Family

Family & Community Engagement Plan

Union Heights Elementary School

Family and Community Engagement Plan

2005 – 2006

Based on Sec. 1118 of the Improving America’s Schools Acts of 1994

P.L. 103-382

Title I

In order to comply with the requirements of the laws governing schools which receive Title I funds, each school must plan family involvement activities for the families of participating children. This worksheet covers the components required in Sec. 1118 of

P.L. 103-382.

Requirements	Activities and Strategies	Participants	Time & Date	Evidence of Compliance
1. Convene an annual countywide steering committee meeting	1. Meet at a central location to establish specific assessment criteria, program plans, compacts, parent involvement policies, staff development plans, and coordination of programs. 2. Discuss needs assessment results, goals, and Title 1 laws.	Federal Programs Director, teachers and staff, paraprofessionals, and parents	May	Copies of invitations, program agendas, plans, policies, and attendance sheet
1. Convene an annual family involvement meeting at a convenient time so all parents & families are invited and encouraged to attend Set up planning team, evaluation policies and goals (state goals on policy)	1. Send or mail parents invitations 2. Send home reminders and place notice in newspaper 3. Schedule meeting times and dates based on parent surveys 4. Discuss parents’ rights and encourage parents to get involved in their child’s education 5. Offer free materials and information on parenting skills, homework, etc. 6. Determine need for special services such as interpreters, vision, etc.	FP director, principal, teachers, staff, parents, and students	Sept./Oct.	Copies of invitations and reminders Sign in sheets Evaluations Handouts Newspaper notice
3. Offer a flexible number of meetings at different times throughout the day so every parent has the opportunity to attend	1. Use the info. Supplied by parents on the parent survey to plan dates and times 2. Survey parents for comments and suggestions for improvement 3. Hold meetings in A.M. as well as P.M. as much as feasible 4. Grandparents Day where GP are invited to lunch and a reception/program in the afternoon.	Administration, teachers, staff, parents	Ongoing throughout the school year	Sign in sheets Agendas Hand-outs
4. Involve parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely way in the planning and improvement of the school wide program	1. Allow parents the opportunity to become members of the planning team 2. Ask parents to evaluate parent involvement activities 3. Survey parents at the end of the year on ways to improve	Principal, teachers, staff, parents	April/May	Planning team members Completed evaluations Program plans Recommendation
5. Provide parents with …. timely information about programs school performance profiles child’s individual TCAP results and ongoing progress reports a description & explanation of the school’s curriculum- forms of assessments used to measure progress *timely responses to parents suggestions, questions, & comments	1. Give timely notice of all parent involvement activities. Send invitations and reminders home as well as notice in local newspaper 2. Send or mail home copies of the school’s performance profile (TN Report Card results) 3. Send parents info. Concerning individual student achievement on TCAP scores 4. Progress reports send home each six weeks 5. Send home a description or explanation of the curriculum being used at school and how the results are measured (where feasible) 6. Reply by phone, letter, or note to any concerns or questions from parents	Principal, teachers, staff, and parents	Ongoing throughout the school year	Copies of handbooks, invitations, letters, notes, progress reports, etc. School/Parent/Student compacts Copies of letters and notes from parents
6. Provide parent-teacher conferences as scheduled by the system	1. Discuss the students’ progress and performance with parents 2. Offer suggestions, materials, info. On homework, subject content, behaviors, etc. 3. Offer additional individual parent meetings whenever needed 4. Supply, as feasible, a translator if needed 5. Allow parents to view their child’s portfolio, assessments, etc. 6. Hold meetings in a location that is handicap accessible	Principal, teachers, parents, and students	Fall/Spring	Copies of notice of meeting Request for attendance Sign-in sheets
7. Frequent reports to parents on performance and progress of their child	1. Send report cards home every six weeks 2. Send copies of additional progress reports as available 3. Send TCAP data and interpretation of scores home 4. Write parents a note or letter if child is not performing to expectations so parent will have the opportunity to intervene	Teachers, parents, students	Every six weeks At scheduled meetings and in the spring when TCAP scores are received	Child’s portfolio Copies of reports sent home Report cards
8. Provide reasonable access to staff	1. Send home letter stating planning times when teacher can be accessed more easily for conferences	Teachers and parents	Ongoing	Notes
9. Provide assistance to parents in such areas as understanding: -state and local assessments and how to monitor a child’s progress	1. Send parents information on interpreting TCAP scores 2. Explain how progress is being monitored on an individual basis and the amount of progress each child makes	FP director, Supervisor of Instruction, principal, teachers, parents	Fall (TVAAS) Spring (TCAP)	Copies of letter or reports
10. Help parents learn how to work with educators to improve the performance of their child	1. Offer parenting skills pamphlets, info. and mat’ls. 2. Discuss parent options during the P?T conference 3. Include info. in the newsletters and handbooks	FP director, principal, teachers, and parents	Ongoing	Copies of materials, info., etc. given to parents
11. Help parents learn how to participate in decisions relating to the education of their children	1. Discuss parents’ rights 2. Discuss programs offered for parents in the community 3. Include relevant info. on programs in the newsletters and handbook	FP director, principal, PTO, parents, and community organizations and businesses	Sept/Oct. During P/T Conferences	Agendas Copies of info., newsletters, handbooks
12. Provide materials and/or parent training including: -coordinating continuing education with other programs -dealing with homework	1. Offer parent training materials, info. 2. Send notice of parenting programs being offered in the area 3. Offer info. on the stages of child development and expectations for each stage through newsletters, mat’ls. 4. Offer parent training where feasible	FP director, principal, teachers, staff, parents	Annual meeting Ongoing	Agendas
13. Educate the staff on parent involvement	1. Present topics and ideas during school staff development activities 2. Encourage coordination between teachers 3. Include all teachers in evaluations of programs and activities	FP director, principal, teachers, staff, and parents	Staff Development Meetings Staff Meeting throughout the year	Sign-in sheets
14. Coordinate and intergrate parent involvement programs and activities with Head Start and preschool	1. Conduct a preschool summer program for incoming Kindergarten students who qualify as at-risk 2. Work with Head Start to i.d. and pre-register students for Kindergarten	Administration from school system, Headstart, and preschool Teachers, staff, and parents	Spring (pre-registration) Summer (preschool program)	Reports from preschool program Newspaper clippings Pre-registration forms
15. Develop appropriate roles for community organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities	1. Invite community org. that offer programs such as health fairs to enrich and support families and their quality of life 2. Strengthen the relationship between community org. and businesses through support and use of services and programs 3. Place thank you notices in local newspaper 4. Constitution Day program	Community organizations Businesses Central office personnel Principal, teachers, and parents	Ongoing	Copies of materials and info. Newspaper clippings Pictures
16. Ensure, to the extent possible, that information about school and parent programs, meetings, etc. are sent home in an appropriate language	1. Respond on a case-by-case basis to school requests for translations, where feasible, for non-English spearking parents	FP director Principal Teachers Parents	Ongoing	Copies of translated materials and info.
17. Provide full participation of parents with limited English proficiency or with disabilities, including providing info. and school profiles in a language such parents understand	1. Plan activities and meetings at locations which are handicapped accessible 2. (See Section 14)	FP director Principal Teachers	As meetings and activities are scheduled	Documentation of meetings and personnel used such as translators