Family Engagement Policy

• The District will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the engagement of parents and family members in all its schools with Title I, Part A programs. These programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents and family members of participating children.
• Consistent with Section 1116, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level parent and family engagement policies meet the requirements of Section 1116(b) of the ESSA, and each includes as a component a school-parent compact consistent with Section 1116(d) of the ESEA.
• In carrying out the Title I, Part A parent and family engagement requirements to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, limited literacy, disabilities, of migratory children, who are economically disadvantaged or are of any racial or ethnic minority background, 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 LEA plan for Title I, Part A, developed under Section 1112 of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school district will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school district submits the plan to the state Department of Education.
• The school district will be governed by the following definition of parental involvement and expects that its Title I schools will carry out programs, activities and procedures by this definition in Section 8101(39) of the ESSA:

The term “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; and
• (D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in Section 1116.

The Petal School District will take the following actions to involve parents and family members in jointly developing its LEA plan under Section 1112, and the development of support and improvement plans under paragraphs (1) and (2) of Section 1111(d) of the ESEA.

• Parent surveys are conducted each spring.
• Parents and community members will review and have input on the district parent and family engagement policy and the district comprehensive federal programs application during scheduled planning meetings.
• Parents will be invited to review the district policy, along with the school policy, annually during the Annual Title I Meeting.
• The Parent Involvement Plan will be posted to the district’s website for public review and comment.

The Petal School District will provide the following coordination, technical assistance and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of all Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance, which may include meaningful consultation with employers, business leaders and philanthropic organizations, or individuals with expertise in effectively engaging parents and family members in education.

• Annual Open House and Annual Title I Meeting
• Monthly administrative meetings
• Professional development opportunities
• Regularly scheduled PTO meetings
• Federal Programs assist in developing and monitoring school plans
• District oversight and leadership
• Maintain and support with appropriate information and training for parental volunteer opportunities
• Assist in the development of parental leadership through PTOs and other recognized groups
• Identify and publicize promising programs and practices related to parental involvement

The Petal School District will take the following actions to conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of its Title I, Part A schools. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities (with particular attention to economically disadvantaged parents, who are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy or are of any racial or ethnic minority background.)

The evaluation will also include identifying the needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers and strategies to support successful school and family interactions. The school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its parent and family engagement policy to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, its parent and family engagement policies.

• The federal programs director will release parent, family and community surveys each spring. Parents, family and community will have the opportunity to provide input on school functions and evaluate the implementation of programs.
• The superintendent, federal programs director, Title I school contacts, administrators and teachers, along with parents, family members and community members will be responsible for evaluating policy and programs on an annual basis as part of the Title I planning process.
• Parents, family members and community members will provide feedback on the content and effectiveness of the parental and family engagement policy and school plans through participation in surveys, Open House, Annual Title I Meeting, PTO and council meetings. The school administration and federal programs director will be responsible for these activities.

The Petal School District will involve the parents and family members of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1% of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and family engagement is spent and will ensure that not less than 90% of the 1% reserved goes directly to Title I schools.

• The school district will provide parents and family members an opportunity for input on how to spend the 1% parent involvement funds through the annual spring survey, during the annual Title I parent meeting at schools and meetings throughout the school year.

The Petal School District will coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies, to the extent feasible and appropriate, with other relevant Federal, State and local laws and programs: such as Head Start that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children by:

• The district supports each school’s parent committees (Shared Decision Councils) which are composed of community members. These members provide support and resources to the school and the families.
• The district will work with Head Start and daycares to provide support and resources to parents in aiding them in participating more fully in the education of their children.

The Petal School District will, with the assistance of its Title I schools, build parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement by providing materials, and training on such topics as literacy training and using technology to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement. Assistance will also be provided to parents in understanding the following topics:

• the challenging State academic standards;
• the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments;
• the requirements of Title I, Part A;
• how to monitor their child’s progress; and
• how to work with educators.

In addition, the District will support the schools in parental involvement activities with both financial as well as personnel resources to meet the programming identified in school Parent and Family Engagement Plans. Assistance will be provided in areas such as the following:

1. resource materials at parent centers;
2. training opportunities during parent night activities;
3. college and career fairs; and
4. orientation activities.

The Petal School District will, with the assistance of its schools and parents, educate its teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, other school leaders, and other staff on the value and utility of contributions of parents, and 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 schools by:

• Provide professional development opportunities at the beginning of school and assigned throughout the year;
• sharing relevant resource information with faculty and staff as collected;
• Provide information to parents from the district and school in a format, to the extent practicable and in a language that parents can understand.

This Petal School District Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly and agreed on with parents and family members of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by planning agenda, meeting minutes and sign-in sheets.