District Title I Family Engagement Policy
State College Area School District
Parent and Family Engagement Policy
Review 6/27/2019
It is the policy of the State College Area School District’s Title I program to encourage active participation of parents and those in the role of parents as required in Section 1116 of ESSA. This policy includes a commitment to guide/reinforce/increase parent and family engagement by building a strong partnership emphasizing the shared responsibilities among students, families, and school teams.
In compliance with federal law, the State College Area School District and parents/guardians of students participating in Title 1 Programs shall jointly develop and agree upon a written Family Engagement Plan for a Title I school. When implementing, the district shall:
Objective 1: Involve parents/guardians in the joint development of the Title 1 plan and the process of school review and improvements and coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies with other Federal, State, and local laws and programs (ESSA, Section 1116(a)(2)(A)).
Strategies for reaching objective:
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Develop and disseminate district parental and family engagement policy.
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Back-to-School Night
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Title I Website
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Board of School Directors Report
- Elementary Handbooks
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Conduct an annual meeting to review and update the effectiveness of the Parent and Family Engagement Policy.
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Reserve a minimum of 1% if the Title I, Part A allocation for parent and family engagement
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Collaborate with other parental and family engagement programs such as CHAMPS camp, ESL, and Family Outreach.
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Establish a parental and family engagement contact person at each of the Title I Schools.
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Ensure that parents of children with disabilities or limited English proficiency have the same access as other parents including information in a language and form they can understand.
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Ensure Homeless students have access to Title I services if they qualify and title funding to support them.
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Hold at least 1 parent and family engagement professional development event per year where current strategies being used to support students in the classroom are shared with parents.
Objective 2: Provide support and technical assistance and other supports in order to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective family engagement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance (ESSA, Section 1116(a)(2)(B)).
Strategies for reaching objective:
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District Parent and Family Engagement policy is disseminated to all Title I teachers to guide the development of Building Parent and Family engagement policies.
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During building Title I Back-to-School Nights, inform parents of their school's participation in the development of the parental and family engagement policy and their right to be involved.
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During building Title I Back-to-School Nights, inform parents of the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) and encourage parents to participate in the PAC at the district and/or building levels.
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Monitor each Title I school to ensure that each school performs the following tasks:
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Develop a parental and family engagement policy.
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Offer flexible meeting times.
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Provide information to parents about the school's program, including parent information guides.
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Participate in goal-setting conferences.
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Provide a copy of the School Parent and Family Engagement Policy for each parent. Encourage parents to provide feedback through contacting the Title 1 teacher or through the website.
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Provide materials for training to assist parents in supporting their child's academic achievement.
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Provide newsletters and activities to keep parents updated on current parent/student engagement practices.
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Encourage parents to visit/volunteer in the classroom.
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Encourage parents to be a part of the State PAC
Objective 3: Conduct, with the meaningful engagement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and the effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all schools and Identifies barriers to greater participation by parents and family members, with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background; 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 (ESSA Section 1116(a)(2)(D)(i-iii)).
Strategies for reaching objective:
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Develop procedures to document parent participation through sign-in lists for workshops, meetings, and conferences; workshop schedules and brochures; meeting notes; and other means as appropriate throughout the school year.
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Benchmarking assessments and Title I eligibility criteria are shared with parents at the district and building PAC meetings and goal setting conferences. Parent input is recorded in PAC meeting notes. Title I staff include parent input when making decisions about how to best meet the needs of Title I students and their families.
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Involve parents through an annual survey to improve school effectiveness.
Objective 4: Use the findings of the annual evaluation to design strategies for more effective evidence-based parental/family engagement, If necessary, the parent and family engagement policies (ESSA, Section 1116(a)(2)(E)).
Strategies for reaching objective:
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Make recommendations to each participating school for parental and family engagement policy revisions.
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Provide suggestions for designing school improvement policies, as they relate to parental and family engagement.
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Objective 5: Involve parents and guardians in the activities of schools served under Title I through activities that promote school and parents capacity for strong family engagement that meets the needs of all stakeholders in assisting then with the learning of their children at school and into the home through the use of Title 1 Committee Meetings and surveys (ESSA, Section 1116(a)(2)(F)).
Strategies for reaching objective:
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Develop and disseminate an annual parent activity evaluation report to share with parents, staff, and the community. Summary of the results of the parent survey is posted on district Title I and building Title I web pages.
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To accomplish this goal, our schools involve parents in the development of the Local Educational Agency (LEA) policy and the process of school review and improvement through parental and family engagement group meetings, parent surveys, consultation with Title I, general education teachers, and district administration, and conferences. To accomplish this, strategies and activities occurring within our schools include but are not limited to:
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1) Supporting schools and nonprofit organizations in providing professional development for LEA and school personnel regarding parent and family engagement strategies, which may be provided jointly to teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, early childhood educators, and parents and family members (ESSA, Section 1116(3)(D)(i)).
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2) Supporting programs that reach parents and family members at home, in the community, and at school. (ESSA, Section 1116(3)(D)(ii)).
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3) Disseminating information on best practices focused on parent and family engagement, especially best practices for increasing the engagement of economically disadvantaged parents and family members (ESSA, Section 1116(3)(D)(iii)).
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4) Collaborating, or providing subgrants to schools to enable such schools to collaborate with, community-based or other organizations or employers with a record of success in improving and increasing parent and family engagement (ESSA, Section 1116(3)(D)(iv)).
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5) Engaging in any other activities and strategies that the LEA determines are appropriate and consistent with the LEA’s Parent and Family Engagement Policy (ESSA, Section 1116(3)(D)(v)).
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