Family Engagement is an ongoing process that fosters active participation, communication, and collaboration among parents, schools, and communities to educate the whole child, ensuring student achievement and success. It means the participation of parents in regular two-way and meaningful communication involving students' academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:

• Families play a vital role in supporting their child’s learning.
• Families are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school.
• Families 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.

• The carrying out of other activities, such as those described in Section 1116 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, the Colquitt County School District (CCSD) has developed this Parent and Family Engagement Plan that establishes the district’s expectations for meaningful family engagement and guides the strategies and resources that strengthen school and parent partnerships in the district’s Title I schools. This plan outlines CCSD’s commitment to engaging families in their children’s education and to building the capacity in its Title I schools to implement family engagement strategies and activities designed to achieve the district's and students' academic achievement goals.

When schools, families, and communities collaborate to support learning, children tend to perform better, stay in school longer, and enjoy their educational experience more. Title I, Part A provides for substantive family engagement at every program level, including the development and implementation of district and school plans, as well as the implementation of district and school improvement provisions. Section 1116 of ESSA contains the primary Title I, Part A requirements for schools and school systems to involve parents and family members in their children’s education. CCSD will work with its Title I schools to ensure that the required school-level parent and family engagement plans meet federal law requirements, and each includes, as a component, a school-parent compact.

All parents were invited to provide suggestions and ideas to improve the District Parent and Family Engagement Plan for the 2025-2026 school year. The system obtained parent input from school-based spring input meetings, surveys, and feedback forms posted on the district website. Parents are notified of opportunities to participate in at least two ways, including the District and School websites, school social media sites, flyers, the SchoolNow Parent App (text and email notifications), and Infinite Campus Messaging.

The District Parent and Family Engagement Plan was incorporated into the CLIP and submitted to the state upon final revision. Parents are welcome to submit comments and feedback regarding the policy at any time on the school district website or by submitting written comments to their child’s school. All feedback will be considered when revising the plans for the upcoming school year.

The updated District Parent and Family Engagement plan will be posted on the district and school websites, distributed during the annual Title I school meetings, and available at each school’s Parent Resource Center and the District Office Central Enrollment Center.

The CCSD Title I Family Engagement Coordinator will support all Title I schools in meeting federal, state, and district requirements for family engagement. The District Title I Family Engagement Coordinator will also work closely with school-level Family Engagement Coordinators to implement family engagement strategies and activities that support the specific needs of their respective schools. Schools will receive regular notifications and resources from the District’s Parent Engagement Coordinator to help them improve and strengthen family engagement. In addition to frequent communication and school visits, the Family Engagement Coordinator will hold quarterly meetings and training sessions with each school-level Family Engagement Coordinator to review family engagement plans and activities, and guide building staff capacity in Parent and Family Engagement. CCSD Federal Programs staff will host ongoing meetings with all Title I Principals, Title I Teachers, and Title I Family Engagement Coordinators to review Parent and Family Engagement compliance requirements and activities.

The CCSD will reserve one percent of the total amount of Title I, Part A funds it receives in FY25 to carry out the Family Engagement requirements listed in this plan and as described in Section 1116 of the ESSA. Furthermore, CCSD will distribute 90 percent of the amount reserved to all Title I schools to support their local-level family engagement programs and activities. The district will provide clear guidance and communication to assist each Title I school in developing an adequate family engagement budget that addresses their needs assessment and parent recommendations.

Each Title I school will host a Spring Input Meeting and conduct a parent survey to gather input and suggestions on how these parental engagement funds will be used in the upcoming year at the district and school level. The district and schools will review feedback forms and notes from these meetings to determine areas of need for the upcoming school year and consider changes to the family engagement budget.

Input and suggestions from parents, family members, and community partners are essential components of the improvement plans that are developed each year. All parents are invited to attend various meeting opportunities to share their ideas and suggestions to help us reach our students' academic achievement goals. Parents will be notified in at least two ways including, District and School websites, social media, flyers, SchoolNow Parent App (text and email), and Infinite Campus Messaging.

Opportunities include:

Title I Annual Meetings- Fall

Families can learn about their right to be involved in their child’s education, the school’s Title 1 Program, and other programs, events, opportunities, and available resources.

Annual Parent Survey - Spring

Parent  input on the use of Title I funds to support family engagement programs will be provided through the annual district survey. The survey will contain questions related to the family engagement budget, welcoming climate, academic support, shared decision making and building the capacity of school staff.

Input Planning Meetings – Spring

Input meetings will be held at the district and each school. Parents can hear the latest updates, review and provide input into the District and School Family Engagement Plans, the CLIP, and the Schoolwide Improvement Plan/Title 1 Targeted Assistance Plan for the 2025-2026 school year.

CCSD will build school and parent capacity for strong family engagement. This capacity will ensure the effective engagement of parents and family members in supporting partnerships among Title I schools, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement.

To build this capacity, the CCSD will implement the activities outlined below.

For Parents and Families

• Sharing information with parents on the Georgia Standards of Excellence, state and local academic assessments, including the Georgia Milestones, and the required assessments for students, including assessments for parents of children receiving ESOL services.
• Schools will offer family-focused, academically based parent workshops/activities to meet capacity building requirements. These capacity-building events must provide families with useful strategies that are linked to learning and are aligned with goals identified by the school.
• The District’s Title I Family Engagement webpage, as well as each Title I school’s webpage, will contain additional information, including parent guides and effective strategies to assist parents in supporting their children at home. Copies of these materials will be made available by request for parents who may have limited internet access and those needing translated versions.
• Collaborating with our local Pre-K, Early Learning,  Literacy Programs, and participating in Technical & Post-Secondary Schools to share school information to help prepare parents and their child(ren) for transitions into elementary, middle, high, and beyond.
• Ensuring that all information is available to parents in a clear and understandable format, such as flyers, newsletters, calendars, and information posted on the district and school websites. Parent notifications and resources will be sent home in the parents’ native language, where applicable and feasible. Interpreters may also be available at parent meetings. The information posted on the district website can be translated into Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Parents will be notified via District and School websites, school social media sites, flyers, SchoolNow Parent App (email and text), and Infinite Campus Messaging.
• All schools will hold an Annual Title 1 meeting to inform parents about the purpose, goals, guidelines, and expectations of the Title 1 program.

For School Staff

• CCSD will provide ongoing support to School-level Family Engagement Coordinators and Principals to communicate and build partnerships with families.
• School-level Family Engagement Coordinators will conduct four trainings during the school year for administration and school staff that encourage a welcoming atmosphere, open communication, support for EL families and ways to promote family engagement.
• Training staff on parent notifications and resources to be sent home to parents.

Each year, CCSD Federal Programs will evaluate the content and effectiveness of this Parent and Family Engagement Plan and the family engagement activities to improve the academic quality of the Title I schools through a Parent Input Meeting and the School Improvement Forums (virtually and/or in-person).

Each Title I school will provide parents with opportunities to offer valuable feedback on the Parent and Family Engagement activities and programs throughout the school year. This opportunity will also be posted on the District and School websites and social media sites for parents to provide feedback. Each Title I school will also utilize the School Improvement Forum to facilitate group discussions with parents of children eligible for Title I services, aiming to design strategies for more effective family engagement.

The CCSD will use the findings from the school forums and the input results to design strategies to improve effective family engagement, remove possible barriers to parent participation, and revise its parent and family engagement plans.

In carrying out the Parent and Family Engagement requirements established by Section 1116 of the ESSA, the District Family Engagement Coordinator will communicate and collaborate with the Special Education and ESOL Departments to ensure full opportunities for participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children including providing information and school reports in a language parents can understand.

Upcoming Family Engagement Opportunities

• CLIP and parent, family, and community input meetings: Spring 2026; in addition to multiple other input opportunities for all stakeholders between August 2025 and May 2026
• Annual Parent Surveys - Spring 2026
• School Parent Input Meetings- Spring 2026
• School Parent and Family Engagement events and activities (check your school parent events calendars, compacts, and Parent and Family Engagement Plans August 2025 – May 2026)

This District Family Engagement Plan has been developed jointly and agreed upon with the parents of

children participating in all schools, including Title I Part A programs, as evidenced by the collaboration

of parents, school, and district personnel.

This plan was adopted by the Colquitt County School District (CCSD) Federal Programs Department on June 5, 2025, and will be in effect for the 2025-2026 academic school year. The district will make the plan available to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children by October 31, 2025.

Thank you, Colquitt County Schools parents, families, and school community, for your valuable input, which helped to develop this Parent and Family Engagement Plan jointly. Staying engaged in your child’s education and the decision-making process for schools and the district is vital to our success. If at any time during the year, you have additional comments or feedback regarding this plan or other matters relating to your school and district Parent and Family Engagement Programs, feel free to contact the Federal Programs Department via phone, email, or by mailing the form below. We look forward to working with you to educate the whole child and ensure student achievement and success.

As your partner in education, we have provided this menu of resources to help you and your child get the most out of their educational experience with the Colquitt County School District at

Parent and Family Engagement | Families (colquitt.k12.ga.us)

Registration, Calendars, School Nutrition Program, School Locator, Student Programs, Athletics, District Forms, School Counselors, and many more resources.

Stakeholder Input Comments                                                                           Date _________________________

• Please contact me regarding my concern/comment.
• Phone ____________________________   Email: _________________________________

Name: ___________________________________________________________ (Please Print)

I am a: __ Parent    __Family Member    __School Staff Member    __ Community Member.

My child attends ___________________________________________ School

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Comments may be mailed or emailed to the following:

Federal Programs Department
710 Lane Street/P.O. Box 2708 | Moultrie, Georgia 31768/31776 | 229-890-6200
mary.beth.montgomery@colquitt.k12.ga.us

Colquitt County Title I Schools