Title I School Parent and Family Engagement Plan

School: Lurgan Elementary

Date reviewed:  September 5, 2024

The Title I Parent and Family Engagement section of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Section 1116(b) requires each Title I school to develop a written parent and family engagement policy that describes the means for carrying out the requirements of Section 1116. The school must ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings and other activities are sent to the parents of Title I children in a format and in a language the parents can understand.  

The policy must be:

• developed jointly with and agreed upon by parents and family members of Title I children;
• written in an understandable format and provided in a language parents can understand;
• distributed to all parents and family members of Title I children;
• made available to the local community; and
• updated annually to meet the changing needs of parents, family members, and the school.

The policy describes how parents and family members will be involved in the planning, review, and improvement of the school's Parent and Family Engagement Policy (ESSA, Section 1116(b)(1)).

At Lurgan,

Our district Title I beginning-of-the-year family meeting information will be shared electronically. Families will be able to offer input regarding the Parent and Family Engagement Plan via email with the building level Title I specialist.

The policy states that the school will convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time;

• which all parents and family members of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend;
• to inform parents of their schools’ participation as a Title I school; and
• to explain the requirements and the rights for parents to be involved (ESSA, Section 1116(c)(1)).

At Lurgan,

• Title I information will be communicated electronically to families via Class Dojo and will also be posted on the school’s website. 
• This information will include what the Title I program is and explain the services and resources available to all Lurgan students. 

The policy states that the school will offer a flexible number of meetings in the morning and/or the evening (ESSA, Section 1116(c)(2)).

At Lurgan,

• Various meetings will be held throughout the year, including:

• Parent-Teacher Conferences during Fall and Spring to be held in person and/or virtually as needed.
• Additional events for Title 1 students and families will occur throughout the school year.

The policy states that the school will involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of the Title I program, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s parent and family engagement program (ESSA, Section 1116(c)(3)).

The policy describes how the school will provide parents of participating children with timely information about the Title I program (ESSA, Section 1116(c)(4)(A)).

At Lurgan,

The Title 1 family information electronically communicated at the beginning of the school year will provide an overview of all Title 1 services, Federal funding requirements, and additional pertinent information.

The policy describes how the school will provide parents of participating children with a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress, and the achievement levels of the challenging state academic standards (ESSA, Section 1116(c)4)(B)).

At Lurgan,

• All Parent and Family Engagement events will focus on the curriculum and state standard expectations, providing parents/families with suggestions of how they can support their children at home in meeting these expectations.
• Teachers will provide additional information to parents in regards to standards, curriculum, and assessments during parent-teacher conferences in the Fall and Spring.

The policy states that the school will provide, 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 (ESSA, Section 1116(c)(4)(C)).

At Lurgan,

• Parents and families can communicate with staff via multiple ways: email, telephone, Class Dojo, etc.
• The staff will respond in a timely manner.
• The teacher, interventionist and/or principal will do their best to accommodate meeting times (including virtual meetings) that will be best for the parents and families of the students.
• Meetings will stay solutions focused.
• Student concern meetings are held when the need arises to address academic needs of students.

The policy states how the school will involve parents and family members in the joint development of the Schoolwide Program Plan under Section 1114 per ESSA (ESSA, Section 1116(5)). Applies only to Title I schools operating a Schoolwide Program.

At Lurgan,

A meeting will be held around the middle of the year in order to review/revise/develop the Schoolwide Plan.  Parents/families are invited to give their input to the Schoolwide Plan when it is developed.  

The policy states that a school-parent compact will be jointly developed with parents and family members. The compact outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share in the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and the parents will build and develop partnerships to help children achieve the state’s high standards. The compact shall:

• describe the school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children served under this part to meet the challenging state academic standards, and the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning; volunteering in their child’s classroom; and participating, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children and positive use of extracurricular time (ESSA, Section (d)(1));
• address the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum:
• parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, at least annually, during which the compact shall be discussed as the compact 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; and ensuring regular two-way, meaningful communication between family members and school staff, and, to the extent practicable, in a language that family members can understand (ESSA, Section 1116(d)(2)(A-D)).

At Lurgan,

• The compact will be shared with faculty at the beginning of the school year and staff will be invited to offer suggestions and make changes to the compact.
• Parents will have the opportunity to review the compact at the beginning of the year via the virtual Title 1 meeting as well as Class Dojo and will have the opportunity to offer suggestions.

• The compact will be posted on the school website.

The policy states how the school will provide assistance to parents and family members in understanding the challenging state academic standards, state and local academic assessments, and how to monitor a child's progress and work with teachers to improve the achievement of their children (ESSA, Section 1116(6)(e)(1)).

The policy states how the school will 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 education about the harms of copyright piracy, as appropriate, to foster parent involvement (ESSA, Section 1116(6)(e)(1)).

At Lurgan,

• Teachers, instructional specialists, and administrators will collaborate to examine data and determine what strategies/skills students need.
• Teachers and/or instructional specialists will hold virtual meetings throughout the year to present these strategies/skills and to train parents/families in ways they can support their children at home with these strategies/skills.
• Materials and supports necessary for these trainings will be provided through PFE funds.

The policy states how the school will educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents and family members, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents and family members as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and family members and the school (ESSA, Section 1116(6)(e)(3)).

At Lurgan,

• We will annually review the materials provided by the district Title I department regarding the strengthening of the home to school connection.
• The materials may be reviewed in a faculty meeting and discussed more thoroughly in PLCs.

The policy states how the school will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with other federal, state, and local programs, including public preschool programs, and conduct other activities that encourage and support parents and family members in more fully participating in the education of their children (ESSA, Section 1116(6)(e)(4)).

At Lurgan,

• We utilize the services of Franklin County Healthy Communities Partnership.
• The Elementary Student Assistance Program (ESAP) can help students experiencing barriers to learning and success. The ESAP team at Lurgan will help parents find services and assistance within the school, and if needed, in the community. ESAP can help students and families form a plan and see the next steps to move forward.
• In Check & Connect, the "Check" component refers to the process where mentors systematically monitor student performance variables (e.g., absences, tardies, behavioral referrals, grades), while the "Connect" component refers to mentors providing personalized, timely interventions to help students solve problems, build skills, and enhance competence. Mentors work with their students and families for at least two years, functioning as liaisons between home and school and striving to build constructive family-school relationships.

The policy states how the school will ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents and family members of participating children in a format and to the extent practicable, in a language the parents and family members can understand (ESSA, Section 1116(6)(e)(5)).

At Lurgan,

• Invitations, newsletters, documents, and other correspondence is translated by submitting them to the district translator via email (translation.requests@casdonline.org)
• An interpreter will be present at all Parent and Family Engagement events where interpreter services have been requested.
• If an interpreter is unavailable, Language Line will be used to communicate with families that speak another language.
• Before translation, staff will thoroughly review documents to ensure that, when translated, the information provided still assists the parents and families.

The policy states how the school, to the extent practicable, will provide opportunities for the informed participation of parents and family members (including parents and family members who have limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory children) (ESSA, Section 1116(7)(f)).

How will the school include parents and family members of English Learners?

At Lurgan,

• All families will be provided with the same invitations, training, documents, and other materials.
• Every family is valuable and will therefore receive quality events from the Lurgan staff and Title I department.
• Communication between the ESL supervisor, Parent and Family Liaison, and Federal Programs coordinator with the Lurgan faculty will ensure that the families of ELL students will receive the best programming possible.
• The Title 1 teacher and ESL teacher will communicate to coordinate events and ensure information is reaching all ELL families.
• An interpreter will be present at all Parent and Family Engagement events where interpreter services have been requested. If an interpreter is unavailable, Language Line will be used for interpretation services.