Roane County Schools

Policy 227.1 - Parent and Family Engagement

Adopted on July 13, 2023

Effective July 13, 2023

Each Local Educational Agency (LEA) receiving Title I Part A funds shall develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement (PFE) policy that contains information required by Section 1116(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. This policy will establish the LEA's expectations and objectives for meaningful parent and family involvement.

General Expectations

The Roane County School District agrees to implement the following requirements as outlined by ESEA Section 1116: 

• The LEA will put into operation programs, activities, and procedures for the engagement of all families in all of its schools with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with section 1116. Those programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with families of participating children. (Section 1116(a)(1))
• The LEA will work with its Title I schools to ensure that the required school-level parent and family engagement policies meet the requirements of section 1116(b) of the ESEA
• The LEA will work with its Title I schools to ensure that the school-level parent and family engagement policy must include, as a component, a family-school compact consistent with section 1116(d).
• In carrying out the Title I, Part A parent and family engagement requirements to the extent practicable, the LEA and its Title I schools will provide full opportunities for the informed participation of families (including parents families with limited English proficiency, limited literacy, disabilities, of migratory children, who are economically disadvantaged, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background), including providing information and school reports required under Section 1111 of the ESSA in an understandable and uniform format including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand. (Section 1116(a)(2)(D)(i) and 1116(f))
• If the LEA plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1112 of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the families of participating children, the LEA will submit any guardian comments with the plan when the LEA submits the plan to the State Department of Education. (Section 1116(b)(4))
• The LEA will involve the families of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and family engagement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 90 percent of the 1 percent reserved goes directly to the schools. (Section 1116(a)(3)) Funds reserved for PFE activities must be used for at least one of the following activities:

1. Supporting schools and nonprofit organizations in providing professional development for LEA and school personnel regarding PFE strategies, which may be provided jointly to teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, para-professionals, early childhood educators, and parents and family members.
2. Supporting programs that reach parents and family members at home, in the community and at school.
3. Disseminating information on best practices focused on PFE, especially best practices for increasing the engagement of economically disadvantaged parents and family members.
4. Collaborating, or providing subgrants to schools to enable schools to collaborate with community-based organizations or employers with a record of success in improving and increasing PFE.
5. Engaging in any other activities and strategies that the LEA determines are appropriate and consistent with such agency's PFE policy.

• The LEA will be governed by the following statutory definition of parent involvement, and expects that its Title I schools will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition (Section 8101(39): Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student 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 1116 of ESEA.

Description of How the LEA Will Implement Required LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy Components

• The Roane County School District will take the following actions to involve parents and family members in jointly developing its LEA plan under Section 1112, and the development of support and improvement plans under paragraphs (1) and (2) of Section 1111(d) of the ESEA, as applicable. The district and school's policies will be annually reviewed and revised as needed. Roane County Schools will solicit input from LEA Parent Advisory Committee for revisions and will adopt revisions by the county policy adoption process.
• The Roane County School District will provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of all participating schools within the local educational agency in planning and implementing effective parent and family engagement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance, which may include meaningful consultation with employers, business leaders, and organizations, or individuals with expertise in effectively engaging parents and family members in education. The LEA will employee a Parent and Family Engagement Coordinator (PFEC) to support the schools in developing and implementing their activities. Schools are encouraged to hold public meetings, inviting various stakeholders to participate, to provide information and acquire input from the community.
• The Roane County School District will coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies to the extent feasible and appropriate, with other relevant Federal, State, and local laws and programs: Head Start; PK Collaborative; Special Education; Before/After/Summer School Programs; WVU Extension Agency; Roane General Hospital.
• The Roane County School District will conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parent and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all schools served under this part, including identifying:

1. Barriers to greater participation by families in activities authorized by this section (with particular attention to families who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background);
2. The needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and
3. Strategies to support successful school and family interactions

and will use the findings of such evaluation to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement and to revise, if necessary, the parent and family engagement policies. Parents will be surveyed annually to determine whether parent engagement needs are being met. The results will be used to revise the PFE Policy of the schools and district as well as the school compacts. In addition, schools will hold at least three Parent Advisory Committee meetings to acquire feedback.

• The Roane County School District will involve families in the activities of the schools served under Title I, which may include establishing a parent advisory board. The board should comprise of a sufficient number and representative group of parents or family members served by the local educational agency to adequately represent the needs of the population served by such agency for the purposes of developing, revising, and reviewing the parent and family engagement policy. The district will ensure each school establishes a Parent Advisory Committee, holds trainings/family workshops, and involves family volunteers to assist in activities.
• The Roane County School District will build the schools' and families' capacity for strong parental and family engagement to:
• Ensure effective involvement of parents and strong partnership among the schools involved, parents, and communities and
• Improve students' academic achievement.

A. The LEA will, with the assistance of its Title I schools, build parents' capacity for strong family involvement by providing materials and training on such topics as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy) to help families work with their children to improve their children's academic achievement. Assistance will also be provided to families in understanding the following topics:

• The challenging state academic standards;
• The State and local academic assessments, including alternate assessments;
• The requirements of Title I, Part A;
• How to monitor their child's progress; and
• How to work with educators.

Roane County Schools will offer various activities, as appropriate, to address the above that include but not limited to: PFEC; school hosted family math nights; school hosted open house; PK and K support of reading/math literacy; support the home to school communication with an online program that provides parents access to student's classroom academic progress.

B. The Roane County School District will, with the assistance of its schools and families, educate its teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals and other school leaders in the value and utility of contributions of families, and how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate family programs, and build ties between parents and schools by undertaking following activities:

Parent and Family Engagement Coordinator will oversee and provide assistance to school staff to support their knowledge of and efforts toward effective communication with parents. Schools will be encouraged to implement the following: Open House; PTO activities; parent/family ed nights; clothes closets; back pack distribution; conference/training attendance; automated calling system to communicate info to parents; online county and school sites to provide info; include pertinent information in the local paper, text, and parent-teacher conferences.

C. The LEA and each of its Title I schools will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and family-programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the families of participating children in an understandable and informational format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand: 

Communicate information to families utilizing the following options and translated as needed: Automated calling system; Text; Online county and school sites; Local paper; Open house; PTO; parent/family education nights; parent volunteers.

D. The LEA and each of its Title I schools will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate family engagement programs and activities with the following Federal, District, and LEA programs, including public pre-school programs, and conduct other activities, such as family resource centers, that encourage and support families in more fully participating in the education of their children:

               PK Program; Adult Education; parent volunteer program; PFEC; Dolly Parton Library

E. The LEA and each of its Title I schools shall provide such other reasonable support for its family engagement activities as the parents may request.

Discretionary Parent and Family Engagement Policy Components

To build parents' families' capacity for involvement in the school and school system to support their children's academic achievement, the following discretionary activities listed under section 1116(e) of the ESEA will also be implemented:

• Training families to enhance the involvement of other families
• In order to maximize family engagement and participation in their children's education, arranging school meetings at a variety of times 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 family engagement
• Establishing a LEA parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to family engagement in Title I, Part A programs

Adoption

This LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by agendas and sign in sheets from the Parent Advisory Council as well as comments received by Roane County Schools that specifically address this policy.

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