5800

Policy

 

STUDENTS

 

Title I Parental Involvement Policy

 

This Title I Parental Involvement Policy is established in compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Ashland-Greenwood Schools has a parental involvement policy applicable to parents of all children. The parental involvement policy applicable to parents of all children is not replaced by this Title I Parental Involvement Policy and shall continue to be applicable to all parents, including parents participating in Title I programs.

 

It is the policy of Ashland-Greenwood Schools to implement programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents in Title I programs consistent with the Title I law. Such programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.

 

Expectations for Parental Involvement

 

It is the expectation of Ashland-Greenwood Schools that parents of participating children will have opportunities available for parental involvement in the programs, activities, and procedures of the District's Title I program. The term "parental involvement" means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring-(A) that parents play an integral role in assisting their child's learning; (B) that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child's education at school; (C) that parents are full partners in their child's education and are included, as appropriate, in decision making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child; and (D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in this parental involvement policy. The District intends to meet this expectation through the following activities:

 

A. Involving parents in the joint development of the District's Title I plan and the processes of school review and school improvement.

 

B. Providing coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance.

 

C. Building the schools' and parents' capacity for strong parental involvement.

 

D. Coordinating and integrating parental involvement strategies under Title I with parental involvement strategies under other programs.

 

E. Conducting, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under the Title I program, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in Title I programs, 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, and use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parental involvement policies of the District.

 

F. Involving parents in the activities of the schools served under Title I.

 

Policy Involvement

 

Each school served under the Title I program shall:

 

A. Convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of their school's participation under the Title I program and to explain the requirements of the Title I program.

B. Offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening. If sufficient funds are provided for this purpose, the District may assist parental involvement in such meetings by offering transportation, childcare, or home visits.

C. Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs.

D. Provide parents of participating children-(l) timely information about programs under Title I, (2) a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet; and (3) 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.

E. If the District operates a school wide program under Title I and such plan is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parental comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the District.

 

Shared responsibilities for High Student Academic Achievement

 

As a component of the District's parental involvement policy, each school served under the Title I program shall jointly develop with parents for all children served under the Title I program 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 shall-(l) 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 Title I to meet the State's student academic achievement standards and the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children' s learning, such as monitoring attendance, 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; 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 shall be discussed as the compact relates to the individual child's achievement; (B) frequent reports to parents on their children's progress; and (C) reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child's class, and observation of classroom activities.

 

Building Capacity for Involvement

 

To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the District, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, each school participating in the Title I program and the District-(I) shall provide assistance to participating parents, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the State's academic content standards and State student academic achievement standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of Title I and how to monitor a child's progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children; (2) shall 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 parental involvement; (3) shall educate teachers, student service personnel, principals, 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) shall, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, the Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teacher Program, and public preschool and other 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) shall 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 practicable, 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 Title I if the District has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training; (8) may pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with parental involvement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions; (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, withpa11ents 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 district-wide parent advisory council to provide advice for all matters related to parental involvement in programs supported under Title I; (13) may develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities; and (14) shall provide such other reasonable support for parental involve1'f1ent activities under Title I as parents may request.

 

Accessibility

 

In carrying out the parental involvement activities for this Title I Parental Involvement policy the District shall provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under Title I in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents understand.

 


 

Use, Distribution, and Updating of this Policy

 

This Title I Parental Involvement Policy shall be incorporated into the District's Title I plan, shall be distributed to parents of participating children, shall be made available to the local community, and shall be updated periodically to meet the changing needs of the parents and the school.

 

Ashland-Greenwood Schools

 

 

Date of Adoption:                       August 18, 2003

 

 

Legal Authorities:      No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Sections 1118 and 9201(32);

            20 U.S.C. §§6318 and 7801(32)