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School Parental Involvement Policy

PART I.            GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

The Spencer Middle School agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

·                    Consistent with section 1118, the school will ensure that the required school level parental involvement policy meets the requirements of section 1118 of the ESEA, and includes, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d) of the ESEA..

·                    Schools will notify parents of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. The policy will be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.

·                    In carrying out the Title I, Part A, parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school 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 language parents understand.

·                    If the school-wide program plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1114(b) of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school submits the plan to the local educational agency (school district).

·                    The school will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about The school will build its own and the parent’s capacity for strong parental involvement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement.

·                    The school will provide parental involvement activities under section 1118 of the ESEA in the areas of improving student achievement, child development, child rearing and additional topics parents may request.

·                    The school will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and 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 SCHOOLS WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

NOTE:  The School Parental Involvement Policy shall include a description of how the school will implement or accomplish each of the following components.  [Section 1118, ESEA.] 

1.                   The Spencer Middle School shall take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development and review of its school parental involvement policy under section 1118 of the ESEA: 

             Planning meeting with Parent Advisory Council.  May 9, 2006.

 Plan presented and reviewed by LSIC

 2.                   The Spencer Middle School shall take the following actions to involve parents in the process of planning, joint development of the program, review and improvement of programs under Title I Part A of the ESEA : 

             Planning meeting with Parent Advisory Council.  May 9, 2006.

3.         The Spencer Middle School shall hold an annual meeting to inform parents of the school’s participation in             Title I, Part A programs, and to explain the Title I, Part A requirements and the right of parents to be involved in Title I, Part A programs.    The school will invite all parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs to this meeting.

            Town meeting held September 5, 2006

4          The Spencer Middle School shall provide parents of participating children information in a timely   manner about Title I, Part A programs that includes a description and explanation of the school’s   curriculum, the forms of academic assessment used to measure children’s progress, and the  proficiency levels students are expected to meet..

       Town meeting held September 5, 2006.

             Send progress reports each 4 ½  weeks and grade reports each 9 weeks.

 WESTEST and West Virginia Writing Assessment (7^th grade) scores distributed to each student.

5.         The Spencer Middle School shall, at the request of parents, provide opportunities for regular meetings for parents to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions about the education of their children.  The school will respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible by:

Parent –Teacher Conference held in November, 2006.

Teachers sent introductory letters offering to schedule individual meetings at the convenience of the parent on the first day of school.

6.         The Spencer Middle School shall provide each parent an individual student report about the performance of their child on the State assessment in at least math, language arts and reading by:

WESTEST and West Virginia Writing Assessment (7^th grade) scores distributed to each student

7.         The Spencer Middle School shall take the following actions to provide each parent timely notice when their child has been assigned or has been taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified within the meaning of the term in section 200.56 of the Title I Final Regulations (67 Fed. Reg. 71710, December 2, 2002):

        The principal sends a letter to parents of all students who are assigned or has been taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified within the meaning of the term in section 200.56 of the Title I Final Regulations (67 Fed. Reg. 71710, December 2, 2002)

8.         The Spencer Middle School shall provide assistance to parents of children served by the school, as             appropriate, in understanding topics by undertaking the actions described below --

                        ·        the state’s academic content standards,

·        the state’s student academic achievement standards,

·        the state and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,

·        the requirements of Title I Part A,

·        how to monitor their child’s progress, and

·        how to work with educators:

     Student achievement standards were described by Dr. Chapman at the Town Meeting held September 5, 2006.

    At the same Town Meeting, John Ford described the Title I program.   

       A meeting was held on October 16 to inform parents of the Supplemental Educational Services that are available for their         children as students at Spencer Middle School, and parents selected SES providers.

9.         The Spencer Middle School shall provide materials and training to help parents work with their children in the areas of improving student achievement, (including literacy training and using technology) child development, child rearing and additional topics parents may request.

       Pamphlets are available in the school office at the Spencer Middle School’s Parent Resource Center with the following monthly themes:

September – Being Involved in Your Child’s Education

October – How to Help Your Child with Homework

November – Parent Teacher Conference

December – Good Study Habits: A Key to Your Child’s Success

       Study Skills

January – You, Your Child, and Math

February – Fatherhood and Your Child’s Education

March – Family Time: A Key to Your Student’s Success

April – Staying Safe

The following parent trainings are scheduled:

             “Ways Parents Can Help Their Children Do Better in School”             November

“Meaning Business”                                                                          December

“Teaching Responsibility”                                                                  January

Parents attending the Town Meeting were asked to indicate topics of interest they would like to see addressed and also for input into scheduling times for trainings that would be convenient for the parents to attend.

10.        The Spencer Middle School shall, with the assistance of its 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: 

Faculty training on Joyce L. Epstein’s School, Family, and Community Partnerships was provided at the October Faculty Senate meeting.  Grade level teams are working on plans for SMS to implement the ideas discussed from Epstein’s book.

11.        The Spencer Middle School shall, 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, public preschool, and other programs.  The school will also conduct other activities, such     as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the             education of their children, by:

         Spencer Middle School provides a school Parent Resource Center in the main office with             informational pamphlets available for parents.

Title I provides a Community Recourses Pamphlet which lists resources and contacts for parental involvement programs and activities available in Roane County.

12.        The Spencer Middle School shall take the following actions to ensure that information related to the             school and parent-programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to 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: 

·        Distribution of the school wide newsletter

·        School web site http://roanecountyschools.com/sms

·        Notice of the availability of information in languages other than English that is printed in various languages in the county school policy handbook.

PART III.          DISCRETIONARY SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS (Sample Template)

NOTE:  The School Parental Involvement Policy may include additional information and describe other discretionary activities that the school, ,in consultation with its parents, chooses to undertake to build parents’ capacity for involvement in the school to support their children’s academic achievement, such as the following discretionary activities listed under section 1118(e) of the ESEA:

·                    involving parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of that training;

·                    providing necessary literacy training for parents from Title I, Part A funds, if the school district has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for that training;

·                    paying 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;

·                    training parents to enhance the involvement of other parents;

·                    arranging school meetings at a variety of times, or conducting in-home conferences between teachers or other educators who work directly with participating children, arrange meetings with parents who are unable to attend conferences at school in order to maximize parental involvement and participation in their children’s education;

·                    adopting and implementing model approaches to improving parental involvement;

·                    establishing a school parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in Title I, Part A programs;

·                    developing appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses, including faith-based organizations, in parental involvement activities.

PART IV.            ADOPTION 

This School 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 _development of this policy with the input of parents at the Parent Advisory Council meeting.

This policy will be adopted by the Spencer Middle School on December 11, 2006 and will be in effect for the period of _1 year.  The school will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before January 31, 2007

___Dr. Willam Chapman_______

   (Signature of Authorized Official)

___October 19, 2006______________

                        (Date)