and paraprofessionals. ESSA, Sec. 1112(e)(1)(A).

Considerations Comments/EvidenceDoes the LEA have a process and timeline for informing parents of their right to know the qualifications of their student’s classroom teachers or paraprofessionals on request?Does the LEA distribute this “Right to Know” information to parents of every student in every Title I school in an understandable format, and to the extent practical, in a language that parents can understand?Does the notification include the following information:Whether the student’s teacher:

o has met State qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction; or

o is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived; and

o is teaching in the grade level and field of discipline of their certification?

Whether a student is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications.Does the LEA maintain evidence* of the notification process and timelines for responding? Does the LEA maintain evidence that the notifications were distributed to all parents in every Title I participating school each year?

Parental Notification of Teachers Who Do Not Meet State Certification or Licensure RequirementsLEAs must notify parents of any child in a Title I school if their child has been taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet requirements. ESSA, Sec. 1112(e)(1)(B)

Considerations Comments/Evidence

Does the LEA have a process and timeline for notifying each individual parent when their child is taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and in the subject area in which the teacher has been assigned?Does the LEA maintain evidence of the process? Does the LEA maintain evidence* each time a notification is sent?

*Note: The CRP may serve as acceptable documentation for the LEA’s process and timeline.


Title I Parent and Family Engagement Reserves ChecklistsReserving and Allocating Parent and Family Engagement Reserves

If an LEA’s annual allocation is more than $500,000, the LEA must reserve 1% of their Title I allocation for parent and family engagement activities AND must distribute at least 90% of the set-aside to Title I schools with priority given to “high-need” schools to fulfill Title I parental involvement requirements. ESSA Sections 1116(a)(3)(A)&(C)

Considerations? Comments/EvidenceDoes the LEA have a plan for distributing the 1% parental involvement reserve, if required?Is 90% of this reserve, when required, allocated to schools, with priority given to high-needs schools?Does the LEA maintain documentation of the distribution plan and 1% reserve (with 90% allocated to schools)?

Parent and Family Engagement Reservation: Planning and Use of Funds

Parents and family members of participating Title I students must be involved in the decisions regarding how reserved funds are used for parent involvement activities. ESSA Section 1116(a)(3)(B)&(D)

Considerations? Comments/EvidenceDoes the LEA and school(s) involve parents and family members of children receiving Title I services in decisions about how parent and family engagement reserves are spent?Does the LEA and school(s) collect and maintain evidence that parents and family members of children receiving Title I services were involved in decisions about how the school uses its portion of the required 1% reserve (e.g., SIT team meeting minutes, agendas, parent surveys) and ensuring priority is given to high-needs schools?Did the selected activities and strategies demonstrate at least one of the following:

supporting schools and nonprofit organizations in providing professional development for local educational agency and school personnel regarding parent and family engagement strategies;

supporting programs that reach parents and family members at home, in the community, and at school;

disseminating information on best practices focused on parent and family engagement, especially best practices for increasing the engagement of economically disadvantaged parents and family members;

collaborating, or providing subgrants to schools to enable such schools to collaborate, with community-based or other organizations or employers with a record of success in improving and increasing parent and family engagement; or

engaging in any other activities and strategies that the local educational agency determines are appropriate and consistent with such agency’s parent and family engagement policy?


LEA Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy ChecklistA local educational agency may receive funds under this part only if such agency conducts outreach to all parents and family members and implements programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents and family members in programs assisted under this part consistent with this section. Such programs, activities, and procedures must be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children. 1116(a)(1).

Each local educational agency that receives funds under this part must develop jointly with, agree on and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy. The policy must be incorporated into the local educational agency’s plan developed under section 1112, establish the agency’s expectations and objectives for meaningful parent and family involvement, and describe how the agency will carry out the requirements listed in the checklist below.

LEAs that accept Title I, Part A funds must develop jointly with, agree upon and distribute to parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy, as outlined in ESSA, Section 1116.The following process and content elements must be addressed by LEAs receiving Title I funds.

The LEA Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy must be:

planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children;

written in a format, and to the extent practical, in a language that parents understand;

distributed to all parents of Title I participating children; and

incorporated into the LEA’s Title I plan (the CRP).

Written Plan Content Requirements

The LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy must establish the LEA’s expectations and objectives for meaningful parent and family involvement, and describe how the LEA will carry out the requirements listed below.

Written Plan Content Requirements Comments/Evidence

Stakeholder Input20

Does the plan describe how the district will involve parents and family members of participating Title I students in jointly developing:

the LEA Plan (Section 1112 of ESSA)

CSI or TSI school improvement plans, if applicable, at their child’s school.

Sec 1116 (a)(2)(B)

20 Title I requires the LEA and its Title I schools to gather input from parents and families of participating Title I children regarding: LEA Plan, LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy, Schoolwide Plans, CSI/TSI Plans and School Parent and Family Engagement Policies. LEAs and Schools should consider coordinating these efforts in schools and at the LEA level.RI Department of Education of 46

Supporting Title I Schools

Does the plan describe how the district will provide support and assistance to build the capacity of its participating Title I schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance?

Sec 1116(a)(2)(C)

Activities for Building Parent Capacity for Engagement

Does the plan describe how the district will ensure the effective involvement of parents and how the district will support a partnership among the schools involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement by:

providing assistance to parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as:

o the challenging State academic standards,

o State and local academic assessments,

o how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children, and

o the Title I requirements;

provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s achievement;

to the extent feasible, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs, and conduct other activities that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children;

ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practical, in a language parents can understand; and

provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request?

Sec 1116(e)(1,2,4,5&14)

Activities for Building Teacher Capacity for Engagement

Does the plan describe how the district will educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in:

the value and utility of contributions of parents,

how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners,

how to implement and coordinate parent programs, and


how to build ties between parents and the school?

Sec 1116(e)(3)

Coordination of Parent and Family Engagement Activities

Does the plan describe how the district will coordinate and integrate its Title I parent and family engagement strategies part with parent and family engagement strategies, with other relevant Federal, State, and local laws and programs (to the extent feasible and appropriate)?

Sec 1116(a)(2)(C)

Evaluation of Parent and Family Engagement Policy

Does the plan describe how the LEA conducts, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of its Title I schools, including identifying:

barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by this section (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 needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and

strategies to support successful school and family interactions?

Sec 1116(a)(2)(D)

Use Evaluation Findings to Design Evidence-based Strategies

Does the plan describe how the district will:

use the evaluation findings to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and

revise the LEA and School Parent and Family Engagement Policies, if necessary?

Sec 1116(a)(2)(E)

Please note: The term “policy” does not imply that either a School or LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy must be adopted by the school board. Districts may choose to formally adopt the district policy, while schools may create parent and family engagement “plans” or “strategies” as long as the required elements are present.


School Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy Checklist

Any school that receives Title I funds must comply with the requirements of ESSA, Section 1116. The following process and content elements must be addressed when developing school parent and family engagement policies.

A written School Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy must be:

developed jointly with and agreed upon by parents of Title I students;

distributed to parents of all Title I students;

made available to the local community;

updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and schools; and

written in a format, and to the extent practical, in a language that parents can understand.

Additionally:

Parents must be notified of the policy.

The School Parent and Family Engagement Policy must describe HOW the school will carry out the requirements listed below for policy involvement, shared responsibility for high student academic achievement, building capacity for parent involvement, and accessibility.

Content Requirements Comments/Evidence

Annual Meeting

Does the plan describe how the school will convene an annual meeting at a convenient time (to which parents of all participating children are invited and encouraged to attend to) to describe the Title I, Part A program and explain the rights of parents to be involved?

Sec 1116 (c)(1)

Flexible Meetings

Does the plan describe how the school will offer a flexible number of meetings21?

Sec 1116 (c)(2)

Involving Parents in the Planning, Review and Improvement of the Title I Programs

Does the plan describe how the school will involve parents (in an organized, ongoing and timely way) in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under this part, including:

the school parent and family engagement policy, and

21 such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvementRI Department of Education of 46

the joint development of the schoolwide program plan, as applicable?

Sec 1116 (c)(3)

Information Sharing

Does the plan describe how the school will provide parents of participating children with:

timely information about Title I, Part A programs; a description and explanation of the school’s curriculum, forms of

academic assessment and the achievement levels of the challenging State academic standards, and

if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children?

Sec 1116 (c)(4)

Schoolwide Plan Feedback

For Title I Schoolwide Program Schools - If the schoolwide plan is not satisfactory to parents of participating children, does the plan describe how the school will submit any comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the LEA?

Sec 1116 (c)(5)

Activities for Building Parent Capacity for Engagement

Does the plan describe how the district will ensure the effective involvement of parents and how the district will support a partnership among the schools involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement by:

providing assistance to parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as:

o the challenging State academic standards,

o State and local academic assessments,

o how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children, and

o the Title I requirements;

provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s achievement;

to the extent feasible, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs, and conduct other activities that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children;

ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practical, in a language parents


can understand; and

provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request?

Sec 1116(e)(1,2,4,5&14)

Activities for Building Teacher Capacity for Engagement

Does the plan describe how the district will educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in:

the value and utility of contributions of parents,

how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners,

how to implement and coordinate parent programs, and

how to build ties between parents and the school?

Sec 1116(e)(3)

School-Parent Compact

Does the plan describe how parents and families can access the school-parent compact?

Sec 1116 (d)

Please note: The term “policy” does not imply that either a School or LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy be adopted by the school committee. For instance, LEAs may choose to formally adopt the district policy, while schools may create parent and family engagement “plans” or “strategies” as long as the required elements are present.


Title I School-Parent Compact Checklist

The compact must describe how the LEA will develop with parents of participating children a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parent will build and develop a partnership to help children meet the challenging State academic standards.

Content Requirements Comments/Evidence

School

Does the compact describe the school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables participating children to meet the challenging State academic standards?

Sec 1116 (d)(1)

Parent and Family

Does the compact describe the ways in which each parent will be:

responsible for supporting their children’s learning;

volunteering in their children’s classroom; and

participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children and effective use of extracurricular time?

Sec 1116 (d)(1)

Two-Way Communication

Does the compact address the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum:

annual parent teacher conferences in elementary schools, during which the compact must be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievement;

frequent reports to parents on their children’s progress;

reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s classroom, and observation of classroom activities; and

ensuring regular two-way meaningful communication between family members and school staff, and, to the extent practical, in a language that family members can understand?

Sec 1116 (d)(2)

Note: This can be a stand-alone document. If it is, LEAs should tell parents how to find the School-Parent Compact(s) in their School Parent and Family Engagement Policy.


Title I Annual Meeting Checklist

Each year, Title I, Part A schools must convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children22 are invited and are encouraged to attend. The purpose of this meeting is to inform parents of their school’s participation under this part and to explain the requirements of this part, and the right of parents to be involved23.

The annual meeting should, at a minimum:

Inform parents of their schools participation is Title I (Schoolwide or Targeted Assistance, whichever is applicable);

Explain Title I requirements (Schoolwide or Targeted, as applicable).

Explain what participation in the Title I, Part A program means, including providing:

a description and explanation of the curriculum the school uses;

the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and

the achievement levels of the challenging State academic standards that students are expected to meet.

Explain the district Parent and Family Engagement Policy, School Parent and Family Engagement Policy, and School-Parent Compact.

Explain how parents and family members can be involved in planning, reviewing, and improving the school and district policies and the Schoolwide program plan (and the CSI or TSI program planning, if applicable24).

Explain the right of parents to become involved in the school’s programs and the ways to do so.

Explain that parents have the right to request regular meetings with school staff to offer suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions about the education of their children. (The school must respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.)

Explain that parents may request (and the agency will provide in a timely manner) information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers and paraprofessionals.

Explain that the school will provide:

notice when their student has been assigned, or has been taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who does not meet applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned, and

information on the level of achievement and academic growth of the student, if applicable and available, on each of the State academic assessments.

22 All parents should be invited and encouraged to participate in a schoolwide school. Only parents of participating children should be invited and permitted to attend in a targeted assistance school.23 ESSA 1116(c)(1)&(2)24 It only takes one good plan to run a school, and this may be the same as the schoolwide plan.RI Department of Education of 46

Parent and Family Engagement Activity Checklist

Data What qualitative and quantitative data was used to inform parent and family engagement needs?/assist the

school and district in building parent and teacher capacity? Does this include feedback from required stakeholders (e.g. parents of participating Title I students)?

Goal Is this activity linked to learning? Is it aligned to school and district achievement goals? Does it help parents

understand and/or support their students’ academic learning/achieving these goals? OR Linked to Learning – Is the purpose of the activity aligned to school and district achievement goals? Does it help parents understand and/or support their students in achieving these goals?

Is this activity relational? Does it help foster respectful and trusting relationships between parents, educators, school and district leadership and the school community?

Is this activity developmental? Does it build the intellectual, social, and human capital of stakeholders engaged in the program, while also providing a service?

Audience Is this activity designed to build the capacity of parents and families? Teachers and staff? Both?

Format Is this activity collaborative? Is learning conducted in groups and focused on building strong learning

communities and networks? Is this activity interactive? Are participants given opportunities to test out, practice, and apply new skills?

Description What is the activity? When will it be held? Who is the target audience? How will this intervention be delivered?

Person(s) Responsible Who will be responsible for this work:

o LEAs supporting schools? o LEAs supporting families? o Schools supporting families? o Schools supporting teachers and staff? If so, what role do families play?

Measuring Effectiveness How will progress/success will be measured? How will feedback be collected? How will you document the feedback and outcomes?

Funding Considerations What supports do you need to make this work possible? Will this activity be locally or federally funded?25

25 Keep in mind, when federal funds are used to support parent and family engagement in a targeted assistance school, the activity and strategies can only benefit parents & families of participating Title I students.RI Department of Education of 46

Parent and Family Engagement Templates


LEA Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy Template

School districts, in meaningful consultation with parents, may use the sample template below as a framework for the information to be included in their parent and family engagement policy. School districts are not required to follow this sample template or framework. However, if they establish the LEA’s expectations for parent and family engagement and include all of the components listed under “Description of How District Will Implement Required LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy Components” below, they will have incorporated the information that section 1116(a)(2) requires be in the District Parent and Family Engagement Policy.

School districts, in consultation with parents, are encouraged to include other relevant and agreed upon activities and actions as well that will support effective parental involvement and strengthen student academic achievement.

Note: This policy may apply to all the families in an LEA, regardless of their children’s Title I status, provided that the requirements listed below are met for all parents of participating Title I students. The exception being that any activities funded through Title I can only be for parents of participating students.

(Insert LEA Name) District Parent and Family Engagement Policy

School Year: (Insert School Year)Revised: Month/Day/Year

Part I: General Expectations

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, (insert LEA name) receives Title I, Part A funds and therefore must develop jointly with, agree upon, and distribute to parents of participating children, a written parent and family engagement policy that contains information required by Section 1116(a)(2) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The policy establishes the LEA’s expectations for meaningful parent and family engagement and describes how the LEA will implement a number of specific parent and family engagement activities, and is incorporated into the LEA’s plan submitted to the Rhode Island Department of Education.

The name of school district agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

The school district will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents in all of its schools with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with Section 1116 of ESSA. These programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents and family members of participating children.

Consistent with Section 1116, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school level parent and family engagement policies meet the requirements of section 1116(b) of the ESSA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1116(d) of the ESSA.

In carrying out the Title I, Part A parent and family engagement requirements, the LEA and its schools will provide opportunities for the informed participation of parents and family members (including parents and family members who have limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory children), including providing information and school reports required under Section 1111 of ESSA in an understandable format and, to the extent practical, in a language parents understand.


If the LEA plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1112 of the ESSA26, is not satisfactory to parents of participating children, the school district will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school district submits the plan to the Rhode Island Department of Education.

The school district will involve parents of participating children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and family engagement are spent; and , when applicable, will ensure that not less than 90 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools, with priority given to “high-need” schools.

The school district will be governed by the following definition of parent and family engagement, and expects that its Title I schools will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition in Section 8101 of ESSA:

Parent and family engagement27 means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:

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

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

(C) 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; and

(D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in the parent and family engagement section of ESSA.

PART II: Description of How the LEA will implement the Required LEA Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy Components

The LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy describes HOW the LEA will:

Parent Input

1. The __name of school district__ will take the following actions to involve parents and family members of Title I participating students in the joint develop and review of the following:

Describe/list how parents will be involved in the development of the:

a. district parent and family engagement policy, b. the district’s LEA Plan (RIDE’s CRP currently serves as the LEA Plan), c. the Schoolwide or Targeted Assistance Plan at their student’s school, andd. the school improvement plans for schools identified as Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) or

Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) schools28, at their student’s school, as applicable.

Note: These processes may overlap, as it only takes one good plan to operate a school.

School Support and Technical Assistance26 The CRP currently serves as the LEA plan under section 1112 of ESSA. 27 Please note: While Section 8101 of ESSA uses the term “parent involvement” in the definition section, though section 1116 changed from parent involvement to parent and family engagement during reauthorization. 28 ESSA, Section 1111(d)(1) and (2)RI Department of Education of 46

2. The __name of school district__ will provide the following coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of the LEA’s Title I schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance29:

Describe/list how the district will provide support and technical assistance toits Title I schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family engagement practices including:

a. development and review of school parent and family engagement policies/plans,

b. development and review of school-parent compacts, and

c. all other Title I parent and family engagement requirements (e.g. planning and implementing meaningful activities linked to learning, annual meeting requirements, etc.).

Coordination of Services

3. The __name of school district__ will coordinate and integrate Title I parent and family Engagement programs, strategies and activities with other Federal, State and local laws and programs, to the extent feasible and appropriate, including public preschool programs (e.g. Head Start, State pre-Ks) and conduct other activities (e.g. parent resource centers), that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children by:

List/describe how the district will coordinate with other Federal, State and local programs/community partners to assist parents in supporting their child’s academic achievement.

Annual Evaluation

1. The __name of school district__ will take the following actions to conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family 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 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 evaluation will also include identifying the needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers and strategies to support successful school and family interactions. The school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its parent and family engagement policy and activities to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parent involvement, and to revise, if necessary, its parent and family engagement policies.

Describe/list actions, such as:

a. Evaluation - how the evaluation will be conducted, identifying who will be responsible for conducting the evaluation and explaining what role parents will play.

b. Revisions - how the LEA will use the evaluation findings to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement; who will be responsible for revising the district and school level policies, if needed, and what roles parents will play.

Reservation of Funds

29 Per ESSA, Section 1116 (a)(2)(B) which may include meaningful consultation with employers, business leaders, and philanthropic organizations, or individuals with expertise in effectively engaging parents and family members in education.RI Department of Education of 46

The __name of school district__ will involve parents and family members of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and family engagement is spent and will ensure that not less than 90 percent of the 1 percent reserved goes directly to Title I schools with priority given to “high-need” schools.

Describe/list how the district will share with parent and family members the budget for parent and family engagement activities and programs and how parents and family members will be involved in providing input into how the funds will be used.

Note: if the district does not receive a Title I, Part A allocation greater than 500,000 and does not spend any Title I, Part A funds on parent and family engagement activities, then it would not be required to include a description of this process.

Building Parent Capacity to Improve Student Academic Achievement

The __name of school district__ will, with the assistance of its Title I schools, build the capacity of parents for strong family engagement to improve their ability to support student academic achievement by:

Describe/list how the school provides assistance to parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the challenging State academic standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of this part, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children;

Describe/list how the school provides materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), as appropriate, to foster parental involvement;

Describe/list how the school ensures that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practical, in a language parents can understand;

Describe/list how the school provides other reasonable support for parental involvement activities, such as how to work with in partnership with their children teachers, as parents may request.

Building Staff Capacity to Improve Student Academic Achievement

The __name of school district__ will, with the assistance of its Title I schools, build the capacity of Title I educators and staff for strong family engagement to improve their ability to support student academic achievement by:

Describe/list activities such as communities of practices, trainings, staff meetings and online resources that will be used with school staff to build their capacity to work with families.

Describe how the district and/or schools will support teachers in providing information to parents and family members in a format, and, to the extent practical, in a language and format that parents can understand.


PART III: Discretionary District Wide Parent and Family Engagement Policy Components

The District wide Parental Involvement Policy may include additional discretionary activities that the school district, in consultation with its parents, chooses to undertake to build parents’ and family members’ capacity for involvement in the school and school system to support their children’s academic achievement. These include the following discretionary activities (listed as “mays”) in section 1116 (e) of ESSA:

involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training;

provide necessary literacy training from funds received under this part if the local educational agency has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training;

pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement aactivities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions;

train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents;

arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, and parents who are unable to attend such conferences at school, in order to maximize parental involvement and participation;

adopt and implement model approaches to improving parental involvement;

establish a districtwide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in programs supported under this section; and

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

The LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy does not need to be limited to meeting the requirements of Section 1116 of ESSA.


PART IV: Documentation of Adoption, Revisions and Parental Input

Annual Adoption Record(Sample Template)

This Districtwide Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed upon with parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs as evidenced by (e.g. include list of parents of participating Title I students and their Title I school affiliation):

Describe how parents input/evaluation evidence was collected and considered as part of this year’s review. Attach a list of committee members, including parents, who participated in this process and agreed to the

revisions (or that there were no revisions needed after reviewing the districts parent and family engagement strategies and considering parent input) in this year’s policy. Be sure to note which members were parents of participating Title I students and name their child’s school.

This policy was adopted by the __name of school district__ on __insert date______. The school district will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before _________________.

(Signature of Authorized Official)*

(Date)

Please note: The adoption section does not need to be a part of the LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy. It’s value is

that it creates a record of the remaining LEA parent and family engagement requirements There is no requirement for the LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy to be signed. Distribution of the LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy is not limited to paper copies.

This template is not an official U.S. Department of Education document. LEAs are not required to use this template. It is provided only as an example to support LEAs in the implementation of their Title I, Part A program.


Title I School Parent Involvement Policy Sample Template

Each Title I school must jointly develop a written parent and family engagement policy with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a, agreed on by such parents. The policy needs to describe how the school will carry out the parent and family engagement requirements to ensure effective engagement of parents in order to improve student academic achievement; it must be updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents, teachers and students; and made available to the local community.

Parents need to be notified of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practical, it must be provided in a language parents can understand. Such policy must be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.

Schools may use the sample template below as a framework for the information to be included in their school parent and family engagement policy. Schools and districts are not required to follow this sample format30.

(Insert Name of LEA)(Insert Name of School) Title I School Parent and Family Engagement Policy

Revised: Month/Day/Year

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, each school that receives Title I, Part A funds must develop jointly with, and agree upon, wit, parents of participating children, a written parental involvement policy that contains information required by sections 1116(b) and (c) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This policy establishes the school’s expectations for parent and family engagement and describes how the school will implement specific parent and family engagement activities.

What is Parent and Family Engagement?

Parent and family engagement31 means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:

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; and

carrying out of other activities, such as those described in the parent and family engagement section of ESSA.

30

31 ESSA definition of Family Engagement, Section 8101 (52) RI Department of Education of 46

How (Insert School Name) Will Involve Parents in the Title I Program

(Insert School Name) will support parents as partners in their child’s learning by:

Jointly Developing School Policies and Plans(Insert School Name) involves parents in the planning, review and improvement of programs including the school parent and family engagement policy and in the joint development of the schoolwide program plan by:

Describe/list how parents of participating children can be involved in the planning, review and improvement of: The school parent and family engagement policy, and The school parent and family engagement programs.

Annual Title I Meeting(Insert School Name) convenes an Annual Title I, Part A Meeting to inform parents of participating Title I students about Title I, Part A requirements and about the right of parents to be involved in the Title I program by:

Describe/list when the school will hold the annual Title I meeting to inform parents of:

the requirements of Title I;

parents’ and families’ right to be involved;

a description and explanation of the school’s curriculum, forms of academic assessment and the achievement levels of the challenging State academic standards; and

if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, including the schools’ plan for responding as soon as possible; and

if the schoolwide program plan (Section 1114) is not satisfactory to parents of participating children, how the LEA collects and shares these responses with the LEA.

For parents who are unable to attend this meeting, describe how the school will share this information.

Communication

(Insert School Name) offers parents a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement, including if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children by:

Describe/list how the school offers

a flexible number of meetings/activities to support parent engagement

if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, including the schools plan for responding as soon as practical possible; and

For Title I Schoolwide Programs - if the schoolwide program plan (Section 1114) is not satisfactory to parents of participating children, how the LEA collects and shares these responses with the LEA.


Building Parent Capacity to Improve Student Academic Achievement

[School Name] engages Title I parents in meaningful interactions with the school. It supports a partnership among staff, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement. To help reach these goals, the school has established the following practices:

Describe/list how the school provides assistance to parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the challenging State academic standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of this part, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children;

Describe/list how the school provides materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), as appropriate, to foster parental involvement;

Describe/list how the school ensures that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practical, in a language parents can understand;

Describe/list how the school provide other reasonable support for parental involvement activities, such as how to work with in partnership with their children’s teachers, as parents may request.

Building Staff Capacity to Improve Student Academic Achievement

[School Name] engages Title I educators and staff in meaningful interactions with the school. It supports a partnership among staff, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement. To help reach these goals, the school has established the following practices:

Describe/list activities such as communities of practices, trainings, staff meetings and online resources that will be se with school staff to build their capacity to work with families.

Describe how the district and/or schools will support teachers in providing information to parents and family members in a format, to the extent practical, in a language and format that parents can understand.

This sample template was adapted from the 2013 California Department of Education Sample Title I School Parental Involvement, is not a required RI Department of Education format. It is provided as an example, at district request. LEAs are not required to use this template for their Title I program.


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