8260 - Programs and Projects Funded by Title I
| Policy: Programs and Projects Funded by Title I | Policy Number: 8260 |
| Date of Original Policy: 07/10/2002 | Date Revision Adopted: 10/14/2020 |
| Reviewed by Policy Committee: 09/16/2020 | Date of Next Review: 09/16/2023 |
| Replacement of Policy Number: |
The Jordan-Elbridge School District believes that a parent is a child’s most significant teacher. Parents, on a day-to-day basis, interact with their children and serve as role models in both action and deed. Realizing that a parent’s role is crucial in the development of a child’s well-being, it is our district’s policy to do all it can to encourage positive parental support to contribute to a child’s social, emotional, and educational growth.
The Jordan-Elbridge School District recognizes the rights of parents/persons in parental relation to be fully informed of all information relevant to their children, including children who participate in programs and projects funded by Title I. Therefore, the Board of Education encourages the participation of parents of students eligible for Title I services in all aspects of their child’s education.
District-Wide Parent Involvement Policy
Consistent with the district’s philosophy and mission statement, a variety of activities to foster the active involvement of parents shall be developed. In order to facilitate parental participation, as outlined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Section 6318(B), the District will:
- Involve parents in the joint development of a Title I application. If the plan is not satisfactory to the parents of children participating in Title I programs, the District will submit any parent comments to the State Education Department along with the District’s plan;
- Provide coordination, technical assistance, and support necessary to assist participating schools n planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance. This may be in the form of science fairs, after school reading programs, homework support/tutoring centers, PARP activities (Parents as Reading Partners) etc.;
- Build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement through implementing and encouraging participation in appropriate parental involvement activities such as those listed above and by encouraging and inviting parents to volunteer in the classrooms, library, and attend district events;
- Coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under Title I with those of other programs including, but not limited to, the Head Start and Universal Pre-K;
- Conduct an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the Title I schools. The evaluation shall include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities under the policy and use the findings of the evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement;
- Inform parents of the activities of the Title I schools in a variety of ways, but not limited to: Student Progress Reports, the District Calendar, the District Newsletters, the District Website, Principal’s Coffees, workshops, and Open House activities. In addition, each grade level team, school, team, and/or department send materials home to parents informing them of academic and behavioral expectations. Each school provides parents with a student handbook;
- Involve parents of children in Title I programs in decisions regarding how funds reserved for parental involvement activities are spent. In accordance with the Shared Decision-making Plan (Commissioners’ Regulation 100.1), parents are involved in the district decision-making process.
School-Level Parent Involvement Policy
In accordance with Section 6318C, the Board of Education directs each school receiving Title I funds to ensure that a building level parental involvement plan is developed with the participation of that school’s parents. In addition to the goals stated above, each school building level plan will describe the details to:
- Convene an annual meeting in conjunction with the schools’ Open House or other school-wide event, at a convenient time, to inform parents of their schools’ participation in Title I programs and to explain Title I requirements and the right of the parents to be involved. All parents of children participating in Title I programs will be invited and encouraged to attend the meeting. The AIS teachers in each school building will send invitations to all parents of eligible children.
- Offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening; and, if necessary, provide transportation, child care or conduct home visits.
- 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 policies.
- Provide parents of participating children with timely information about programs, a description and explanation of the curriculum in use in Title I programs, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, the proficiency levels students are expected to meet, and 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 suggestions as soon as practicably possible. The district will provide parents with AIS brochures and information regarding the services available.
- In addition to the activities engaged in by our school in fostering parental involvement in Title I programs, we will also strive to do the following in a timely manner and as soon as assessment results are available:
o Notify each child’s parents in a timely manner that the child has been selected to participate in Title I, AIS services and why the child has been selected.
o Inform each child’s parents of the specific strengths and weakness that will be addressed with their child.
o Report regularly (at least quarterly) to the parent on the child’s progress.
o Establish conferences between individual parents and teachers or grade level teams.
o Provide materials and suggestions to parents to help them promote the education of their children at home.
o Solicit parents suggestions through surveys and/or questionnaires in the planning, development, and operation of Title I programs.
o Inform each child’s parents of the specific strengths and weakness that will be addressed with their child.
o Report regularly (at least quarterly) to the parent on the child’s progress.
o Establish conferences between individual parents and teachers or grade level teams.
o Provide materials and suggestions to parents to help them promote the education of their children at home.
o Solicit parents suggestions through surveys and/or questionnaires in the planning, development, and operation of Title I programs.
- Develop a school-parent compact jointly with the parents that outlines how the parents, school staff and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and detail the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help all children achieve the state’s standards. The Parent-School Compact will be developed and sent to each parent for signature and return and must include the following: A description of the school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children served in Title I schools to meet the State’s student academic achievement standards.
- To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents and the community in order to improve student academic achievement, the District and each school shall develop ways to:
o Provide assistance to parents of children served by the District or school, in understanding such topics as the State’s academic content standards and the State student academic achievement standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of this part, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children.
o Provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement. This may be in the form of AIS teachers and regular classroom teachers sending free materials home from AIS teachers to help parents reinforce literacy skills;
o Educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contribution of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school.
o Coordinate and integrate to the extent feasible and appropriate, parent involvement programs and activities with Head Start, local library programs and local preschool programs that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children.
o Ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.
o In addition, in carrying out the parental involvement requirements, the District and schools, to the extent practicable, shall 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 6311 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents understand.
o Provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement. This may be in the form of AIS teachers and regular classroom teachers sending free materials home from AIS teachers to help parents reinforce literacy skills;
o Educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contribution of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school.
o Coordinate and integrate to the extent feasible and appropriate, parent involvement programs and activities with Head Start, local library programs and local preschool programs that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children.
o Ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.
o In addition, in carrying out the parental involvement requirements, the District and schools, to the extent practicable, shall 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 6311 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents understand.
Procedures for Filing Complaints/Appeals
The District will disseminate free of charge to parents of children in Title I programs, and to appropriate
private school officials adequate information regarding the District’s written complaint procedures for resolving issues of violations(s) of a Federal statute or regulation that applies to Title I, Part A Programs.
Comparability of Services- Not applicable
The school district shall ensure equivalence among the schools in the District of the same grade span and levels of instruction with regard to teachers, administrators and auxiliary personnel as well as equivalence in the provision of curriculum materials and instructional supplies in Title I programs. In the
Jordan-Elbridge School District there is only one school for each grade span.
Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
20 Unites States Code (USC) Sections 6318 and 6321
34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 74-86 and 97-99, and 200