Parent Family Engagement
- Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under Title I, Part A, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan under Section 1114(b) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
- Update the school parent and family engagement policy periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school, distribute it to the parents of participating children, and make the parent and family engagement policy available to the local community.
- Provide full opportunities, to the extent practicable, 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 ESSA in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
- If the schoolwide program plan under Section 1114(b) of the ESSA 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.
- Be governed by the following statutory definition of parent and family engagement and will carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this definition:
Parent and Family Engagement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:
(A) Parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning
(B) Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school
(C) 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) Other activities are carried out, such as those described in Section 1116 of the ESSA
DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE SCHOOL WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED SCHOOL PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS
Cape Hatteras Elementary will take the following actions to involve parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely manner in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs, including opportunities for regular meetings, if requested by parents/families, to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their child and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.
ANNUAL TITLE I MEETING
Cape Hatteras Elementary will take the following actions to conduct an annual meeting, at a convenient time, and encourage and invite all parents/families of participating children to attend to inform them about the school’s Title I program, the nature of the Title I program, the parents’/families’ requirements, the school parent and family engagement policy, the schoolwide plan, and the school-parent/family compact.
COMMUNICATIONS
Cape Hatteras Elementary will take the following actions to provide parents of participating children the following:
- Timely information about the Title I programs will be included in the weekly phone calls and newsletters as well as Class Dojo “School Story”
- Flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening (also virtual meetings), and may provide with Title I funds, transportation, child care or home visits, as such services relate to parent and family engagement.
- Information related to the school and parent/family programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents/families of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents/families can understand
SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT
Cape Hatteras Elementary will take the following actions to jointly develop with parents/families of participating children a school-parent/family compact that outlines how parents/families, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents/families will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high standards.
- Review of the compact with parents at Curriculum Night and parent conferences
RESERVATION OF FUNDS
If applicable, Cape Hatteras Elementary will take the following actions to involve the parents/family of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and family engagement is spent by:
- Budget discussion/decisions of the School Improvement Team is supported with two family members voting.
COORDINATION OF SERVICES
Cape Hatteras Elementary will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement programs and activities with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents/families in more fully participating in the education of their children.
BUILDING CAPACITY OF PARENTS/FAMILIES
Cape Hatteras Elementary will build the parents’/families’ capacity for strong parent and family engagement to ensure effective engagement of parents/families and to support a partnership among the school and the community to improve student academic achievement through the following:
- Providing parents/families with a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress, and the achievement levels of the challenging State academic standards; and
- Materials and training to help parents/families to work with their child to improve their child’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), as appropriate, to foster parent and family engagement
- Providing assistance to parents/families of participating children, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following:
- The challenging State’s academic standards
- The State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments
- The requirements of Title I, Part A
- How to monitor their child’s progress
- How to work with educators to improve the achievement of their child
BUILDING CAPACITY OF SCHOOL STAFF
Cape Hatteras Elementary will provide training to educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents/families, in the value and utility of contributions of parents/families, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents/families as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent/family programs, and build ties between parents/families and the school by:
- Code of Character, Conduct, and Support
- Trauma Resilience Communities
Cape Hatteras Elementary will provide other reasonable support for parent and family engagement activities under Section 1116 as parents/families may request
DISCRETIONARY SCHOOL PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS
- Involve parents/families in the School Improvement Team for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of that training.
- Provide necessary literacy training for parents/families from Title I, Part A funds if the school has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for that training.
- Pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parent and family engagement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents/families to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions.
- Train parents/families to enhance the engagement of other parents/families.
- To maximize parent and family engagement and participation in their child’s education, arrange school meetings at a variety of times or conduct in-home conferences with teachers or other educators who work directly with participating children and parents/families who are unable to attend conferences at school.
- Adopt and implement model approaches to improving parent and family engagement
- Establish a districtwide parent/family advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parent and family engagement in Title I, Part A programs.
- Develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses, including faith-based organizations, in parent and family engagement activities.