(pdf format)
Lawrence County School District
Parental Involvement Plan
2012-13
The Lawrence County School District recognizes the need for strong parental involvement in the educational process of our students. In compliance with Act 307 of 2007, Act 397 of 2009, and in conjunction with the General Assembly of the State of Arkansas, the Lawrence County School District has established the following plan.
1. A child's education is the responsibility shared by the school and family the entire time the child spends in school.
2. In order to support the goal of the schools to educate all students effectively, the schools and parents must work as knowledgeable partners.
3. Although parents are diverse in culture, language, and needs, they are an integral component of a school's ability to provide for the educational success of their children.
4. Engaging parents is essential to improve student achievement.
5. Schools should foster and support active parental involvement.
According to Act 307 of 2007 and/or Act 397 of 2009, Arkansas Code § 6-15-1702:
The Lawrence County School District, in collaboration with its parents, established a parental involvement plan which includes programs and practices that enhance parental involvement and reflect the specific needs of our students and their families.
I. The parental involvement program at Lawrence County School District shall:
(A) Involve parents of students at all grade levels in a variety of roles;
(B) Be comprehensive and coordinated in nature;
(C) Recognize that communication between home and school:
(1) Should be regular, two-way, and meaningful.
(2) To encourage communication with parents, each school in the Lawrence County School District shall prepare an informational packet to be distributed annually to the parent of each child in school, appropriate for the age and grade of the child, describing:
(a) Each school of the Lawrence County School District's parental involvement program;
(b) The recommended role of the parent, student, teacher, and school;
(c) Ways for the parent to become involved in the school and his or her child's education;
(d) A survey for the parent regarding his or her interests concerning volunteering at the school;
(e) Activities planned throughout the school year to encourage parental involvement; and
(f) A system, through e-mails, newsletters, phone calls, and notes sent home, to allow the parents and teachers to communicate in a regular, two-way, and meaningful manner with the child's teacher and the school principal.
(3) The school may plan and engage in other activities determined by the school to be beneficial to encourage communication with parents;
II. Responsible Parenting
(A) Promote and support responsible parenting.
(B) To promote and support responsible parenting, the individual schools shall, as funds are available:
(1) Purchase parenting books, magazines, and other informative material regarding responsible parenting through the school library and/or parent center, advertise the current selection, and give parents an opportunity to borrow the materials for review;
(2) Create parent centers; and
(3) Plan and engage in other activities determined by Lawrence County School District to be beneficial to promoting and supporting responsible parenting;
III. Involve parents of students at all grade levels in a variety of roles;
(A) Acknowledge that parents play an integral role in assisting student learning.
(B) To help parents in assisting students, each school in the Lawrence County School District shall:
(1) Schedule regular parent involvement meetings at which parents are given a report on the state of the school and an overview of:
(a) What students will be learning;
(b) How students will be assessed;
(c) What parents should expect for their child's education; and
(d) How a parent can assist and make a difference in his or her child's education;
(2) Provide instruction to a parent on how to incorporate developmentally appropriate learning activities in the home environment, including without limitation:
(a) Role play and demonstration by trained volunteers;
(b) The use of and access to Department of Education website tools for parents;
(c) Assistance with nutritional meal planning and preparation; and
(d) Other strategies or curricula developed or acquired by the schools of the Lawrence County School District for at-home parental instruction approved by the Department of Education; and
(3) Engage in other activities determined by each school of the Lawrence County School District to help a parent assist in his or her child's learning;
IV. Welcome parents into Lawrence County School District and its schools
(A) Seek parental support and assistance.
(B) To welcome parents into the schools of theLawrence County School District, the school shall:
(1) Not have any school policies or procedures that would discourage a parent from visiting the school or from visiting a child's classrooms;
(2) The Parent Center will compile a volunteer resource book listing the interests and availability of volunteers so that Lawrence County School District staff may:
(a) Determine how frequently a volunteer would like to participate, including the option of just one (1) time per year;
(b) Include options for those who are available to help at home; and
(C) Help match school needs with volunteer interests;
(D) Engage in other activities determined by the school to welcome parents into the school;
V. Parents are full partners
(A) Recognize that a parent is a full partner in the decisions that affect his/her child and family.
(B) To encourage a parent to participate as a full partner in the decisions that affect his or her child and family, the school shall:
(1) Include in each school’s policy handbook of the Lawrence County School District, the school's process for resolving parental concerns, including how to define a problem, whom to approach first, and how to develop solutions;
(2) Sponsor seminars to inform the parents of each school of the Lawrence County School District’s students about how to be involved in the decisions affecting course selection, career planning, and preparation for postsecondary opportunities; and
(3) Engage in other activities that the individual school determines will encourage a parent to participate as a full partner in the decisions that affect his or her child and family;
VI. Community Resources
(A) Recognize that community resources strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning;
(B) To take advantage of community resources, the schools of the district shall:
(1) Consider recruiting alumni from the schools of the Lawrence County School District to create an alumni advisory commission to provide advice and guidance for school improvement;
(2) Parent Teacher Association
(a) Each school’s Parent Teacher Association will foster parental and community involvement within the school.
(b) Leaders of this organization shall be utilized in appropriate decisions affecting the children and families.
(3) Engage in other activities that the individual schools of the Lawrence County School District determines will use community resources to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning; and
VII. Support the development, implementation, and regular evaluation of the program to involve parents in the decisions and practices of the individual schools’, using, to the degree possible, the components listed in this section.
(A) The principal of each school of the Lawrence County School District has designated one (1) certified staff member who is willing to serve as a parent facilitator to:
(1) Help organize meaningful training for staff and parents;
(2) Promote and encourage a welcoming atmosphere to foster parental involvement in the school; and
(3) Undertake efforts to ensure that parental participation is recognized as an asset to the school.
(a) The certified staff member serving as a parental facilitator shall receive supplemental pay for the assigned duties as required by law.
(b) The school will compensate a certified teacher.
Section 2. According to Arkansas Code § 6-15-1703 Staff Development, the Lawrence County School District's Parental Involvement Plan:
- The State Board of Education's Standards for Accreditation of Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts shall require:
(A) No fewer than two (2) hours of professional development opportunities for teachers, which may be included in the minimum number of hours of professional development required, designed to enhance understanding of effective parental involvement strategies; and
(B) No fewer than three (3) hours of professional development opportunities for administrators, in addition to the minimum number of hours of professional development required, designed to enhance understanding of:
(1) Effective parent involvement strategies; and
(2) The importance of administrative leadership in setting expectations and creating a climate conducive to parental participation.
- Each school in the Lawrence County School District provides training at least annually for volunteers who assist in an instructional program for parents.
Section 3. Arkansas Code § 6-15-1705 Incorporation of parental involvement into teacher education programs.
The Department of Education and the Department of Higher Education shall collaborate with institutions of higher education to incorporate into teacher and administrator education programs instruction regarding:
(A) The importance of parental involvement; and
(B) Successful strategies for encouraging parents to be partners in their child's education; and
(C) The relationship between cultural diversity and parental involvement.
Appendix D: District wide Parental Involvement Policy
PART I. GENERAL EXPECTATIONS
The Lawrence County School District agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:
- The school district 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 Lawrence County School District will incorporate this district wide parental involvement policy into its LEA plan developed under section 1112 of the ESEA.
- In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the Lawrence County 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 and, 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 Lawrence County School District will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school district submits the plan to the State Department of Education.
- The Lawrence County School District will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parental involvement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools.
- The Lawrence County School District will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and expects that its Title I schools 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 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;
(D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.
- The Center for Effective Parenting serves as the Arkansas State Parent Information & Resource Center (PIRC) which is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education (84.310A). This program involves a multi-target-multimethod approach to improve the developmental progress of children and to improve academic achievement.
The program focuses many of its efforts statewide but has centers in Northwest Arkansas (Jones Center for Families in Springdale) and in Little Rock (UAMS Department of Pediatrics and Arkansas Children’s Hospital). This allows for services to be provided to a broad representation of parents including those from both rural and urban areas, low-income populations, and minority groups.
The AR State PIRC/Center for Effective Parenting is a collaborative project of:
Jones Center for Families http://www.jonesnet.org/
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Arkansas Children's Hospital
PART II. DESCRIPTION OF HOW DISTRICT WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS
1. The Lawrence County School 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 (F). Each school will build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement as explained in ESEA Title I Part A Section 1118(e) (C):
- The principal will provide joint collaboration with parents, community stake holders, and teachers to ensure that parents and community members are actively engaged in contributing to the development of ACSIP.
- Parents will be involved in an organized, ongoing, and timely way in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide plan.
2. The Lawrence County School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA (A):
- Each year the Lawrence County School District will hold an annual meeting to review school programs and improvements.
- Parent volunteers and staff organize and run the school's Parent Teacher Organization and conduct parent involvement meetings. These meetings will help acknowledge that parents play an integral role in assisting student learning and how a parent can assist and make a difference in his or her child's education. Meetings are held once a month. Faculty, staff, students, and parents attend these meetings. These meetings are conducted to provide assistance to parents in understanding content, how to monitor a child's progress; standards, what students will be learning, academic assessments, and to provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve and understand academic achievement for their child's education.
3. The Lawrence County School District 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 student academic achievement and school performance(B):
- The Lawrence County School District offers parental involvement activities through the Walnut Ridge Parent Center. Mrs. Runsick has been hired to coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities. Teachers and parents are able to write out prescriptions for students when necessary and the Mrs. Runsick fills the prescription as she receives them. The Parent Center Coordinator will assist parents in filling academic prescription filled out by the teachers. The Parent Center will provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve. Information packets will be available to parents through parent center and building offices. Tips for parents on how to foster their child's success will be shared with parents. The packets will also contain information to inform parents on how to incorporate developmentally appropriate learning activities in the home environment. Materials are available upon request in the parent center. All information related to school and parent programs will be sent to parents to the extent practical in a language all parents can understand.
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- Lawrence County School District Title I will maintain equipment and previously purchased items for the Parent Center intended for parental involvement and/ or parental training.
- The Parent Center Coordinator will send home a list of parenting books, magazines, etc. that is available to parents through school libraries, and or Parent Center. The Parent Center is also available to provide instruction to a parent on how to incorporate developmentally appropriate learning activities in the home environment. The Parent Center Coordinator will be available to provide reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents may request.
4. The Lawrence County School District will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following other programs: Such as: Head Start, Reading First, and State-operated preschool programs by: Kathy Runsick, Kim Keen, Dyan Heard and/or Lana Jean (D).
- Each year Lawrence County School District offers a volunteer training for parents and members of the community who wish to volunteer their time to the school.
- Lawrence County School District will collaborate with BRAD Head Start to transition students to Lawrence County School District. Teachers and principal will participate in joint transition conferences, and schedule an early spring visit to the campus for pre-school students.
- The principal and counselor will collaborate with Head Start and ABC parents to encourage participation in Pre-Kindergarten Registration/Parent Night. The Lawrence County School District provides parent involvement strategies for parents and students in the public and private preschool programs by providing a day for the parents and students to visit the kindergarten classrooms. Informational packets are sent home with the parents and students.
- Parent Involvement Meetings will be held annually in collaboration with local agencies and community leaders to provide instruction to a parent on how to incorporate developmentally appropriate learning activities in the home environment. Volunteers to speak at these meetings include: Sheriff's office, Mid South Health on ADD/ADHD, and various presentations on health and wellness.
5. Each school in the Lawrence County School District 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 (E).
- The Parent Center Coordinator will evaluate effectiveness of Parental Involvement, the Parental Involvement Policy, and the efficient use of academic and non-academic activities in Parent Center by conducting annual assessments through attendance records, surveys, and test data.
- The Lawrence County School District will evaluate the Parent Center for support of educational programs and encourage Parental Involvement. Program Evaluation: 1. This intervention is designed to ensure that all students have an opportunity to obtain an adequate education and demonstrate proficiency on all portions of the state-mandated assessments. The Parent Center Program helps support educational programs and parental involvement. 2. Students and parents have access to the Parent Center every day for supplemental support and remediation materials as prescribed by teachers or chosen by parents. These items can be checked out for use at home. 3. Parent Center Surveys were placed in Family Kits and none of the surveys were returned. The parent center logged 499 volunteer hours through the Parent Center. The Parent Center had 4 guest speakers. The Parent Center logged 149 hours of indirect services which included volunteers for the fall festival and teacher appreciation luncheon.
- The Lawrence County School District will build the schools’ 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 student academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below:
A. The Lawrence County School District 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 in this paragraph --
- the State’s academic content standards,
- the State’s student academic achievement standards,
- the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments, such as Target Testing,
- the requirements of Part A,
- how to monitor their child’s progress, and
- how to work with educators:
- The WRS Parent Center will be opened daily to give assistance to parents in any or all of these areas. The Parent Center Facilitator, Dyan Heard, who is also the Title I Director for Walnut Ridge Elementary and High School, will also be available to answer questions or schedule meetings.
- Parent volunteers and staff organize and run the school's Parent Teacher Organization and conduct parent involvement meetings. These meetings will help acknowledge that parents play an integral role in assisting student learning and how a parent can assist and make a difference in his or her child's education. Meetings are held once a month. Faculty, staff, students, and parents attend these meetings. These meetings are conducted to provide assistance to parents in understanding content, how to monitor a child's progress; standards, what students will be learning, academic assessments, and to provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve and understand academic achievement for their child's education.
B. The Lawrence County 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:
- Coordination of funds will be used by the Parent Center Facilitator and Coordinator to select and purchase materials necessary to assist parents in helping their children succeed in school.
- A Parent Center Coordinator has been hired to coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities.
- The Parent Center Coordinator and Facilitator will see that all aspects of ACT 307 and ACT 397 are met completely. Perform the following activities in accordance with Parental Involvement ACT 307 and ACT 397: Continue regular, two-way, and meaningful communication between school and home with homework folders, progress reports, phone calls to parents, and two Parent/Teacher conferences. Information packets will be sent home that will include parental involvement policy. These informational packets will be made available throughout the year for parents. All communication to parents is sent to the extent practical in a language the parents can understand.
- The Parent Center Coordinator will assist parents in filling academic prescription filled out by the teachers. The Parent Center will provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve academic achievement.
- The principal will provide opportunities for parents to become partners with the school in promoting the education of the child at school and at home. This will be done by posting educational bulletins on website. The bulletins will be posted electronically monthly and can be downloaded and printed by the parent.
- The Parent Center Coordinator will provide instruction to parents on how to incorporate developmentally appropriate learning activities in the home environments. The Parent Center Coordinator will send home instructions on the use of and access to Department of Education website through the Parent Center website and newsletters.
C. The Lawrence County 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:
- Professional Development will be provided to educate teachers, principals, and other staff in the importance of effective communication, value and utility of contributions of parents. This will be provided in collaboration from our local Coop. Professional Development activities will include 2 hours (3 hours for administrators) in parental involvement as mandated by state standards.
D. The Lawrence County School District 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 more fully participating in the education of their children, by:
- Hold an annual Volunteer Training for volunteers who assist in an instructional program for parents. Parent volunteer handbooks will be handed out to parents by teachers. Results from parent surveys are distributed to teachers with contact information for parent willing to volunteer.
- Walnut Ridge Elementary will collaborate with BRAD Head Start to transition students to Walnut Ridge Elementary. Teachers and principal will participate in joint transition conferences, and schedule an early spring visit to the campus for pre-school students.
- The principal and counselor will collaborate with Head Start and ABC parents to encourage participation in Pre-Kindergarten Registration/Parent Night. The Lawrence County School District provides parent involvement strategies for parents and students in the public and private preschool programs by providing a day for the parents and students to visit the kindergarten classrooms. Informational packets are sent home with the parents and students.
E. The Lawrence County School District 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:
- The Parent Center Coordinator and Facilitator will see that all aspects of ACT 307 and ACT 397 are met completely. Perform the following activities in accordance with Parental Involvement ACT 307 and ACT 397: Continue regular, two-way, and meaningful communication between school and home with homework folders, progress reports, phone calls to parents, and two Parent/Teacher conferences. Information packets will be sent home that will include parental involvement policy. These informational packets will be made available throughout the year for parents. All communication to parents is sent to the extent practical in a language the parents can understand.
PART III. DISCRETIONARY DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS
- involving parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of that training;
- providing necessary literacy training for parents from Title I, Part A funds, if the school district has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for that training;
- paying reasonable and necessary expenses associated with parental involvement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions;
- training parents to enhance the involvement of other parents;
- in order to maximize parental involvement and participation in their children’s education, arranging school meetings at a variety of times, or conducting 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;
- adopting and implementing model approaches to improving parental involvement;
- establishing a district wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in Title I, Part A programs;
- developing appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses, including faith-based organizations, in parental involvement activities; and
- providing other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under section 1118 as parents may request.]
PART IV. ADOPTION
The Lawrence County School Districtwide Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by ______________________.
This policy was adopted by the Lawrence County School District on ______________ and will be in effect for the period of ____________. The school district will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before _________________.
_______________________________
(Signature of Authorized Official)
_______________________________
(Date)
Appendix E: School-Parent Compact
SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT
The Lawrence County School District and the parents of the students participating in activities, services, and programs funded by Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (participating children), agree that this compact outlines how the parents, the entire school staff, and the students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership that will help children achieve the State's high standards.
This school-parent compact is in effect during school year 2009-2010.
REQUIRED SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT PROVISIONS
(provisions in bold type in this section are required to be in the Title I, Part A school-parent compact)
School Responsibilities
The Lawrence County School District K-6 will:
- 1. Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the participating children to meet the State's student academic achievement standards as follows:
- The Lawrence County School District has Highly Qualified Teachers on staff that has the ability to teach their high-quality curriculum and give instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment. This enables our children to meet and/or surpass Arkansas’ ACTAAP achievement standards.
- 2. Hold parent-teacher conferences (at least annually in elementary schools) during which this compact will be discussed as it relates to the individual child's achievement.
Specifically, those conferences will be held:
- Teachers will meet with parents twice a year (on the first Friday after the end of the 1st nine week and the 3rd nine weeks grading periods) at Parent Teacher Conferences to formulate and analyze student's academic growth and finalize AIPs.
3. Provide parents with frequent reports on their children's progress. Specifically, the school will provide reports as follows:
- Students will receive reports of their progress in the middle of each nine week period, report cards at the end of each nine week period. Grades are also posted on Teachers’ web pages.
- 4. Provide parents reasonable access to staff. Specifically, staff will be available for consultation with parents as follows:
- Each staff member has a work period daily to consultant with parents, as needed. Two days are set aside each school year for Parent-Teacher Conferences. If a parent is not able to attend, teachers contact the parent(s) in other ways, such as: phone calls, e-mails, postal mail, etc.
- 5. Provide parents opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child's class, and to observe classroom activities, as follows:
- Parents are always welcome on the Lawrence County School District campus. We hold an annual VOLUNTEER TRAINING for volunteers who assist in an instructional program for parents. Parent volunteer handbooks will be handed out to parents by teachers. Results from parent surveys are distributed to teachers with contact information for parent willing to volunteer.
Parent Responsibilities
We, as parents, will support our children's learning in the following ways:
• Monitoring attendance.
• Making sure that homework is completed.
• Monitoring amount of television their children watch.
• Volunteering in my child's classroom.
• Participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to my children 's education.
• Promoting positive use of my child's extracurricular time.
• Staying informed about my child's education and communicating with the school by
promptly reading all notices from the school or the school district either received by my child or by mail and responding, as appropriate.
• Serving, to the extent possible, on policy advisory groups, such as being the Title I, Part A parent representative on the school's School Improvement Team, the Title I Policy Advisory Committee, the District wide Policy Advisory Council, the State 's Committee of Practitioners, the School Support Team or other school advisory or policy groups.
Student Responsibilities
We, as students, will share the responsibility to improve our academic achievement and achieve the State's high standards. Specifically, we will:
• Do my homework every day and ask for help when I need to.
• Read at least 30 minutes every day outside of school time.
• Give to my parents or the adult who is responsible for my welfare all notices and information received by me from my school every day.]
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Lawrence County School District
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(PLEASE NOTE THAT SIGNATURES ARE NOT REQUIRED)
Addendum
The Lawrence County School District’s parental involvement policy which applies to all parents meets the requirements of Title l, Part A. [§ 1118 of ESEA]
Parent Involvement Policy Requirements
District and School
As required by Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Section 1118)
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District Parent Involvement Policy
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School Parent Involvement Policy/Plan
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Each Title I served district must:
- Develop jointly, agree on with and distribute to parents of Title I served students a written parent involvement policy that must be incorporated into the district’s policy developed under Section 1112.
- Establish the district’s expectation for parent involvement.
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Each Title I served school in a district must:
- Develop jointly, agree on with and distribute to parents of participating students a written parent involvement policy that describes the means for carrying out the policy requirements.
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Each Title I district will:
- Involve parents in–
- The joint development of the policy under Section 1112.
- The process of school review and improvement under Section 1116.
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Each Title I school will:
- Convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children must be invited and encouraged to attend to inform parents of their school’s participation in Title I, the requirements of the program, and the right of the parents to be involved.
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- Provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating schools in the planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance.
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- Offer a flexible number of meetings, such as in the morning or in the evening. Funds may be used to provide transportation, child care, or home visits, as the services relate to parent involvement.
- Build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement as explained in ESEA Title I, Part A Section 1118(e).
- Involve parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide plan. If the school already has a process in place, it may use that process, if it includes an adequate representation of parents of participating children.
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- Coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies with parent involvement strategies under other programs, such as:
- Head Start
- Reading First
- Early Reading First
- Even Start
- Parents as Teachers
- Home Instruction
- Preschool Youngsters
- State-run preschools
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- Provide parents of participating children:
- Timely information about Title I programs.
- 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.
- 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 to respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possibly. If the schoolwide plan is unsatisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit parent comments when the school makes the plan available to the district.
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- Conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the school served including:
- Identifying barriers to greater participation of parents in Title I-related activities, with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged or disabled, and parents who have limited English proficiency, limited literacy, or any racial or ethnic minority background. Revise the policy where necessary to address ways to overcome identified barriers.
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E. As a component of the school parent involvement policy development, each school served shall jointly develop with parents of served children a school-parent compact that outlines how:
- Parents, the entire staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high standards.
- The school will provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children served to meet the state’s academic achievement standards.
- Each parent will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning; and participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children and positive extracurricular time.
The compact will also address the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an on-going basis through, at a minimum:
- Parent-teacher conference in elementary schools, at least annually, during which the compact must be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievement.
- Frequent reports to parents on their children’s progress.
- Reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class, and observation of classroom activities.
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- Involve parents in the activities of the schools served under this part. (Section 1118(a)(2) of ESEA)
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Provided by Arkansas Department of Education
Copies of the Parent Involvement Plan will be located for dissemination at the Parent Center and the Elementary, Middle, and High School Offices. They will also be available along with the Family Kits during Parent/Teacher Conferences. The Parental Involvement Plan can also be found on the school’s website at
http://www.bobcats.k12.ar.us/view/parental-involvement-plan