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Penrose Elementary School
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Parent and Family Engagement Policy
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School Year 2022-2023
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Revision Date:
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5/18/22
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In support of strengthening student academic achievement, Penrose Elementary School receives Title I, Part A funds and therefore must jointly develop with, agree on with, and distribute to parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy that contains information required by section 1116(b) and (c) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The policy establishes the school’s expectations for parent and family engagement and describes how the school will implement a number of specific parent and family engagement activities, and it is incorporated into the school’s plan submitted to the local educational agency (LEA).
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 Penrose Elementary School agrees to implement the following requirements as outlined by Section 1116:
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Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under Title I, Part A, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan under Section 1114(b) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
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-Update the school parent and family engagement policy periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school, distribute it to the parents of participating children, and make the parent and family engagement policy available to the local community.
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-Provide full opportunities, to the extent practicable, for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under Section 1111 of the ESSA in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
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-If the schoolwide program plan under Section 1114(b) of the ESSA is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency.
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-Be governed by the following statutory definition of parent and family engagement and will carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this definition:
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Parent and Family Engagement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:
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(A) Parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning
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(B) Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school
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(C) Parents 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
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(D) Other activities are carried out, such as those described in Section 1116 of the ESSA
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DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE SCHOOL WILL IMPLEMENT
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REQUIRED SCHOOL PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS
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Section A: JOINTLY DEVELOPED
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 Penrose Elementary School will take the following actions to involve parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely manner in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs, including opportunities for regular meetings, if requested by parents, to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their child and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.
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During a Title I meeting in the Spring, parents are invited to provide input into the Parent and Family Engagement Policy and School Parent Compact. At this meeting, parents are asked to review the existing policy and are encouraged to provide feedback and discuss any necessary changes. This year, the Spring meeting took place on May 18, 2022.
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Section B: ANNUAL TITLE I MEETING
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 Penrose Elementary Schoolwill take the following actions to conduct an annual meeting, at a convenient time, and encourage and invite all parents of participating children to attend to inform them about the school’s Title I program, the nature of the Title I program, the parents’ requirements, the school parent and family engagement policy, the schoolwide plan, and the school-parent compact.
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We hold our Annual Title I meeting in September each year. All parents are invited to participate and are notified by flyer, monthly calendar and through school messenger. During this meeting, the Principal or designee informs parents about the Title I program, requirements of Title I part A, teacher qualifications and parent rights to know, state academic content standards and assessments, how to monitor student progress and work with educators. We will also provide and send home a copy of the Parent and Family Engagement Policy, as well as the School-Parent Compact at this time.
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Section C: COMMUNICATIONS
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 Penrose Elementary School will take the following actions to provide parents of participating children with (1) Timely information about the Title I programs, (2) Flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, (3) transportation, child care or home visits, as such services relate to parent and family engagement and may use Title I funds and (4) Information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.
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The Parent and Family Engagement Policy and School-Parent Compact are distributed to students in September to take home to parents. Parents are notified of meetings and other events via School Messenger(phone), the School’s Website, Instagram, and/or Facebook page. Events and meetings are held at various times to encourage wider parent participation. We also use newsletters and monthly calendars to communicate important dates for meetings, special events, and parent programs. We provide parent communications in parent-friendly language and will provide interpreters/translators when requested by parents who may not speak English. Documents will be translated into every family’s home language in partnership with the district Family and Community Engagement office. Translations are available upon request.
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Section D: SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT
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 Penrose Elementary School will take the following actions to jointly develop with parents of participating children a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high standards.
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We invite parents to provide input into the School-Parent Compact document each year. Each Spring, parents are encouraged to attend a meeting in which they can review and give input into this document, as well as the policy. Parents are notified of this meeting through flyers and monthly calendars sent home with students through google classroom, as well as through school messenger. This year, the Spring parent input meeting took place on May 18, 2022.
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Section E: RESERVATION OF FUNDS
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If applicable, Penrose Elementary School will take the following actions to involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and family engagement is spent by:
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We give parents the opportunity to provide input into how the 1 percent Title I funds are being spent during our Winter Title I Parental Budget review meeting which was held on February 23, 2022. Based on parent input received this year, the 1% Parent Involvement funds will be used to purchase to purchase culturally relevant literature (Scholastic) for each home and to provide at home math supports..
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Section F: COORDINATION OF SERVICES
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 Penrose Elementary School will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement programs and activities with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children by:
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Penrose Elementary School will reestablish it's Parent Resource Center, where parents can obtain resources to support and assist their child's education. Penrose has a Family Peer Specialist, who will continue to conduct monthly traings, workshops and sessions to provide on-going supports and assistance to families in a variety of areas. Penrose has a FACE liaison, who will provide weekly support to the school community. Our kindergarten teachers will continue to participate in the Building Bridges Program to foster relationships with our local preschool programs in an effort to provide a smooth transition into our kindergarten program. There is also a Parent Resource room at the District office.
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Section G: BUILDING CAPACITY OF PARENTS
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 Penrose Elementary School will build the parents’ capacity for strong parent and family engagement to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school and the community to improve student academic achievement through the following:
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● Providing parents 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; and
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● Materials and training to help parents to work with their child to improve their child’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), as appropriate, to foster parent and family engagement
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● Providing assistance to parents of participating children, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following:
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● The challenging State’s academic standards
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● The State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments
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● The requirements of Title I, Part A
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● How to monitor their child’s progress
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● How to work with educators to improve the achievement of their child
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We will provide Early Literacy/Math workshops, PSSA workshops, Common Core Training and other pertinent training to build the knowledge and skill capacity of our parents as they support in helping their student’s academic success. During the Annual Title I meeting held in the Fall each year, we share with parents the requirements of Title I, Part A, the State’s academic standards and local academic assessments. There are three report card conferences throughout the school year (November, February and April) with an evening conference offered each time. During these conferences teachers will discuss with parents how to work with educators and to monitor their child’s progress.
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Section H: BUILDING CAPACITY OF SCHOOL STAFF
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 Penrose Elementary School will provide training to educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school by:
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Ensuring that each Fall administrators, teachers, and staff are trained by the Principal or designee, to build their capacity to work with parents as equal partners during a district PD day. Effective methods of communicating with parents will also be shared with staff. Surveys are made available to parents during all events, meetings and conferences. The results of the parent surveys are tallied and shared with staff during professional developments throughout the school year.
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 Penrose Elementary School will provide other reasonable support for parent and family engagement activities under Section 1116 as parents may request by:
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Providing Family Academy Courses & Training
Engaging parents at a parent booth at dismissal to disseminate any pertinent information
Providing services for parents through our new Project STEP program.
Offering an Student Arts Festival, Family Literacy Night and Family STEM Night
Offering workshops and informational sessions via our Community Partners.
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Principal's Signature
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Carol Casciato
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Date Signed
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05/27/2022
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