Title 1 Parent and Family Engagement Policy
School Parent and Family Engagement Policy
Silverdale Elementary School
To support student academic achievement, Silverdale Elementary receives Title I, Part A funds and must collaborate with families to develop and distribute a written Parent and Family Engagement Policy. Per ESSA Section 1116 (b) and (c) requirements, this policy outlines the school’s parent and family engagement expectations and specific activities throughout the school year.
Silverdale Elementary agrees to implement the following requirements as outlined by Section 1116:
•Involve families, 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 school improvement 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 families and the school, distribute the policy to the families of participating children, and make the parent and family engagement policy available to the local community.
•To ensure full participation for families with disabilities, migratory backgrounds, or limited English proficiency, the school will provide information and ESSA Section 1111 reports in an understandable, uniform format. These materials will be available in alternative formats upon request and in languages families understand whenever practicable.
•If the school improvement plan under Section 1114(b) of the ESSA is not satisfactory to the families of participating children, submit any family 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 families in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, ensuring:
A. Families play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
B. Families are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;
C. Families 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. 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:
JOINTLY DEVELOPED
Silverdale Elementary will take the following actions to involve families 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 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.
Silverdale Elementary will invite families to attend meetings to review, revise, and improve the Title I programs to include our Parent and Family Engagement Policy, the joint development of the schoolwide Strategic Plan, and the school-parent compact.
ANNUAL TITLE I MEETING
Silverdale Elementary will take the following actions to conduct an annual meeting, at a convenient time, and encourage all families of participating children to attend to inform them about the school’s Title I program, the nature of the Title I program, the families’ requirements, the school parent and family engagement policy, the schoolwide plan, and the school-parent compact.
An annual meeting will be held at Silverdale Elementary.
The annual fall meeting will be held in conjunction with Silverdale’s Open House or Back to School Night and will:
•Inform parents and families about the Title I Schoolwide implementation at Silverdale.
•Provide parents and families with an overview of the Title I Program.
•Provide parents and families with information concerning parent and family engagement requirements, assessment data, school performance profiles, and forms or methods of measuring student progress.
•Inform parents and families of summary results of the prior year’s EOG Testing, if available.
•Evaluate and/or make improvements on current program or upcoming activities.
•Solicit input from parents and families in the design and implementation of the School Improvement Plan and Parent Family Engagement Policy for the upcoming year.
•Share overall preliminary EOG results, if available, and alert parents and families that individual reports, if available, will be sent home at the end of the year in report cards.
COMMUNICATIONS
Silverdale Elementary will take the following actions to provide families of participating children the following:
•Timely information about the Title I programs.
•Flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide with Title I funds, transportation, childcare or home visits, as such services relate to parent and family engagement.
•Information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the families of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language the families can understand.
The Parent Involvement Policy will be distributed annually to parents and families of all students. This documentation will be distributed to parents and families by being sent home with students this year and being part of the school handbook in subsequent years. It will be shared with parents and families of new students at registration. Review of the policy will occur annually with opportunities for input at the school throughout the school year. All feedback received during the year will be used to review the plan for the next school year. The plan is posted on the school website for families to view. We also distribute an annual survey online and in written form (upon request) to ask families for suggestions on the plan and use of funds for family engagement. Families can also provide feedback during several meeting and activities during the school year. Flexible times, childcare, and transportation will be provided, as needed. Title I parent meetings will be held during school events, usually at night, to provide continued information, support, and resources for all parents and families. Ex. Open House, Back to School Night, Dr. Seuss Night for Read Across America, Step Up Night, Parent/Teacher Conferences, Student-led Conference Nights, Leader of the Month Breakfast, etc. Parents and families will be strongly encouraged to attend other school events and conferences, volunteer in classroom activities, and observe in the Title I Program.
SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT
As part of this plan, Silverdale Elementary and our families will develop a school-parent compact. A compact is a written agreement that families, teachers, and students jointly develop to explain how the families, entire school staff, and the students will share the responsibility to improve student academic achievement and the means by which the school and families will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high standards. The compacts will be reviewed and updated annually based on feedback from families, students, and teachers. The school-parent compacts are located in Student Leadership Notebooks. They will be shared with families during parent-teacher and student-led conferences. The compact will also be posted on our school website. Extra copies are also available in the front office. If you would like to provide feedback on the compact at anytime during the year, please contact Bobbie Wedemann at bobbie.wedemann@onslow.k12.nc.us or call 910-326-5146.
RESERVATION OF FUNDS
Silverdale Elementary will take the following actions to involve the families 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:
•Allocated Title I Parent Involvement funds will be used to provide training, materials, and resources for parents and families which are determined by our Needs Assessment data, and parent and family suggestions.
•Parent Information nights will be held throughout the year to help support parent involvement and student achievement.
•Parent and family activities will be provided to encourage the Covey 7 Habits at home.
•Parent and family activities will be provided to encourage reading at home.
•Parent Information will be provided for parents to help support student achievement to meet individual and school goals in reading and/or math.
•Parents and families will be notified in advance of the scheduled activities.
•Materials and information on various topics are available to support parents and families on the district website
COORDINATION OF SERVICES
Silverdale 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 will provide other activities and resources such as parent online resources that encourage and support families in more fully participating in the education of their children by:
•Enabling distribution of food donated by local churches that fill backpacks provided by Back Pack Friends - weekend food bags are filled for students to take home.
•Notifying parents and families of additional assistance from outside agencies.
•Local Food banks - provides food assistance for families.
•Salvation Army - provides assistance in many ways for families
•Crisis Center - provides crisis intervention to victims of domestic violence and provides education and prevention resources.
•Integrated Family Services Mobile Crisis - provides assistance in times of emergencies.
•White Oak Ecumenical Outreach provides unlimited Thanksgiving/Christmas meals for families..
•Angel Tree - Christmas support to families.
•Toys for Tots - provides gifts to families.
•Christmas Cheer - provides gifts to families.
•Onslow County Partnership for Children - provides literacy programs, early childhood resources, family enrichment classes, and child advocacy.
•Swansboro United Methodist Church - provides classroom volunteers, and extra food/snack for students.
•HEM Funding provides clothing, school supplies, and financial assistance.
•Military Family Liaison provides, on-campus support for military students and is also available for family support and counseling.
•Encouraging participation in school events sponsored by the library/media center, art, music, and physical education at our school.
•Promoting recreation/sports/arts opportunities, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and the public library and summer programs.
•Inviting community members to observe and participate in school assemblies and programs with notification via flyers, social media, and personal invites.
•Hosting Clinical Teacher Interns and Clinical Nursing students from East Carolina University and UNCW, as available, in our classrooms and school to help prepare them as highly qualified teachers and nurses.
•Receiving Marines from a battalion or squadron stationed at Camp Lejeune, Camp Johnson, and New River Air Station as volunteers for various school activities.
BUILDING CAPACITY OF SCHOOL STAFF
Silverdale Elementary will provide training to educate teachers, instructional support personnel, principals, and other staff members. Training will be provided to assist families by educating staff on valuing family contributions, effectively communicating, working as equal partners, implementing parent programs, and building strong school-family ties.
•Parents and families will be notified in advance of the scheduled activities.
•Parents and families may request additional meetings/conferences with staff members to address questions or comments.
•Instructional plans and assessment information will also be communicated to parents and families through class and school newsletters, weekly planners, teacher websites, Facebook, Instagram, Remind, DOJO and emails.
•Resources on various topics are available on the District Website
•Reading and math training events will each be held so teachers can explain state standards in curriculum and recent assessments, provide strategies to improve student achievement, and explain ways to monitor student progress, such as weekly folders, progress reports, report cards, Class Dojo, phone communication, and conferences.
Silverdale Elementary will provide other reasonable support for parent and family engagement activities under Section 1116 as families may request by:
•Providing opportunities for LEP and SWD parents. Once a need is identified, we will attempt to assist parents and families with limited English proficiency and parents and families with disabilities the opportunity to participate in their children’s educational curriculum and environment.
•Reports and information are delivered in an accessible format for various disabilities and home languages.
•The EC Department provides a version of forms in home language.
•All parents are invited to participate on school committees.
•Staff will utilize Microsoft Translate to translate information in home languages.
•Class Dojo supports automatic translation for over 130 languages. Posts and messages are instantly translated into a family’s preferred language. Parents can also send messages in their home language, which teachers can translate back to English.
DISCRETIONARY SCHOOL PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENT
•Pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parent and family engagement activities, including transportation and childcare to enable families to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions. Silverdale could assist with transportation and could be covered with the school funds. Childcare would be provided by staff members in various locations on school campus.
•To maximize parent and family engagement and participation in their child’s education, arrange school meetings at a variety of times. Teachers at Silverdale hold conferences before school, during school and after school to accommodate parent needs. Conference nights are scheduled when needed. Phone conferences are also provided for parents who are not able to attend. Our Social Worker is also available to conduct or assist with home visits.
•Adopt and implement model approaches to improving parent and family engagement. Silverdale implements the Covey Leadership Model. Leader in Me unites students, staff, and families around a common goal to prepare students with college, career, and life-readiness skills that are necessary to thrive to become life-ready leaders.
•Establish a district-wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parent and family engagement in Title I, Part A programs. Silverdale parents have been invited to attend district-wide parent advisory council. Names have been submitted to district office.
•Develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses, including faith-based organizations, in parent and family engagement activities. Silverdale has volunteers from local churches who tutor in classrooms under the direction of the teacher. Churches also provided additional resources for the school.
•Coordinate our programs and activities with the following staff and programs to support parent and family participation in the education of their children:
•Head Start
•English Language Learners/EL District Leaders
•School Nurse, Counselor, Military Liaison, Social Worker
•Parent Teacher Association or organization (Parent Lighthouse Team)
•Public and private preschools
•Parent and Family Online Resources
•Onslow County Schools/Preschool Information Transition Fair