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)