Parent Involvement Policy

HIGHLAND COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Parental Involvement Policy

2022-2023

PART I.  GENERAL EXPECTATIONS  

Highland County Public Schools 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 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Those programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children. 

  • Consistent with section 1118, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level parental involvement policies meet the requirements of section 1118(b) of the ESEA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d) of the ESEA.

  • The school district will incorporate this district wide parental involvement policy into its LEA plan developed under section 1112 of the ESEA.

  • In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools will 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 section 1111 of the ESEA in an understandable and uniform format and, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.

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

  • The school district will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parental involvement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools..

  • The school district will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and expects that its Title I schools will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition:

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;
(D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.

 PART II.  DESCRIPTION OF HOW DISTRICT WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS  

1.      Highland County Public Schools will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district wide parental involvement plan under section 1112 of the ESEA:

  • A Title I Advisory Committee will be established to address the needs of the divisions’ K-8 program.

  • The Title I Advisory Committee will meet a minimum of two times annually. 

  • The Title I Advisory Committee will annually review the Parental Involvement Policy. 

  • Copies of the policy will be sent home with students in the fall of 2016.

  • Students enrolling after the policy is distributed will be given a copy at the time of enrollment.

2.      Highland County Public Schools will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:

  • The Title I Advisory Committee meetings will be open to all parents. 

  • The Title I Advisory Committee will provide on-going communication and monitoring concerning the progress of the goals and objectives outlined in schools’ annual goals. 

3.      Highland County Public Schools will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance:

  • The Title I Advisory Committee and Title I staff will plan and implement “Family Night” activities.

  • The Title I Coordinator will have the Parental Involvement Policy posted on the division web page and assist parents with access and understanding.

4.      Highland County Public Schools will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following other programs: Highland Elementary School’s Regional Head Start Program by:

  • All parents of the Highland County Public Schools pre-school program will be invited to all Title I activities and be given a copy of the Parental involvement Policy.

  • Parent engagement activities will be held quarterly.

5.      Highland County Public Schools will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parental 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 parental involvement 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 school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its parental involvement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents) its parental involvement policies.

  • A Title I Parent Survey will be sent home to all parents in the spring of each year to determine the level of participation and to identify ways to improve participation. 

  • The survey will be developed by the Title I Coordinator with the assistance of the Title I Advisory Committee.

  • Each building principal will review the parent survey results.

  • Each building principal will work with the Title I Advisory Committee to review surveys and revise the Parent Involvement Policy or activities as needed.

6.      Highland County Public Schools will build the capacity for strong parental involvement, including parents and the community to improve student academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below: 

  • The school district will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, aid parents of children served by the school district or school in understanding topics such as:

  1. the State’s academic content standards,

  2. the State’s student academic achievement standards,

  3. the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,

  4. the requirements of Part A,

  5. how to monitor their child’s progress, and how to work with educators

  • Highland County Public Schools will establish dates on the school calendar for parent/teacher conferences.

  • Schools  will provide class schedules, homework, school events, supply lists, and contact information.   Schools will distribute progress reports to all students every 4 1/2 weeks.

  • Schools will distribute report cards to all students (K-12) at 9-week intervals.

  • SOL results and each schools’ Accreditation status will be shared with parents through individual conferences.

7.      The school district will provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement by:

  • Offering “Family Night” activities;

  • Offering computers declared surplus to Title I families at no cost; and

  • Providing websites for remediation.

8.      The school district will, with the assistance of its schools and parents, educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, principals and other staff, in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools, by:

  • Encourage involvement from all parents by offering programs to accommodate work schedules.

  • Provide staff workshops or in-services to emphasize the importance of parental involvement.

9.      The school district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers 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, by:

  • Providing orientation sessions for parents of children entering Kindergarten from Highland Elementary School’s pre-school program and all other children entering Kindergarten. 

  • Offer a pre-school screening to children birth – 5 in the Spring. 

  • Offer spring Kindergarten visitation to students entering Kindergarten in the fall.

  • Information about Kindergarten registration and other parent programs will be broadcast on the local radio station, advertised in the public library, and published in the local newspaper.

10.  The school district will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent- programs, meetings, and other activities, are sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand:

  • The division’s parental involvement policy will be on the division website.

  • Dates for progress reports and report cards every 9 weeks will be included on the division’s calendar and on the division website. 

  • Upcoming programs and events will be listed weekly on the division website, included in the elementary students’ Friday folders, and on school calendars. 

  • Provide a division calendar, with important events listed, to all parents.

 PART III.  ADOPTION   

This District wide Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by the minutes from the Title I Advisory Committee meetings.

This policy was adopted by the Highland County School Board on 8/01/16 and will be in effect for the period of one year.  The school district will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before September 16, 2016.

_______________________________

(Signature of Authorized Official)

 

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(Date)