South Hunterdon Regional School District
Title I School Parental Involvement Policy for
SHRES, SHRMS and SHRHS
Title I regulations require that each school served under Title I jointly develop with and distribute to parents of participating children, a written involvement policy agreed on by the parents that describes the requirements of SEC. 1118. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT (c) through (f) as listed below and outlined in the Title I law:
C. POLICY INVOLVEMENT- Each school served under this part shall —
(1) 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 this part and to explain the requirements of this part, and the right of the parents to be involved;
This annual meeting will be held at the school where the parents’ child(ren) receive services and be held during the school day. Attempts will be made to accommodate as many parents as possible. However, for those unable to attend, information from the meeting will be made available.
(2) Offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement;
The teachers of the Title I classes will provide information for parents during the school day (while children are in school) to allow parents to attend without needing childcare. In addition, parents with non-school aged children are able to attend with their children. To further accommodate parent schedules, time outside of the school day will be made available to review the information shared at the meetings. Information shared at the meetings may also be sent home electronically and/or as a hard copy.
(3) Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under this part, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy;
a. Share and review the school policy during annual parent meetings while requesting input
b. Survey parents regarding the program as part of the district’s annual survey used to guide future programming and policies
c. Through parent meetings within the school year (i.e. informal conversations, Parent/Teacher Conferences, I&RS meetings, etc.), suggestions and feedback will be gained and shared with administration to inform decisions made regarding the program and policy
(4) provide parents of participating children —
(A) timely information about programs under this part;
(B) 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
(C) 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;
o Assessment data that allows a student to be found eligible for Title I funded programming is shared with parents within the first month of school and/or within a month of the assessment data being received
o The district supports each grade level’s curricula with supplemental and non-supplemental materials (i.e. Orton-Gillingham Reading instruction, TouchMath, etc.) and assesses progress through the use of assessments such as district benchmarks, Fountas & Pinnell, DIBELS (Reading and Math), STAR Math, etc.
o Parents may request a meeting to review progress and participate in decision making for their child’s programming as needed
(5) if the schoolwide program plan is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency.
o N/A - This school is not required to have a Schoolwide Plan
D. SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT- As a component of the school-level parental involvement policy, each school 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.
a. A school-parent compact is created for each student found eligible, reviewed with the parents and the student, and is signed by the Title I Teacher, the Parent, and the Student
b. The school-parent compact is provided to the student and his/her parent and contains the contact information for district staff members overseeing the student’s program
E. BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVOLVEMENT- To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, each school and local educational agency assisted under this part —
(1) Shall provide assistance to parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, 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 this part, and how to monitor a child's progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children;
a. Presentations of district data regarding state and local assessments as well as requirements are offered after school hours for parents and community members
b. Parents are welcome to contact the school and schedule a time to view standards, assessments, and progress made – all contact information is made available at the start of the school year
c. Parent/Teacher conferences are offered two times each school year at which time parents may review all data, ask questions, and learn how to progress monitor their child’s progress
(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;
a. Parent information sessions are offered each school year to assist parents in understanding various topics including how to support their child(ren)
b. Parents are offered time during parent/teacher conferences to understand and discuss Title I services in order to best support their child at home academically
(3) Shall educate teachers, pupil services 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;
a. The school staff are supported through district and Title I funds to receive out of district professional development opportunities specific to building the home-school connection as available
b. School staff work collegially to support and turnkey information to one another
c. The school has a supportive and active Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
(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 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;
o The school, district and Teacher Association offer various parent and family evenings (i.e. Family Math Night, Family Literacy Night, Author Visits, Teacher-Led workshops/sessions, Administrator-Led workshops/sessions, etc.) throughout the school year
(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;
a. The school website is able to be translated to various languages easily from the homepage
b. All correspondence sent home regarding academic information is sent home in both English and Spanish
(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 this part if the local educational agency has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training;
(8) May pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local 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, with parents 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 districtwide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in programs supported under this section;
(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 involvement activities under this section as parents may request.
a. Parents complete an annual survey on which they provide input regarding future professional development goals as well as current programming practices
b. The school allows middle and high school students to earn community service hours while providing childcare during parent sessions outside of the school day
c. The school partners with the Parent Teacher Association
d. Parent/Teacher conferences are offered both in the afternoons and in the evenings in the Fall and again in the Spring of each school year
F. ACCESSIBILITY– In carrying out the parental involvement requirements of this part, districts and schools, to the extent practicable, shall provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with children with limited English proficiency, parents with children with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents can understand.
a. The school website is able to be translated to various languages easily from the homepage
b. All correspondence sent home regarding academic information is sent home in both English and Spanish
c. A bi-lingual translator is made available at sessions for parents where non-English speaking participants are expected to attend
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