Tommy Smith Elementary 

20-21 Parent and Family Engagement Plan

 The Parent and Family Engagement Plan (PFEP) must be jointly developed with parents and must be distributed to parents in an understandable and uniform format, and in the language parents can understand. It must be made available for the community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of the parents and the school. [Section 1116(b)]. 

 Instructions: Describe the means by which the school will carry out the ESSA requirements below. 

1. POLICY INVOLVEMENT

 A. By what means will the school conduct a Title I Annual Meeting (convened at a convenient time, to which all parents are invited and encouraged to attend) to inform parents of their school’s participation in Title I, the requirements of Title I, and the right of parents to be involved [Section 1116(c)(1)]? 

Tommy Smith will hold our annual Title I meeting in conjunction with our open house. This usually takes place within the first two weeks of September. We will inform parents through email, Overbridge alerts, DOJO messages, social media, newsletters, and flyers. We will begin advertising the time and date in August, and the day before the meeting, we will make another Overbridge alert. Tommy Smith will hold our Title I Annual Meeting 30 minutes prior to our Open House.

 B. By what means will the school involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of the PFEP [Section 1116(c)(3)]?  All parents are encouraged to complete our Title I survey via paper or online. The results of the survey are tallied and shared with our faculty in May where they can provide ideas on how to improve our PFEP for next year. An evaluation of the current PFEP is conducted during a SAC meeting. Based on the evaluation and survey results, revisions to the plan are made for the following school year. The plan will be reviewed throughout the year with the SAC committee to make any necessary changes and revisions based on the needs of all stakeholders.

 C. By what means will the school involve parents in the joint development of the School Improvement Plan [Section 1116(c)(3)]?  During a SAC meeting, the results from a comprehensive needs assessment is discussed. Strategies from the current SIP are reviewed, and revisions are made based on barriers, needs, and stakeholder input.

 D. By what means will the school provide parents opportunities, if requested, for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in making decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible [Section 1116(c)(4)(C)]?  Parents have opportunities that include, but are not limited to: Evaluation forms at Title I nights and events, IEP/504 meetings, parent-teacher conferences, SAC meetings, CST meetings- Appropriate and practical suggestions will be implemented in a timely manner.

 E. If the School Improvement Plan is not satisfactory to the parents, by what means will the school provide parents an opportunity to submit comments with the plan when it is submitted to the district [Section 1116(c)(5)]?  Parents who are not satisfied with the school improvement plan will complete a form to be submitted with the plan to the district.

2. BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVOLVEMENT

 In Table A, list the activities that will address topics F - J.                                                                      F. Assist parents in understanding:

• State academic standards;
• State and local academic assessments;
• requirements of Title I;
• monitoring a child’s progress; and
•  work with educators to improve the achievement of their children [Section 1116(e)(1)] 

G. Description and explanation of:

• Curriculum in use at the school [Section 1116(4)(B)]

H. Description and explanation of:

•  Academic assessments used to measure student progress [Section 1116(4)(B)]? 

  I. Description and explanation of:

•  Achievement levels of the State academic standards that students are expected to obtain [Section 1116(4)(B)] 

J. Provide materials and training to:

•  help parents work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including the harms of copyright piracy), to foster parental involvement [Section 1116(e)(2)]  (LEA note: this includes Parent Portal training)

Table A - 

Parent Training Opportunities

 List all activities for requirements F through J and transition activities that involve parents  .

*To be updated throughout the year.                                                                                                                Table B - Other Events/Activities

 Other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children [Section 1116(e)(4)]. 

*To be updated throughout the year

 K. By what means will the school educate the faculty, staff, and administrators, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions 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 [Section 1116(e)(3)]? Based on our 18-19 Title 1 survey, parents felt teachers could benefit from strategies pertaining to reaching out to them and communicating. 

 L. To the extent feasible, by what means will the school coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs that encourage and support parents in participating in the education of their children [Section 1116(e)(4)]?  We will provide information to our Pre K parents about our events and expectations at school to provide a more inclusive environment and also to promote a smooth transition from Pre K to K.

 M. By what means will the school provide other reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents may request [Section 1116(e)(13)]? (Based on the Title I Spring Parent Survey results, what activities did the parents request that are included in this plan?)  Based on the Title I Spring Survey results, parents have stated that they would like more help in understanding our Math (Eureka) curriculum as well as understanding their child’s progress monitoring results. We will hold a meeting in the beginning of the year to discuss multiple ways to monitor their child’s progress, both behaviorally and academically. During our planned activities, we will discuss the tools and resources available for parents to understand curriculum and monitor progress.

 N. Elementary Only - How will the school ensure that teachers conduct a parent-teacher conference for individual students at least annually, during which the compact is discussed [Section 1116 (d)(2)(A)]?  Parents will be encouraged at Open House to sign up for parent-teacher conferences throughout the year. Substitutes for teachers will also be provided as necessary to assist in scheduling parent-teacher conferences.

 O. Optional – How will the school develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities [Section 1116(e)(13)]? 

 P. Optional – By what means will the school involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of the training [Section 1116(e)(6)]? 

 Q. Optional – By what means will the school provide literacy training for parents if the LEA has exhausted all other sources of funding [Section 1116(e)(7)]? 

 R. Optional – By what means will the school pay reasonable and necessary expenses, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions [Section 1116(e)(8)]?  Refreshments and activities will be provided for meetings to encourage more parental involvement.

 S. Optional – By what means will the school train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents [Section 1116(e)(9)]?  We will ask our regular parent volunteers to encourage other parents to be involved in the classroom, field trips, SAC, and PTO.

 T. Optional – By what means will the school conduct in-home conferences for parents who are unable to attend at school [Section 1116(e)(10)]? 

 U. Optional – By what means will the school adopt and implement model approaches to improve parent involvement [Section 1116(e)(11)]? 

3. ACCESSIBILITY

 V. By what means will the school provide opportunities for informed participation of parents and family members (including parents and family members with limited English proficiency, with disabilities, and parents of migratory children). [Section 1116(f)]? (List the barriers identified by parents in the Title I Spring Survey and the methods by which the school will assist to overcome the barriers.)  Based on the Title I Spring Parent Survey results, work schedule was listed as the top barrier to participation. We plan to offer morning and evening events to give every parent an opportunity to participate.

 W. By what means will the school ensure that information related to school and parent programs, school reports, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents in a format and in a language the parents can understand [Section 1116(e)(5) and (f)]?  All school communications are translated for ELL families and students. Google translate is an option for communication, and our new ADA approved website will translate all uploaded documents. Bilingual district staff is available to assist with conferences and phone calls when applicable.

 X. By what means will the school offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening to accommodate parents’ schedules [Section 1116(c)(2)]?  Based on the Spring Parent Survey responses, the majority of parents indicated that after school or evenings are the best times for meetings. This will be taken into consideration when scheduling events.

 Y. By what means will the school provide parents with timely information about meetings, activities, and events [Section 1116(c)(4)(A)].  A minimum of 1 week notice will be our school policy. This will give parents an opportunity to save the date. Various methods of communication such as the newsletter, peach jar, social media, and IRIS alerts will be utilized to inform parents to ensure the highest level of participation.

Title I Expenditures Parent and Family Engagement