REGULATION
COMPENSATORY EDUCATION
(Title I)
District-Level Parental
Involvement Compact
The District-level compact shall provide an understanding of the joint responsibility of the District and parents/guardians to improve students' academic achievement and school performance.
To that end, the District provides opportunities for parents/guardians involvement at the District level and the District involves parents/guardians in the joint development of the District's plan to help low-achieving children meet challenging achievement and academic standards (20 U.S.C 6312), and the process of school review and improvement (20 U.S.C. 6316) by:
● Establishing a District-level committee with parents/guardians liaisons from each building as well as representatives from other impacted programs, including Head Start.
● Establishing meaningful, ongoing two-way communication between the District, staff, and parents/guardians.
● Developing a medium to communicate to parents/guardians about the plan and seek their input and participation.
● Training personnel on how to collaborate effectively with families with diverse backgrounds that may impede parents/guardians participation (e.g. illiteracy or language difficulty).
The District provides the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parents/guardians involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance by:
● Providing ongoing District-level workshops to assist schools in planning and implementing improvement strategies.
● Establishing training programs for school liaisons to bring the communication and facilitation skills to the schools they represent.
● Providing information to parents/guardians about the various assessment tools and instruments that will be developed to monitor progress.
● Seeking input from parents/guardians in developing workshops.
The District builds the capacity of schools and parents/guardians for strong parental involvement by:
● Providing ongoing communication about the District-wide committee through District newsletters or other written or electronically communicated means.
● Engaging the school parent organizations to actively seek out and involve parents/guardians through regular communication updates and information sessions.
● Utilizing parent organizations to assist in identifying effective communication strategies based on their members' needs.
The District coordinates and integrates parents/guardians involvement strategies under this compact with parents/guardians involvement strategies under other programs, (such as the Head Start program, Reading First program, Early Reading First program, Even Start program, Parents as Teachers program, Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, and State-run preschool programs) by:
● Involving District and building representatives from other programs to assist in identifying specific population needs.
● Sharing data from other programs to assist in developing new initiatives to improve academic achievement and school improvement.
The District conducts, with the involvement of parents/guardians, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parents/guardians involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under Title I, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents/guardians in activities authorized by this section (with particular attention to parents/guardians who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background), and use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parents/guardians involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parents/guardians involvement policies described in this section by:
● Evaluating the effectiveness of the content and communication methods through a variety of methods, including: focus groups, surveys, workshops, and informal coffees with District and school administrative staff, parents/guardians, and teachers.
● Identifying barriers to effective evaluation by language support or other assistance as needed.
● Identifying potential policy and compact changes to revise and improve program(s).
The District involves parents/guardians in the activities of the schools served under Title I by:
● Providing communication and calendar information to parents/
guardians of upcoming meetings, discussions or events and encouraging their participation.
● Providing school principal and parent organization coordination of events.
School-Level Parental
Involvement Compact
The school-level parent involvement compact provides an understanding of the joint responsibility of the school and parents/guardians for improving student academic achievement and school performance. The school provides opportunities for parent/guardian involvement by:
● Convening an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents/guardians of participating children are invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents/guardians of their school's participation under Title I and to explain the requirements of Title I, and the right of the parents/guardians to be involved. The school principal shall:
■ Invite all parents/guardians of participating children to the annual meeting at school.
■ Explain the rights of parents/guardians to be involved in establishing this compact.
■ Introduce and involve the school representatives on the District-level committee.
■ Provide an overview of Title I and give parents/guardians an opportunity to express questions and concerns.
■ Indicate the mechanisms by which the committee work will be communicated.
■ Seek the involvement and input of parents/guardians.
■ Provide child care so that all parents/guardians who would otherwise be unable to attend may attend.
● Offering a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement. The school principal shall:
■ Provide parents/guardians with opportunities to ask questions and dialogue informally about student academic achievement and school performance.
■ Engage school-based parent organizations to assist with communication and implementation needs.
■ Develop and use outreach programs to involve community groups and organizations.
● Involving parents/guardians in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under Title I, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy and the joint development of the school wide program plan (under 20 U.S.C. 1114). The school principal shall:
■ Identify and establish a process by which an adequate representation of parents/guardians of participating children can occur.
■ Establish a schedule for the school-based committee to plan, review, and recommend improvements to the District parent involvement policy.
● The school principal shall:
■ Provide parents/guardians of participating children timely information about programs.
■ Communicate updates through use of school newsletters, the District web site, e-mail and telephone contact, and home visits if needed.
The school principal will provide a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.
The school principal shall:
● Provide parents/guardians, upon request, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any suggestions as soon as practicably possible.
● Develop a feedback loop for parents/guardians to ask questions and receive follow-up.
If the school wide plan is not satisfactory to the parents/guardians of participating children, the school principal shall:
● Submit any comments when the school makes the plan available to the Governing Board.
● Provide a process for parents/guardians to express concerns and complaints.
Shared Responsibilities for High
Student Academic Achievement
The school is responsible for providing a high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children served under Title I to meet the state's student academic achievement standards.
Each parent/guardian is responsible for supporting their children's learning, by:
● Monitoring attendance, homework, and television viewing.
● Volunteering in their child's classroom and participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to their children's education and extracurricular activities.
Communication between teachers and parents/guardians occurs on an ongoing basis through:
● Parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, at least annually, during which the compact shall be discussed as the compact relates to the individual child's achievements.
● Frequent reports to parents/guardians on their children's progress.
● Reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child's class, and observation of classroom activities.
Building Capacity
for Involvement
To ensure effective involvement of parents/guardians and to support a partnership among the school's involved, each school shall:
● Provide assistance to parents/guardians of children served in understanding the state's academic content standards and state student academic achievement standards, state and local assessments, monitoring a child's progress, and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children.
● Provide materials and training (such as literacy, technology, et cetera) to help parents/guardians work with their children.
● Educate teachers and other staff in the value and utility of contributions of parents/guardians and how to effectively communicate with and work with parents/guardians as equal partners.
● Implement and coordinate parent/guardian programs that will build ties between them.
● Coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, the Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers Program and public preschool and other programs and conduct other activities, such as parent/guardian resource centers that encourage and support parents/guardians in more fully participating in the education of their children.
● Ensure that information is sent to the parents/guardians of participating children in a format and language that parents/guardians can understand.
● Involve parents/guardians in the development of training for teachers, school principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training.
● Provide necessary literacy training from funds received under this part if the District has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training.
● Pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement activities, including transportation and child care costs to enable parents/guardians to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions.
● Train parents/guardians to enhance the involvement of other parents/
guardians.
● Use outreach programs to involve community groups and organizations.
● Arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between teachers and other educators, in order to maximize parental involvement and participation.
● Adopt and implement model approaches to improving parental involvement.
● Establish a District-wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in supported programs.
● Develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent/guardian involvement activities.
● Provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents/guardians may request.
In carrying out the parental involvement requirements of this compact, the school, to the extent practicable, will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents/guardians with limited English proficiency or disabilities, including providing information and school reports in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents/guardians understand.