2019 2020 Title I Parent and Family Engagement

2019 -2020 Title I Parent and Family Engagement

ESSA, Section 1116. Parent and Family Engagement – contains the primary Title I, Part A requirements related to involving parents and families in their children’s education. It is this section that identifies critical points in the process of improving teaching and learning where parents and the community can intervene and assist in school improvement – There are many requirements for and reflect good practice in engaging families in helping to educate their children, students do better when parents are actively involved in the education process, both at home and in school

Parent Involvement – Parent participation in the systems and activities of the school. There are opportunities for parent participation in activities that support student learning and success, including policy and program decision making. – Pushing parents to do something about what school staff sees as important for their child – Schools do things for parents or tell them what they should be doing with their child Parent Engagement – Goal‐directed relationships between staff and families. Staff and families share responsibility as true partners for student learning. – Parents are challenged to do something about what they feel is important to them and their child – Schools help parents do things for themselves and elicit ideas about what services families need.

Parent Involvement – Revolves around a small percentage of families involved in school leadership opportunities – Collect data from children and families on information about parent participation Parent Engagement – Revolves around reaching all families in various goal directed ways. – Utilize data from children and families to improves services to crease student academic achievement

Due Dates • A friendly reminder will be sent as due dates begin • A notebook will be given to each Title I campus and any copies of documentation submitted to the Federal and State Program Office must be placed under each tab sectioned off within the notebook • Any documentation submitted to the Federal and State Program Office will be uploaded in One. Note by our department

Audits – Our office will be conducting audits to ensure all documentation is submitted and that it is being placed inside the Title I Notebooks.

Language and Format – To maintain regular, meaningful, two‐way communication the message needs to be understood by the parents and family – LEAs and schools send a lot of information to families: the student handbook, the parental involvement policy, the school‐parent compact, the school report card, various notifications, surveys, etc. – Yet, many parents and families are unable to respond either due to limited literacy or possessing a home language other than English – As a result, it is essential to provide information to families in a format, and to the extent practicable, in a language they can understand

Parents Right To Know – Schools are required to notify parents 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 requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned, Section 1112(e)(1)(B)

Parents Right To Know Notifications (English and Spanish)

Parent Utility Training – The Parent Utility Training can be found in the Moodle site – The training can be done individually or it can be one in one single meeting with all staff on a Title I campus – Agenda, minutes, and sign in sheets must be submitted to the Federal and State Program office and a copy must also be placed in the Title I Notebook

Annual Title I Parent Meeting Requirement – Campuses receiving Title I, Part A funds are required to convene an annual Title 1, Part A parent meeting to inform parents and families of their school’s participation and to explain the requirements of the Title 1, Part A Program, and the right to be involved – Must offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meeting in the morning or evening. The emphasis on “flexible” to ensure you are trying to accommodate the needs of parents and families – The meeting should address the policy, compact, parent teacher conferences, annual evaluation of the parent involvement policy, Title I Part 1% set aside and the parents role in determining the distribution of funds. Must also address how parents right to request information regarding the qualification of their child’s teacher – http: //tinyurl. com/ya 2 gjw 2 u has Power. Point presentation that can be used to hold Annual Title I Meeting in English and Spanish – AN AGENDA, MINUTES, AND SIGN IN SHEET MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAM OFFICE. Roles must be identified on sign in sheets (parents and community members)

Forms for Annual Meeting – Copies of all meeting documentation must placed in Title I notebook. Please send original documentation to the Federal and State Programs office – You must submit multiple meeting agenda, sign in sheets, and sample minutes – Sign in sheets must have the roles of who attended the meeting. – Samples of forms can be found on Region 16

Written Parent and Family Engagement Policy – Every LEA receiving Title I, Part A funds and every school receiving Title I, Part A funds, school wide and targeted assistance, is required to develop a written parent and family engagement (PFE) policy. The policy shall be developed jointly with parents and families, and agreed upon by parents and families, and distributed to parents and families. The policy is a statement that describes the PFE program for the school year. The emphasis should be upon the unique roles of home and school and how this partnership enhances student success.

Parent and Family Engagement Policy must address the following: – Involve parents in the development of the parent and family engagement policy, as well as the district improvement plan; – Assist schools to implement parent and family engagement (PFE)activities to improve student performance; – Assist schools and parents to build capacity; – Coordination of parent and family engagement strategies; – Conduct, with meaningful involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the PFE policy in improving the academic quality of the schools – Involve parents in the activities of the school, which may include establishing a parent advisory board.

Parent and Family Engagement Policy – Convene an annual meeting to describe the school’s participation in a Title I, Part A program and the right of the parents to be involved; and offer a flexible number of meetings – Include parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement (PFE) policy and programs – must be translated in multiple languages that a parent can understand at your campus

Forms for Parent and Family Engagement Policy – Copies of all meeting documentation must placed in Title I notebook. Please send original documentation to the Federal and State Programs office – must be translated in multiple languages that a parent can understand at your campus and copies of the policy translated must be sent to the Federal and State Programs Office. Must identify how and when the policy was distributed to parents and families. Please ensure the policy has a stamped date of when it was distributed and it has to been distributed multiple times. – Sign in sheets must have the roles of who attended the meeting – Samples of a policy can be found on the Region 16 site

School Parent Compacts Section 1116(d) As a component of the school‐level parent and family engagement policy developed under subsection(b), 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 parent will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the State’s high standards….

School-Parent Compact – The compact shall be developed jointly with parents and families, and agreed upon by parents and families, and distributed to parents and families – Signatures are not required and our office prefers that you do not have parents sign the compact. If one parent signs then you must ensure that you have every parent sign the compact and must keep up with students who enroll later in the year – Compact must be translated in multiple languages that a parent can understand at your campus – Must offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meeting in the morning or evening. The emphasis on “flexible” to ensure you are trying to accommodate the needs of parents and families

School- Parent Compact must address the following: – The value of annual parent-teacher conferences, required in elementary schools. With frequent reports of student progress being provided to parents – The importance of regular two ways meaningful communication – The school’s responsibility to provide high‐quality curriculum and instruction – Ways in which parents will be responsible to support their child’s learning – Meeting the State’s challenging academic standards – Reasonable access to school staff, which includes opportunities for parents to observe and volunteer in their child’s class

Forms for School-Parent Compact – Copies of all meeting documentation must placed in Title I notebook. Please send original documentation to the Federal and State Programs office – You must submit multiple meeting agenda, sign in sheets, and sample minutes – Sample of the School‐Parent Compact must be submitted to the Federal and State Programs office with a copy of compact in the languages that were provided to students – Sign in sheets must have the roles of who attended the meeting. – Samples of forms can be found on Region 16

Progress Reports – You must submit to the Federal and State Programs Office how you are communication progress reports – You must send multiple communication on when and how they sent to parents – If you are sending a template of a progress report, please ensure the form has the information of the student marked out

Parent-Teacher Conferences – Parent‐ Teacher Conferences are required to be held at Title I Elementary Campuses Only. Middle School does not have to hold conferences with parents – Teachers are required to discuss the parent compact and inform the parent of the students progress – Copies of agenda, minutes, sign in sheet, and all meeting documentation must placed in Title I notebook. Please send original documentation to the Federal and State Programs office – Any information that is provided to parents must be in multiple languages

Building Capacity – Title I, Part A, Section 1116 (e) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that the six SHALLS stated in the law under Building Capacity for Involvement are met as well as documented. – Provide parents with information to help their children be successful – Show parents how to monitor their child’s progress and how to work with educators – Conduct staff training on different ways district and school personnel can effectively communicate and share academic information with parents – Involve parents in the development of parent classes to understand the subjects and assessments – Coordinate ongoing events to allow parents the opportunity to appreciate and understand what their children are learning – Create a school wide event highlighting and displaying student work and progress in relation to the academic standards

Building Capacity in action “Family Reading Night” – Turn preparing for state tests into reading fun – Parent and students rotate to different stations linked to state standards, such as a board game station, laptop station, and reading device station – Model strategies for parents and students – Partner with company to provide take home books – Offer immediately after the school day ends to increase student participation – Share fun and engaging classroom activities with parents

Building Capacity in action “Math Carnival” – Create a fun ‐filled festive carnival style environment – Set up tables with math activities and games related to shapes, puzzles, logic and problem ‐solving – Students and parents tackle real ‐world examples and learn math concepts associated with the classes – Planned in conjunction with the school’s supplemental educational fair – Parents were invited through newsletters, electronic marquee, phone ‐system to meet with math teachers and exchange information

Parent Engagement Funds – The district shall engagement parents and families of Title I, Part A participating children in decisions about how funds reserved for PFE are allotted for parental involvement activities with priority given to high need schools – Title I parents have the right to be involved in the decisions regarding how these funds will be used for parent and family engagement activities – If you are using funds to order materials for a family engagement night. You must submit a lesson plan with the order to ensure it is aligning

Annual Survey – According to statute, every LEA receiving Title I, Part A funds is required to evaluate annually the effectiveness of their PFE policy and its programs. Specifically, the evaluation should attempt to identify the success of the PFE policy in improving the academic quality of the schools.

Annual Survey must identify the following: – Barriers to greater participation by parents in activities (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or 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 – Strategies to support successful school and family interactions.

Survey Tips – Keep questions simple and straight forward – Surveys need to be truly anonymous – Have completed surveys returned in 48 hours – Keep surveys short, manageable, and useful – Share results with stakeholders in a timely manner

Forms for the Annual Survey – Copies of all meeting documentation must placed in Title I notebook. Please send original documentation to the Federal and State Programs office – must be translated in multiple languages that a parent can understand at your campus and copies of the survey translated must be sent to the Federal and State Programs Office – Sign in sheets must have the roles of who attended the meeting – Samples of surveys can be found on the Region 16 site

For more resources:

Questions… – Federal and State Programs Office – Crystal Hernandez, Title I Fiscal and Program Compliance Specialist – (432) 456 -0063 crystal. Hernandez@ectorcountyisd. org