Admin

Parental Involvement Policy

POLICY

Hamilton Township
Board of Education
Section: Program
2415.04. TITLE I-DISTRICT-WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT (M)
Date Created: February, 2004
Date Edited: March, 2011

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GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

 

The Hamilton Township School District (HTSD) will put into operation programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents in all of its schools with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with Section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  Those programs, activities, and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.

 

Consistent with Section 1118, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level parental involvement policies meet the requirements of Section 1118(b) of the ESEA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with Section 1118(d) of the ESEA.

 

The HTSD will incorporate this District-Wide Parental Involvement Policy into its school district’s plan developed under Section 1112 of the ESEA.

 

In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under Section 1111 of the ESEA in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.

 

If the school district’s 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 New Jersey Department of Education.

 

In the event the school district is required to reserve and spend at least one percent of the district’s Title I, Part A allocation, the school district will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how these funds will be spent and will ensure that not less than ninety-five percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools.

 

 

The HTSD will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and expects Title I schools in the district will carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this definition:

 

Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving pupil academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring-

 

1.         That parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;

 

2.         That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;

 

3.         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

 

4.         The carrying out of other activities, such as those described in Section 1118 of the ESEA.

 

In the event the State of New Jersey or the New Jersey Department of Education has a Parental Information and Resource Center, the school district will inform parents and parental organizations of its purpose and existence.

 

The Shaner, Hess and Davies Schools, each served with Title I funds shall jointly develop with, and distribute to, parents of participating pupils, this parental involvement policy, agreed on by such parents, that shall describe the means for carrying out the requirements of No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, §1119(a) through (f).  Parents will be notified of this policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language the parents can understand.  This policy shall be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and schools within the district.

 

Below is a description of how the district will implement or accomplish each of the following components outlined below (Section 1118(a)(2), ESEA):

 

1.         The district will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district-wide parental involvement plan under Section 1112 of the ESEA:

 

a.         Convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating pupils shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of their school’s participation and the requirements of this Policy, and the right of the parents to be involved.

 

b.         Offer a flexible number of meetings ,such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with Title I funds, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement.

 

2.         HTSD will take the following action to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under Section 1116 of the ESEA: 

 

a.         Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy and the joint development of the school-wide program plan under NCLB,  §1114(b)(2).

 

 

3.         HTSD will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve pupil academic achievement and school performance:

 

a.         timely information about programs required by NCLB, §1118.

 

b.         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.

 

c.         if requested by parents, 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 such suggestion as soon as practicably possible.

 

4.         HTSD will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following other programs: 

 

a.         English Language Learner Program

 

b.         School to Parent Initiative

 

c.         Special Education Advisory Committees

 

d.         No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Planning Committee

 

e.          School-Based Principal Advisory Committee

 

 

5.         HTSD will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this Parental Involvement Policy in improving the quality of its Title I, Part A schools.  The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parental involvement activities (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 school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its Parental Involvement Policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents) its parental involvement policies.

 

a.         An evaluation conducted through a parent survey and a school personnel survey, as well as through round-table discussions involving both parents and school personnel.

 

b.         Collaboration between the Title I Director, the English Language Learner Program Director, the District’s School-to-Parent Initiative Facilitator, the Coordinator and the Building Principal’s from all schools.

 

c.         Parents as active participants throughout the entire process.

 

The Hamilton Township School District (HTSD) will build the school’s and parent’s capacity for strong parental involvement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve pupil academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below: 

 

1.         HTSD will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described below:

 

•           New Jersey’s academic content standards;

 

•           New Jersey’s pupil academic achievement standards;

 

•           The New Jersey and local academic assessments including alternate assessments;

 

•           The requirements of Part A;

 

•           How to monitor their child’s progress; and

 

•           How to work with educators.

 

Activities such as workshops, conferences, classes, both in-State and out-of-State, including any equipment or other materials that may be necessary to ensure success will be provided.

 

 

2.         The school district will, with the assistance of its schools, provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement, such as literacy training, and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement, by:

 

a.         facilitating parental involvement meetings at least three times per year

 

b.         opening the schools’ doors after-hours in collaboration with the Community Education Director in an effort to provide the parents access to technology

 

c.         providing educational workshops for the parents in regards to their children’s education

 

3.         The school district will, with the assistance of its schools and parents, educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, Principals and other staff in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools, by:

 

a.         Proving in-house workshops

 

b.         Providing educational literature

 

c.         Conducting monthly school-based meetings facilitated by the building Basic Skills Coordinator

 

d.         Proving funding for out-of-district workshops

 

 

4.         HTSD will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers Program, and public preschool and other programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in fully participating in the education of their children, by:

 

a.       Including parents in school-based activities such as but not limited to: Open House, Back to School Night, American Education Week, Parent-Teacher Conferences and special school celebrations.

 

5.         HTSD will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand:

 

a.   Mailing the policy to the homes of the students

b.      Posting the policy on the district web-site

c.       Placing it on the informational parent table in each school

d.      Discussing it at appropriate school related functions (Back to School Night, Title One Meetings, Principal Advisory Meeting, etc.)

 

1.         May provide necessary literacy training from Title I funds if the school district has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training;

 

2.         May pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions;

 

3.         May train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents;

 

4.         May arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents who are unable to attend those conferences at school, in order to maximize parental involvement and participation;

 

5.         May adopt and implement model approaches to improving parental involvement;

 

6.         May establish a district-wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in Title I programs;

 

7.         May develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parental involvement activities; and

 

8.         Shall provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this Policy as parents may request.

 

 

ADOPTION

 

This District-Wide Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly, and agreed on with parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs.  This Policy will be distributed to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents understand, at the beginning of each school year or when the child is determined eligible and begins participating in Title I, Part A programs.

 

 

United States Department of Education Non-Regulatory Guidance – Appendix D- District-Wide Parental Involvement Policy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adopted: 3 Feb 2004

Revised: 15 Dec 2009

Revised: 20 Jan 2010

Revised: 1March 2011

 


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