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. This policy was/is: - 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 Governor Mifflin School District invites parents to be partners and decision-makers in their children’s educational programs. This parent involvement policy was developed with the help of the teachers and parents of Mifflin Park Elementary School students. Through the Title I federally funded school-wide reading program, Mifflin Park is committed to the participation of parents and families in the educational process of their children.
To endorse this partnership of the School-wide Title I Program, Governor Mifflin School District Mifflin Park Elementary School will: - Involve parents in the review and improvement of the Mifflin Park Elementary School’s Parent and Family Engagement Policy (ESSA, Section 1116(b)(1) by providing families with the opportunity to give feedback and assist in updating the plan.
- Convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, in which all families shall be invited, and encouraged to attend; inform families of their school’s participation as a Title I school; and explain the requirements, and the rights for parents to be involved (ESSA, Section 1116(c)(1)).
- Invite parents and families to participate in various literacy events throughout the year and will offer a flexible number of meeting dates and times (ESSA, Section 1116(c) (2)).
- 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 Mifflin Park’s Parent and Family Engagement Program (ESSA, Section 1116(c)(3)).
- Provide parents with timely information about the Title I program through annual meetings and digital communication (ESSA, Section 1116(c) (4) (A)).
- Provide parents with a description and explanation of curriculum and academic assessments, as well as the achievement levels of the PA Core Standards, during Back to School Night programs and parent teacher conferences. In addition, parents will be informed about 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)).
- Meet with parents during conferences, throughout the year, to discuss student progress and formulate suggestions in decisions relating to the education of their children, responding to suggestions in a timely manner and as soon as practicably possible(ESSA, Section 1116(c)(4)(C)).
- Involve parents and family members in the joint development of the Governor Mifflin Mifflin Park Elementary School Schoolwide Program Plan under Section 1114 per ESSA (ESSA, Section 1116(5)) by providing families with plan updates and allowing for parent feedback and input.
- The Mifflin Park School-Parent Compact will be jointly developed with parents and family members through the use of family input surveys. The compact outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share in the responsibility for improved student academic achievement. This document will also address the means by which the school, and the parents, will build and develop partnerships to help children achieve the state’s high standards.
- 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; 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)).
- Provide assistance to parents and family members in understanding the challenging academic standards, assessments, and monitoring of a child’s progress through Conferences, Family Literacy Events, and Back-to-School Meetings (ESSA, Section 1116(6)(e)(1)).
- Provide parents and family members with materials and training, during Family Literacy Events that supports improving their child’s academic achievement. In addition, provide opportunities for the use of technology, including the harms of copyright piracy as appropriate. Materials will also be made available in our Parent Resource Center (ESSA, Section 1116(6) (e) (1)).
- Utilize professional development sessions to share and expand upon ways teachers, specialized 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)).
- Integrate family and community literacy involvement through Preschool Leap into Literacy Nights, Family Literacy Events, the Reading is Fundamental Program, and the Little Lending Library that encourage and support parents and family members in more fully participating in the education of their children (ESSA, Section 1116(6)(e)(4)).
- Mifflin Park Elementary 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 through digital media (i.e. Class Dojo, Peachjar, Skylert), as well as hard copies of the information. (ESSA, Section 1116(6) (e) (5)).
- To the extent practicable, the staff of Mifflin Park Elementary School 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)).
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