DEVELOPING PARENT INVOLVEMENT

POLICIES and PARENT/SCHOOL

COMPACTSTitle I

Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)

No Child Left Behind (NCLB)Section 1118

DEVELOPING PARENT INVOLVEMENT POLICIES

Title INo Child Left Behind (NCLB)

Section 1118

NCLB Definition of Parent Involvement

NCLB defines parental involvement 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 1118 of NCLB (Parental Involvement).

Our Parent Survey# of parents who respondedSummary of ResultsIdentify areas of weakness or concernIdeas to address the areas of concern

Review Current PolicyIs it understandable?Review each section and update as necessary.

School Policies Must Include…

An assurance that an annual meeting will be held to inform parents of the school's participation in the Title I program and to explain the requirements of the program and their right to be involved.Guiding Questions:

Are parents aware of the Title I meeting? Is the meeting held at a time/place convenient to parents? (See survey results.)What can we do/change to make it easier for parents to attend or to bring it to the attention of parents?

Tips: Include the timeline of the annual meeting in the policy as well as a summary of what will be discussed.

School Policies Must Include…

An assurance that parent activities will be held at a variety of times throughout the day to meet the needs of Title I parents.Discussion:

What do the survey results say are the best times for parents to attend meetings?Is there a more effective way to hold workshops that would make it possible for more parents to attend?

School Policies Must Include…

A statement that the school will provide, 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.

Tip: Define “practicably possible” – come to consensus on an acceptable timeframe to respond to suggestions from parents.

School Policies Must Include…

How the school will provide assistance to parents in understanding the State's academic content standards and student achievement standards, local academic assessments and how to monitor a child's progress and work with teachers to improve the achievement of their children.

Tip: Use this section to describe HOW the schools will do these things. Maybe a fact sheet on understanding the State academic standards and local assessments would be helpful ; maybe workshops or training sessions would be best to teach parents how to monitor a child’s progress; maybe meetings with teachers or teachers providing training to parents would help with improving the achievement of children.

School Policies Must Include…

A description of how the school will 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, as appropriate, to foster parent involvement.

Discussion Questions:What is the best way to provide these items to parents? Workshops, training sessions, conferences?What areas do parents need the most training in?Should the workshops be held multiple times?

Optional ItemsWays for parents to be involved in developing school policies (school improvement teams, schoolwide teams).A summary of the district parent involvement policy.Incentives for parents to be involved.

Moves the Policy from a Planning Document to an Action DocumentGet the Word Out!

School NewsletterWeekly Lunch MenusWeb SitesEmailListservSchool’s Voice Mail SystemMailingLocal NewspaperCommunity EventsSpecial School Events

DISTRIBUTING THE POLICY

EVALUATING THE RESULTS Schools are required to review the policies each year to determine if they are effective and to make changes, if needed

Parents must be involvedNeed to know more than whether it is in place Need to know what’s working and what’s not

ResourcesSPAC Parent Involvement Toolkit

www.SPAC.k12.pa.us US Department of Education

www.ed.govNo Child Left BehindTitle I Legislation(Section 1118 – Parent Policy)

Project Appleseed (National Campaign for Public School Improvement

www.projectappleseed.orgPA Academic Standards

PA Department of Educationwww.pde.state.pa.us

Questions

Congratulations!

You’ve completed the update of your parent policy.For further information on ways to increase parent involvement in your school:

www.spac.k12.pa.us (State Parent Advisory Council website)www.ed.gov (USDE Website)

AN AGREEMENT FOR SUCCESS: Title I

Parent/School Compacts

Compacts: Definition

SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.

—As a component of the school-level parental involvement policy developed … each school served under this part shall 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.

TITLE I – SECTION 1118

What needs to be included?

describe the school’s responsibility to provide high qualitycurriculum and instruction in a supportive and effectivelearning environment that enables the children served underthis part to meet the State’s student academic achievementstandards,

and the ways in which each parent will be responsiblefor supporting their children’s learning, such as monitoringattendance, homework completion, and television watching; 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.

In Simpler Terms…

Compacts are a “job description” that defines the “jobs” of the school, the parents (and sometimes the student) in order to ensure that the student receives and achieves the best possible education.

Purpose of CompactsProcess vs. Outcome

Link (process) activities of school/staff, parents and children to (outcome) student learning and achievement

Open CommunicationParents can understand the school system betterTeachers can understand the needs of parents betterStudents can understand their responsibilities

Creating a “team” to support every student.

TEAM EDUCATION

Student

TeacherPrincipal

Title I

ParentCommunity

Agencies PDE

AidesSchool

STARTING LINEUP

SchoolParents

StudentTeachers

Team EDUCATION

CREATING A COMPACT TEAM

Parents (required)Teachers (required)Optional:

StudentsAdministratorsCommunity Members

LibrariesBusinessesFaith Based Organizations

Community Organizations

Who Should Be Included?

GETTING STARTED

ESEA/NCLB GoalAll Students at Proficient or Advanced on the PA System of School Assessment (PSSA) by 2014

Issues currently facing our schoolIssues currently facing our parentsIssues currently facing our community

Understanding the Challenges Facing Education Today

Goals for Educating our Children

Discussion Questions:Parents: What do you want for your child as they go through school?Parents: What goals do you have for your child after they graduate?Teachers: What do you want for your students as they go through your classroom this year?Teachers: What do you want for their future?

What Do We Expect From Each Other?

All parents and teachers want to ensure that every child is:

HealthySafeEngaged in LearningSupported by Caring AdultsExposed to a Challenging Curriculum (includes arts, music and other essential courses)

*From www.WholeChildEducation.org

DEVELOPING OUR COMPACT

Compacts are required to address three areas for families and the school to work together:Student learning and high achievement;Effective and frequent communication between school and home; andBuilding capacity for the family/school partnership through volunteering and training.

Student Learning & High Achievement

Discussion Questions: What does our current compact include to address student learning and high achievement?

Parents: What do you see happening in your child’s school and/or classroom to support this topic?What can parents do at home and school to help students achieve?Are there any other things we can add to the compact?

Student Learning & High Achievement

Discussion Questions: School:

What can teacher/school do at school to help students achieve?What are the teacher/school responsibilities in the compact?Are there any other things we can add to the compact?

Student Learning and High Achievement

Suggestions for Compact:School’s responsibility includes offering a rigorous and challenging academic program [be specific in what your school offers here], and making sure every student gets help as soon as it’s needed.School agrees to provide training for parents on ways to help them help their children at home, and to send home materials they can use.Parents agree to monitor homework completion, and to help their child see how to use reading and math to pursue interests and goals.Parents agree to support learning at home by reading with their children every night, and using the materials the school sends home weekly [or whatever is agreed upon at this meeting…]

Discussion Questions:What does our current compact include that relates to communication between the home and school?Parents: What do you see happening in your child’s classroom to support this?Teachers/School: What do you see happening from parents to support communication?Define “effective” communication.Define “frequent” communication.Are those definitions reflected in the current compact?Is it enough? Do the parents feel that they are “kept in the loop” of their child’s progress in school? Do teachers feel that they are getting enough parent support?

Effective and Frequent Communication Between Home/School

Effective and Frequent Communication Between Home/School

Suggestions for Compact:School agrees to communicate frequently (define frequently) with families about student progress through [agreed upon methods i.e., email, phone calls, newsletters, etc.].Teachers agree to build a relationship with every family in their class, and to keep families informed of their children’s progress and needs in each subject.Parents agree to monitor child’s progress, contact the teacher with questions, and let the teacher know right away if their child has any problems.

Building Capacity through Volunteering and Training

Discussion Questions:

Identify activities that parents could volunteer for or be trained to help their children do better in school.Are there opportunities for parents to be involved at a governance level at this school? How and what?How can we get more parents involved? What are the barriers? How are we eliminating them?

Building Capacity through Volunteering and Training

Suggestions for Compact:School agrees to involve parents in school governance by…..Teachers will train parents on these strategies to help their children do better in school…Parents agree to volunteer at least ___ hours a year at the school.

USING THE COMPACTMoves the Compact from a Planning Document to an Action DocumentGet the Word Out!

School NewsletterWeekly Lunch MenusWeb SitesEmailListservSchool’s Voice Mail SystemMailingLocal NewspaperCommunity EventsSpecial School Events

USING THE COMPACTUse the Compact in All Parts of Your School Program

DISCUSS STUDENT PROGRESS AT PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES (required by NCLB)

Help launch programs for family involvementSupport training for teachers and other staff to work with familiesComplement School Improvement PlansHelp partners discuss their responsibilities in meeting the goals of the school

EVALUATING THE RESULTS

Schools are required to review the compacts each year to determine if they are effective and to make changes, if needed

Parents must be involvedNeed to know more than whether it is in place Need to know what’s working and what’s not

How do you know whether or not your compact is working?

ResourcesSPAC Parent Involvement Toolkit

www.SPAC.k12.pa.us US Department of Education

www.ed.govNo Child Left BehindTitle I Legislation(Section 1118 – Compacts)

Project Appleseed (National Campaign for Public School Improvement

www.projectappleseed.orgPA Academic Standards

PA Department of Educationwww.pde.state.pa.us

Questions

Congratulations!

You’ve completed the update of your parent/school compact.For further information on ways to increase parent involvement in your school:

www.spac.k12.pa.us (State Parent Advisory Council website)www.ed.gov (USDE Website)