2025-2026 Annual Title I Family Engagement Meeting

Forest Hill Elementary School

October 20, 2025

Principal: Mrs. Kendra Pickens

Why are we here?

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires each Title I school hold an annual meeting of Title I families in order to:

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• Inform you of your school’s participation in Title I
• Explain the requirements of Title I
• Explain your rights as parents and family members to be involved

This meeting will cover

• What is a Title I School
• What are your rights
• How Title funds are used
• What Title funds have been used for FHES
• What is the School Improvement Plan
• What is the Parent and Family Engagement Policy
• What is the School-Parent Compact
• What curriculums are used
• What test are administered
• How can I be involved
• Who I contact for support

What is a Title I School?

• Title I was passed in 1965 under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It is the largest federal assistance program for our nation’s schools.
• Title I schools receive additional funding from the federal government. These dollars are allocated towards:
• Identifying students experiencing academic difficulties and providing support
• Adding additional staffing, programs, materials, and supplies to assist in learning
• Conducting family engagement meetings, trainings, events, & activities

What Are My Rights?

Families and Parents of Title I schools have a right by law, to:

• Be involved in decisions made at both the school and district level
• Be provided information regarding your child’s level of achievement
• Request opportunities for meetings with faculty, as appropriate, in decisions about the education of your child.
• Request and receive information on the qualifications of your child’s teacher and paraprofessionals working with your child.

Title I Purchases

Title I funds may be used to purchase:

• The formation of smaller class sizes
• Additional teachers and paraprofessionals
• Staff training and professional development
• Additional instructional time
• Parent engagement meetings
• Various supplies and materials to support instructional needs and technology needs

��FHES Title I Purchases�Forest Hill was allocated approximately $190,000 for the 2025-2026 school year. �

Instructional Support Programs

• Nearpod with Flocabulary

Instructional Support Materials

• Wit and Wisdom supplemental reading materials
• Scholastic Magazines Grade K
• Novel Studies
• Tower Garden Materials

Instructional Resources

• Math and Reading Instructional Coaches
• Lead Teachers
• Family Engagement
• Family Literacy Game Night

Technology

• ViewSonic Boards
• Document Cameras
• Voice amplifier microphones

Professional Development

• Orton Gillingham
• Book Study
• AASL Conference
• Literacy Conference
• Math Conference

Contracted Services

• Kindness week speaker-Brian Williams
• Space Dome site field trip

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What is a SIP?

The SIP is the School Improvement Plan which includes:

• the identification of the school planning team and how they will be engaged in the planning process
• a needs assessment and summary of academic and non-academic data
• prioritized goals, strategies, and action steps to help address the academic and non-academic needs of students
• teacher and staff professional development needs
• budgets and the coordination of resources

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The school must include family representatives on our school planning team.

If you are interested in providing feedback on our School Improvement Plan, please contact Kristi Gretke, our School Level Title I Coordinator. 

kristi.gretke@gmsdk12.org

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School Wide Program Goals

• The Goal of Forest Hill Elementary is to recognize strengths of students and identify challenges students face in math and reading. 
• Forest Hill faculty plans to support student growth, increase academic achievements, and close student achievement gaps with best practices and resources.
• Forest Hill will provide ongoing professional development to support teacher growth and help utilize effective classroom instructional strategies.

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Parent & Family Engagement

• Family engagement is a shared responsibility in which schools and other community agencies and organizations are committed to reaching out to engage families in meaningful ways and in which families are committed to actively supporting their children's learning and development.
• Family engagement is continuous across a child’s life and entails enduring commitment but changing family roles as children mature into young adulthood.
• Effective family engagement cuts across and reinforces learning in the multiple settings where children learn – at home, in pre-kindergarten programs, in school, in after-school programs, in faith-based institutions, and in the community.

Source: The National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement (https://nafsce.site-ym.com/page/definition)

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Family Engagement Policy

• The district Family Engagement Policy can be found here.

GMSD Family Engagement Policy

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• FHES family engagement policy was sent home in students’ Wednesday Folders.

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Parent & Family Engagement Funding

• Any district with a Title I allocation exceeding $500,000 is required by law to set aside 1% of its Title I allocation for parent and family engagement.
• Of that 1%, 10% may be reserved at the district for system-wide initiatives related to parent and family engagement. The remaining 90% must be allocated to all Title I schools in the district.
• You, as Title I parents and family members, have the right to be involved in how this money is spent.
• Forest Hill received approximately $1900.00 in family engagement funds. These funds will be used to support our learners with a family literacy night familiarizing families with technologies and teaching strategies used during the school day.

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School Parent Compact

• A school-parent compact is a written commitment that outlines how the entire school community – teachers, families, and students will share the responsibility for improved academic achievement.
• The compact must describe how the school will:
• provide high-quality curriculum and instruction;
• hold parent-teacher conferences, annually in elementary schools;
• provide parents with reports on their child’s progress;
• provide parents reasonable access to staff.
• provide parents opportunities to volunteer; and
• ensure regular two-way meaningful communication between family members and staff, to the extent practicable, in a language family members can understand.
• You, as a Title I parent or family member, have the right to be involved in the development of the compact.
• This document does not require parent / guardian signature.
• This compact was sent home in students’ Wednesday Folders. In addition, it can be found on the FHES website.

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Forest Hill Curriculum

• The Tennessee Academic Standards provide a common set of expectations for what students will know and be able to do at the end of a grade for each subject area. 
• Tennessee's academic standards form the framework for everything taught at Forest Hill Elementary School.
• For more information about Tennessee’s academic standards, see:

Tennessee Academic Standards

• Language Arts: K-2: Wit and Wisdom, Saxon Phonics
• Language Arts: 3-5: Wit and Wisdom
• Math – K-5: Eureka² Math
• Science K-5: McGraw Hill
• Social Studies K-5: Studies Weekly and Gallopade

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Assessments

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GMSD Calendar

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You can research more about District Assessments here.

District Assessments

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Student Assessments

• MVPA assessments
• STAR
• TNReady
• AimsWeb

How Can I be Involved?

• We need you - Research has proven that family engagement in education has more impact on student achievement than any other factor.
• To get involved with the Parent and Family Engagement Policy, or the School Parent Compact, please contact Forest Hill's Title I Coordinator, Kristi Gretke at kristi.gretke@gmsdk12.org

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In addition, you may contact our district Title I Coordinator, Dr. Ted Fuller

District Title I Coordinator: Dr. Fuller, phone: (901) 752-7912, email: ted.fuller@gmsdk12.org – ESL Coordinator, Homeless and Migrant Liaison

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THANK YOU!

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