SCS Title I Parental Involvement

The Shelby County Board of Education recognizes and encourages the involvement of parents at the school and district level. As a school district, we recognize that parents are key stakeholders and serve as partners in the academic achievement of all students to meet or exceed No Child Left Behind proficiency standards.

The SCS parental involvement policy includes input from parents, community members, school and district personnel. The purpose of this policy is to comply with all pertinent mandates of state and federal regulatory standards which require that all parents have access to various levels and types of parental involvement activities with no person excluded based on race, religion, creed, gender, socio-economic status, physical impairment or age.

Each SCS school that is served by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act shall:

• Offer opportunities for parents to provide input and participate in meaningful consultation in the planning, design and implementation of the Title I Program.

• Offer district level administrators, local school administrators and teachers formal training to increase knowledge and skills in working with families of children receiving Title I services.

• Conduct an annual meeting at flexible times with parents to discuss the school's participation in Title I programs such as Free and Reduced Lunch, Migrant Education, SES, Public School Choice, and other offerings.

• Provide parents of participating children with explanation of district curriculum, students' assessments and reports, and accurate explanations of their child's progress.

• Provide multiple opportunities for parents to provide input for developing and revising policies relating to parent involvement, including the use of school and district level Parent Involvement funds, and on policies at the school level. Parents will also be asked to share suggestions for improving target participation in student learning. Formal parent complaints concerning school plans will be submitted to the school district when the school makes the plan available publicly.

• Develop a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff and students will share the responsibility for improved student achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve high standards.

• Conduct, with the involvement of parents and community members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the school parent involvement policy, including identification of barriers to greater participation by parents of diverse backgrounds. Findings will be utilized to design additional effective strategies for parental involvement.

• Allow parents of students receiving Title I service to participate in deciding how Title I funds for family engagement activities are allotted.

• Provide information such as parent letters, newsletters, and website documentation concerning programs or activities in a language that all parents understand.

• Provide parents, community members, and school stakeholders a copy of this Parental Involvement Policy in a timely manner.

Building Capacity for Parental 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 SCS school that is served by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Act and SCS as a whole -

1. shall provide assistance to parents of children served by the school or local education 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 20 U.S.C.A., § 6318, and how to monitor a child's progress and work with educations to improve the achievement of their children:

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;

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;

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;

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;

6. shall involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training;

7. shall involve parents in developing, implementing and evaluating the District-wide Parental Involvement Plan. Strategies and activities of the District-wide Parental Involvement Plan shall be incorporated into the Tennessee Comprehensive System-wide Planning Process;

8. shall encourage and support the development and experience of active PTA/PTSA organizations to attend parent school meetings each month to discuss school accomplishments, concerns and needs; and

9. shall offer parents opportunities to participate in training sessions addressing state academic and content standards, state/local assessments, monitoring students' progress, literacy program opportunities, home learning activities to strengthen their child's reading and math skills, use of the internet to access information about their child's progress, parental rights under No Child Left Behind, understanding child development, effective volunteer participation, parent leadership, parent organization involvement, High School Redesign, public school choice options, community services, pre-school/ Head Start programs, adult education programs and community education programs.

Shared Responsibilities for Supporting Student Success for Every Child

SCS will continue to support and be responsible for successful student achievement in Title I schools by:

• Jointly developing, with parents and other school stakeholders, a school- parent compact that outlines expectations and responsibilities of all stakeholders. The compact will identify the shared responsibility to improve student academic achievement. School-parent compact shall:

1. describe the school's responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children served by Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Act to meet the State's student academic achievement standards, and the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children's learning, such as monitoring attendance, homework completion and television watching; volunteering in their child's classroom; and participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children and positive use of extracurricular time; and

2. address the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum --

1. parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, at least annually, during which the compact shall be discussed as the compact relates to the individual child's achievement;
2. frequent reports to parents on their children's progress; and
3. reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child's class, and observation of classroom activities.

   3. provide that parents are invited and encouraged to participate in developing the Tennessee Comprehensive System-wide Planning Process.

Accessibility to All Families

SCS will continue to be accessible for all families being served Title I schools by:

• Providing opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities and parents of migratory children.

• Providing school environments that are welcoming, informative and providing schools reports and/or displays in a language that parents can understand.

• Providing invitations to parent meetings and/or workshops that are presented in an understandable language. Such meetings and workshops shall be conducted at varied times and dates throughout the school year, and notification will be sent in a timely manner.

• Providing transportation, childcare and translators for parent involvement activities where applicable and where/if funds permit.
  
  20 U.S.C.A. § 6318