Parker Elementary School

2020-2021 Parent and Family Engagement Plan

 The Parent and Family Engagement Plan (PFEP) must be jointly developed with parents and must be distributed to parents in an understandable and uniform format, and in a language parents can understand. It must be made available for the community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of the parents and the school. [Section 1116(b)]. 

 Instructions: Describe the means by which the school will carry out the ESSA requirements below. 

1. POLICY INVOLVEMENT

 A. By what means will the school conduct a Title I Annual Meeting (convened at a convenient time, to which all parents are invited and encouraged to attend) to inform parents of their school’s participation in Title I, the requirements of Title I, and the right of parents to be involved [Section 1116(c)(1)]? 

The school will conduct two separate meetings at different times to accommodate the needs of the parents. One of the meetings will be in the evening in conjunction with our Fall Open House. Additional meetings and times will be added in alignment with other parental involvement activities scheduled in the first month of the school year. The parents will be notified via flyers sent home with each child, school newsletters sent out by administration, school wide class DOJO alerts, and class newsletters. Information will be placed on our website, as well as the marquee in the front of the school.

 B. By what means will the school involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of the PFEP [Section 1116(c)(3)]? 

All parents are given the opportunity to complete a paper or on-line Title I Spring Parent Survey. The results of the survey are tallied and shared with the faculty for their thoughts on ways to improve our PFEP for the next year. An evaluation of the current PFEP is conducted during a SAC meeting. Based on the evaluation and survey results, revisions to the plan are made for the next school year. The plan will be reviewed during SAC meetings throughout the year to make revisions according to the changing needs of parents and the school. In addition, individual phone calls by administration will be made to parents that are usually involved, but were not present at the SAC meetings. Also, individual conversations will be had with parents as they are picking up or dropping off their students.

 C. By what means will the school involve parents in the joint development of the School Improvement Plan [Section 1116(c)(3)]? 

During our May SAC meeting, results from the Title I survey will be discussed. Strategies from the current year’s SWP are reviewed. Revisions are made based on needs, barriers, and parent input.

 D. By what means will the school provide parents opportunities, if requested, for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in making decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible [Section 1116(c)(4)(C)]? 

Parents will complete evaluation forms at parenting events and review/discuss Parent/Teacher/Student Compacts at IEP meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and CST meetings. Parent input will be gathered at SAC and PTO meetings also. In addition, administrators, guidance counselors, and the parent liaison are all connected to each teacher's classroom DOJO account, where parents have the ability to communicate with school stakeholders. Additional conversations will be relayed when parents are dropping students off for school or picking students up from school to the adults on duty.

 E. If the School Improvement Plan is not satisfactory to the parents, by what means will the school provide parents an opportunity to submit comments with the plan when it is submitted to the district [Section 1116(c)(5)]? 

Parents who are not satisfied with the school-wide plan will complete a form to be submitted with the plan to the district.

2. BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVOLVEMENT

 In Table A, list the activities that will address topics F - J.                                                                      F. Assist parents in understanding:

• State academic standards;
• State and local academic assessments;
• Requirements of Title I;
• Monitoring a child’s progress; and
•  Work with educators to improve the achievement of their children [Section 1116(e)(1)] 

G. Description and explanation of:

• Curriculum in use at the school [Section 1116(4)(B)]

H. Description and explanation of:

•  Academic assessments used to measure student progress [Section 1116(4)(B)]? 

I.  Description and explanation of:

•  Achievement levels of the State academic standards that students are expected to obtain [Section 1116(4)(B)] 

J.  Provide materials and training to:

•  help parents work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including the harms of copyright piracy), to foster parental involvement [Section 1116(e)(2)]  (LEA note: this includes Parent Portal training)

Table A - 

Parent Training Opportunities

 List all activities for requirements F through J and transition activities that involve parents. 

*To be updated throughout the year.                                                                                                                Table B - Other Events/Activities

 Other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children [Section 1116(e)(4)]. 

*To be updated throughout the year

 K. By what means will the school educate the faculty, staff, and administrators, 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 [Section 1116(e)(3)]? 

 Recommended Subjects according to Spring Survey are: Communicating with Parents and Conferences 

 L. To the extent feasible, by what means will the school coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs that encourage and support parents in participating in the education of their children [Section 1116(e)(4)]? 

All the above listed parental involvement events will be our way of enriching parents and encouraging more parental collaboration with the school and all other programs available. In addition, these events will provide them with a better understanding of different federal programs, transition to other programs, and also support them in the day to day school operation and understanding how and who to contact when assistance is needed.

 M. By what means will the school provide other reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents may request [Section 1116(e)(13)]? (Based on the Title I Spring Parent Survey results, what activities did the parents request that are included in this plan?) 

Based on the results of our Spring Parent Surveys, parents are requesting help with understanding how to monitor students’ progress, academics (Math and Reading), and FSA information. We are also going to conduct additional Parent Portal workshops at different times throughout the year in 2020-2021. We will be updating our online components that we can link to our website and classroom DOJO to better help parents. We will add online resources and tutorials to further assist with the standards.

 N. Elementary Only - How will the school ensure that teachers conduct a parent-teacher conference for individual students at least annually, during which the compact is discussed [Section 1116 (d)(2)(A)]? 

Parents will be encouraged at Open House to sign up for parent-teacher conferences to complete a Parent/Teacher/Student Compact. For parents who do not sign up, teachers will make contact requesting a conference. In addition, stipends will be paid to teachers to conduct parent-teacher conferences to get additional compacts.

 O. Optional – How will the school develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities [Section 1116(e)(13)]? 

 P. Optional – By what means will the school involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of the training [Section 1116(e)(6)]? 

 Q. Optional – By what means will the school provide literacy training for parents if the LEA has exhausted all other sources of funding [Section 1116(e)(7)]? 

 R. Optional – By what means will the school pay reasonable and necessary expenses, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions [Section 1116(e)(8)]? 

 S. Optional – By what means will the school train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents [Section 1116(e)(9)]? 

 T. Optional – By what means will the school conduct in-home conferences for parents who are unable to attend at school [Section 1116(e)(10)]? 

 U. Optional – By what means will the school adopt and implement model approaches to improve parent involvement [Section 1116(e)(11)]? 

3. ACCESSIBILITY

 V. By what means will the school provide opportunities for informed participation of parents and family members (including parents and family members with limited English proficiency, with disabilities, and parents of migratory children). [Section 1116(f)]? (List the barriers identified by parents in the Title I Spring Survey and the methods by which the school will assist to overcome the barriers.) 

Based on the Spring Parent Survey results, the work schedules of our parents was listed as the top barrier of parental participation. We plan to offer morning and evening events to give every parent an opportunity to participate. In addition, we are going to offer more on-line content to our parents to allow them to view the content at their discretion as their schedule allows.

 W. By what means will the school ensure that information related to school and parent programs, school reports, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents in a format and in a language the parents can understand [Section 1116(e)(5) and (f)]? 

All school communications are translated for our ELL families. Google Translate and staff members assist with this matter. Our new ADA approved website will translate all uploaded documents. Bilingual staff members assist with conferences and phone calls.

 X. By what means will the school offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening to accommodate parents’ schedules [Section 1116(c)(2)]? 

Teachers are paid as consultants, and they can schedule additional parent conferences at the parents availability. Parent availability will be taken into account for all parent conferences and other meetings.

 Y. By what means will the school provide parents with timely information about meetings, activities, and events [Section 1116(c)(4)(A)]. 

At the beginning of every month, a newsletter will be distributed via email and DOJO highlighting the upcoming events. Two weeks prior to the event, a flyer will be sent out highlighting the event, asking for possible RSVP’s. DOJO messages and the marquee will be given for last minute reminders. In addition, we plan to offer morning and evening events to give every parent an opportunity to participate.

 Title I Expenditures Parent and Family Engagement (Adjust to reflect the planned expenditures)