School Wide Title I Parent Engagement Policy

McCrorey-Liston School of Technology Parent Engagement Policy is jointly developed and agreed by a committee of parents, teachers, administrators and other stakeholders.  The school wide Title I Policy will be evaluated and updated annually by the committee to accommodate any needs as changes occur. The policy will be presented and distributed to all parents at the beginning of each academic year and will be written in language that reflects our diverse population.

Annual Meeting
McCrorey-Liston School of Technology will convene an annual meeting at the opening of the school year to inform parents of the school’s participation in the school wide Title I program, to explain the program and its requirements, inform parents of their right to be involved, encourage their attendance, discuss the compact, and provide an opportunity for parents to volunteer to serve on and participate in various school wide Title I meetings and activities. Call-Em All, invitations, and reminders notifying parents of this meeting will be sent home 7 -14 days prior to the meeting.  

Meeting Options
Efforts will be made to eliminate barriers that might affect parent involvement.  The school will offer a flexible number of meetings in the morning and evening to eliminate barriers.

Home – School Partnership
Parents will be involved in an organized and timely manner to assist in the plan for the school’s activities.  This includes developing, reviewing, evaluating, and improving the school wide Title I program, including Parent Involvement Policy and the School-Parent Compact.  Parents will be invited to all school wide Title I committee meetings and activities to ensure increased opportunities for parent involvement.  Our partnership will allow us to work jointly on an ongoing basis to improve parental involvement.

Providing Parent Information
The school will communicate with parents of all students with timely information through conferences, meetings, newsletters, school’s website, Call-Em All notification, marquee, and Parent Resource Center concerning:
• Title I programs in the school-a summary easy-to-read letter of plan was sent out at beginning of year.
• Results of the annual school review of school report card
• A description and explanation of the school curriculum
• The assessments used to measure student progress
• An explanation of the PASS (Palmetto Assessment of State Standards) proficiency levels that students are expected to meet
• Opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions, share experiences with other parents, and participate as appropriate in decisions relating to the education of
       their children.
• Provide timely responses to parent suggestions within 7-14 days
• Collect all unsatisfactory parent comments regarding the school wide plan and attach those comments to the school wide plan when submitted to the Office of Special Projects

The school wide Title I committee assures that if the Parent Involvement Policy is unsatisfactory to the parents, parent comments on the policy will be made available to the Office of Special Projects.

Provide Assurance
McCrorey-Liston School of Technology will provide all parents with information to facilitate an understanding of local, state and national communication channels. Channels will include:

• National Education Goals
• State Academic Content and Student Performance Standards
• School Improvement Process, if Applicable
• Components of a School-Wide Program
• State and Local Assessments
• Requirements of School-Wide Title I Parent Involvement
• Monitoring Your Child’s Program
• Student Support Team (SST)
• Other Resources and Programs Available to Eligible Children

Materials and Training Opportunities
The school will provide appropriate and feasible materials and training determined by parent input and surveys. Examples are as follows:

• Coordinating necessary literacy and math training from various sources to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s achievement
• Providing parents with information and materials needed for enrolling in adult high school programs, High School Equivalency Diploma Test (GED), and other literacy training programs, which are available through our school system and local businesses
• Technology training to assist parents in improved communication and in working with their children

Home/School Connection
Opportunities will be made to educate staff members in understanding the value of working as partners with parents. Parent led programs such as Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), Parent volunteers, and family nights will be planned to build ties between home and school.  In-service training, conferences, workshops, etc. will provide assistance to staff in techniques for reaching out and communicating effectively with parents as equal partners.

Coordination of Parent Involvement
A plan will be developed to coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs, activities, and strategies with other programs. Other programs may include, but are not limited to the following:
• Science Fair
• Meet & Greet
• Curriculum Night
• STEM Day
• Community Day
• Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
• Awards Day Program  
• Grandparents’ Day
• Reading Counts Incentive Program
• Parent Student Teacher Partnership Conferences
• School Improvement Council (SIC)
• Title I Parent Resource Room
• Head Start, Reading First, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool
• Grade Level Newsletter, and Monthly School Newsletter
• Reading and Math Intervention
• Parent’s Right to Know
• Parent Square
• ClassDojo/Remind

Community/Business Partnerships
Realizing the value of outside resources, McCrorey-Liston School of Technology will develop appropriate community-based partnership for parent involvement and activities with businesses, service organizations, and the community. This may include providing information about opportunities for community organizations and businesses to work with parents to form partnerships. Opportunities will include:  Can Good Drive, Adopt-A-Family, Pig on the Ridge, Rock Around the Clock, Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, Gideon’s, Women’s Club.

Parent Resources
As appropriate and feasible, the school may provide the following opportunities to help parents become full partners in the education of their children:
• Literacy Training
• Child Development
• Positive Behavior
• Helping Homework Strategies
• Local Parent Involvement Activities
• Training for Parents to Enhance Involvement of Other Parents
• Adopting and Implementing of a Model Designed to improve parental involvement
• Providing other reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents request
• Establishing a Parent Resource Center during the school year and built upon thereafter.  Parents will be informed of and encouraged to use this resource throughout the school year to meet the educational needs of their children
Parent Involvement with Assessment
Parents will participate in ongoing assessments and an evaluation at the end of the year to evaluate the effectiveness of the parent involvement initiative. These evaluations will be essential to McCrorey-Liston School of Technology continuous improvement of parent involvement and participation.  

I have read the School Wide Title 1 Parent Engagement Policy: