Parental Involvement Policy

William H. Loesche Elementary

Parent and Family Engagement Policy

 

School Year 2020-2021

 

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, William H. Loesche Elementary School receives Title I, Part A funds and therefore must jointly develop with, agree on with, and distribute to parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy that contains information required by section 1116(b) and (c) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).  The policy establishes the school’s expectations for parent and family engagement and describes how the school will implement a number of specific parent and family engagement activities, and it is incorporated into the school’s plan submitted to the local educational agency (LEA).

 

The William H. Loesche Elementary School agrees to implement the following requirements as outlined by Section 1116:

·       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 school wide 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 school wide 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

Section A: JOINTLY DEVELOPED
William H. Loesche Elementary School 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, 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.
-The administration and staff of Loesche Elementary School will host our annual Back to School Night on September 22, 2020.  We will virtually meet on September 20, 2020 for our annual Title I meeting.  We will revise the Parent and Family Engagement Policy and Parent-School Compact.  Parents will be involved in the planning, reviewing and improvement of the parent engagement policy through surveys and SAC meetings

– Parents are invited to our School Wide Planning session in April 2021 to develop a Parent and Family Engagement Policy for the following school year.

Section B: ANNUAL TITLE I MEETING
William H. Loesche Elementary School will take the following actions to conduct an annual meeting, at a convenient time, and encourage and invite all parents of participating children to attend to inform them about the school’s Title I program, the nature of the Title I program, the parents’ requirements, the school parent and family engagement policy, the school wide plan, and the school-parent compact.
·       Title I meeting September 22, 2020 – academic achievement standards, assessments, Title I requirements, how to monitor your child’s progress, how to work with educators.
·       Back to School 9/22/20

Section C: COMMUNICATIONS
William H. Loesche Elementary School will take the following actions to provide parents of participating children with (1) Timely information about the Title I programs, (2) Flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, (3) transportation, child care or home visits, as such services relate to parent and family engagement and may use Title I funds and (4) Information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the 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.
1)    Back to School Night evening meeting – 9/22/20
2)    Class Dojo messaging – ongoing
3)    Title I meeting – evening meeting – 9/22/20
4)    Parent Roundtable morning meeting
5)    Parent Teacher Conferences – quarterly
6)    Parent Literacy and Math PSSA meeting

Translation services will be made to the greatest extent possible for parents whose native language is not English.  Translated documents will be provided to the greatest extent possible.

Section D: SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT
William H. Loesche Elementary School will take the following actions to jointly develop with parents of participating children a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high standards.

– Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the participating children to meet the State’s student academic achievement standards.

– The school will provide high quality curriculum and instruction by working with teachers in developing lessons that are based on the PA Common Core Standards.  Higher leveled questioning, differentiation and use of technology will be used as often as possible.
– Hold parent-teacher conferences (at least annually in elementary schools) during which this compact will be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievement.

– Provide parents with frequent reports on their children’s progress.  Specifically, the school will provide reports as follows:
Ongoing access to google classroom to review grades and assignments.  Parent communication will be ongoing -daily/ weekly through class dojo via private messaging, class story and school story.  When in person schooling occurs Parent Communications folders to be sent home weekly.  The teacher will send assessment portfolios, Writing Portfolios and Text Dependent Analysis Folders home as necessary.  Interim reports to be sent home October 2020, January 2021, March 2021, and May 2021.
– Provide parents reasonable access to staff.  Specifically, staff will be available for consultation with parents as follows:
Staff will be available for virtual consultation to parents via email, phone and scheduled virtual appointments.  Staff will be virtually available during the day at scheduled prep times.  Staff will be flexible with their scheduling of appointments providing various days and times for parents to choose from.

– Provide parents opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class, and to observe classroom activities, as follows:
This area is non-applicable at the moment due to COVID.

Section E: RESERVATION OF FUNDS
William H. Loesche Elementary School will take the following actions to involve the parents 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:

·       Fall Title I meeting 9/22/20 describing the Title I budget
·       Winter Title I meeting 2/21 describing the budget for parent and family engagement.
·       This meeting will discuss parent and family engagement activities and programs. Parents will be involved in providing input into how the funds are used.

Section F: COORDINATION OF SERVICES
William H. Loesche Elementary School 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 in more fully participating in the education of their children by:
·      Maintaining ongoing collaboration with the Home and School Association to gather suggestions and input for school improvement.  We will coordinate with other organizations (after care programs, clubs, and community partners) to provide additional supports and resources to families.  We will also have inclusion of parents on our School Leadership Team, utilization of Bilingual Assistants at meetings and correspondence with parents as needed.

Section G: BUILDING CAPACITY OF PARENTS
William H. Loesche Elementary School will build the parents’ capacity for strong parent and family engagement to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school and the community to improve student academic achievement through the following:
1.     Providing parents 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
2.     Materials and training to help parents 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
3.     Providing assistance to parents of participating children, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following:
a)     The challenging State’s academic standards
b)    The State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments
c)     The requirements of Title I, Part A
d)    How to monitor their child’s progress
e)     How to work with educators to improve the achievement of their child
7)    There will be Virtual Parent Workshops presented at meetings
·       Topics will include but are not limited to Literacy Workshop, Technology, and PSSA Workshop.
·       Parent Teacher conferences
·       Resources will be provided online and through our website
·       We will provided to the best of our ability any other necessary materials and equipment to support parents in helping their student’s academic success.

Section H: BUILDING CAPACITY OF SCHOOL STAFF
William H. Loesche Elementary School will provide training to educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and other school leaders, 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 by:
·       Back To School Night
·       Student of the month recognition
·       NEAT (Attendance and Punctuality Club) Virtual Lunch
·       Parent workshops presented via Zoom
·       Workshop – Parents as Equal Partners – training for all staff members
·       Report Card Conferences

William H. Loesche Elementary School will provide other reasonable support for parent and family engagement activities under Section 1116 as parents may request.

PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY DISCRETIONARY COMPONENTS

·       Provide necessary literacy training for Parents through parent workshops
·       Train parents to enhance the engagement of other parents – parent workshop
·       To maximize parent and family engagement and participation in their child’s education, arrange virtual school meetings at a variety of times.
–       Back to School Night  – evening engagement
–       Parent Teacher conferences – arranged before school, during school, and evening meeting times
–       Parent Roundtable – morning meetings