Parental Involvement Policy

W. C. Andrews Elementary receives Federal Funding through the Title I Program. One component of the program is the adoption of a school parental involvement plan. Here is your copy of the WCA 2013-2014 Parental Involvement Plan.

W.C. Andrews Elementary School Parental Involvement Policy

I. GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

W. C. Andrews Elementary agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

·Consistent with section 1118, the school will work to ensure that the required school level parental involvement policies meet the requirements of section 1118 of the ESEA, and each include, 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 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 other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under section 1118 of the ESEA as the 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;

PART II. DESCRIPTION OF HOW SCHOOLS WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

1. 1.W. C. Andrews Elementary will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its school parental involvement plan under section 1118 of the ESEA:The Parent Involvement Plan is developed by the Site Based Decision Making Team (SBDM) which includes parent representation. Prior to bringing the document to SBDM, a committee of parents reviewed the policy and provided input for the SBDM.
2. 2.W. C. Andrews Elementary will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:The SBDM will include one or more parent representatives who will fully participate in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA.
3. 3.W. C. Andrews Elementary will 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 convene the meeting at a time convenient for parents and will offer a flexible number of additional parental involvement meetings.The school will invite all parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs to this meeting, and will encourage them to attend, by holding such meetings in conjunction with the annual Parent Orientation Meetings in late August or Early September.
4. 4.W. C. Andrews Elementarywill 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 by:The school and district will provide parents online access to their respective children’s grades. A hard copy of their child’s grades will be sent home at three-week intervals. The school will also maintain a website that will provide information to parents.W. C. Andrews Elementary will hold annual meetings to explain the state mandated assessment program State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). The District will hold an annual curriculum meeting to review the adopted curriculum with parents.
5. 5.W. C. Andrews Elementary will 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.A parent survey will be distributed in the Spring and results will be available on PTA Bulletin Board and on the School Website.
6. 6.W. C. Andrews Elementary will provide each parent an individual student report about the performance of their child on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) in math, reading, and writing (Writing is tested in 4^th grade only), as well as the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) for grades K-2.
7. 7.W.C. Andrews Elementary will notify parents in writing on the first day of the fifth week that 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).
8. 8.W. C. Andrews Elementary will provide assistance to parents of children served by the school, as appropriate, in understanding topics by undertaking the actions described in this paragraph --
   • 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 Part A,
   • how to monitor their child’s progress, and
   • how to work with educators:
9. 9.W. C. Andrews Elementary will, with the assistance of its parents, educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, principal 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 conducting an annual staff development faculty meeting on the topic.
10. 10.W. C. Andrews Elementary will, 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.
11. 11.W. C. Andrews Elementary will take the reasonable 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.

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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 parental representation on the Site Based Decision Making Team responsible for the development of the policy.

This policy was adopted by the W. C. Andrews Elementary SBDM on May 9, 2013 and will be in effect for the period of one year. The school will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before October 1, 2013.