2415.04  TITLE I – DISTRICT-WIDE PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
In support of strengthening student academic achievement, each school district that receives Title I, Part A funds must develop jointly with, agree on, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy that contains information required by Section 1116(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).  This Policy establishes the school district’s expectations for parent and family engagement, describes how the school district will implement a number of specific parent and family engagement activities, and is incorporated into the school district’s Annual School Plan (ASP).
 	A.    	General Expectations
		1.     	The school district agrees to implement the following statutory 				requirements:
			a.     	The school district will put into operation programs, 					activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents in 					all its schools with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with 				Section 1116 of the ESEA.  These programs, activities, and 					procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful 					consultation with parents of participating children.
			b.     	Consistent with Section 1116 of the ESEA, the school 					district will work with its schools to ensure that the 						required school-level parent and family engagement 					policies meet the requirements of Section 1116(b) of the 					ESEA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent 					compact consistent with Section 1116(d) of the ESEA.
			c.     	The school district will incorporate this district-wide parent 				and family engagement policy into its school district’s plan 					developed under Section 1112 of the ESEA.	
			d.     	In carrying out the Title I, Part A parent and family 						engagement requirements, to the extent practicable, the 					school district and its schools will provide full 						opportunities 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 ESEA in 					an understandable and uniform format and, including 					alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent 						practicable, in a language parents understand.
			e.     	If the school district’s plan for Title I, Part A, developed 					under Section 1112 of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the 					parents of participating children, the school district will 					submit any parent comments with the plan if requested by 					the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE).
			f.      	The school district will involve the parents of children 					served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 					one percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and 					family engagement is spent, and will ensure that not less 					than ninety percent of the one percent reserve goes directly 					to the schools. 
			g.     	The school district will be governed by the following 					statutory definition of parent and family engagement, and 					expects that its Title I schools will carry out programs, 					activities, and procedures in accordance with this 						definition:
				(1)    	“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:
					(a)    	That parents play an integral role in assisting 						their child’s learning;
					(b)    	That parents are encouraged to be actively 							involved in their child’s education at school;
					(c)    	That 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; and
					(d)   	The carrying out of other activities, such as 							those described in Section 1116 of the 							ESEA.
			h.     	For states where a Parental Information and Resource 					Center is established, the school district will inform parents 				and parental organizations of the purpose and existence of 					the Parental Information and Resource Center in the state.
	B.    	Description of How District Will Implement Required District-Wide 			Parent and Family Engagement Policy Components
		1.     	The school district will take the following actions to involve 				parents in the joint development of its district-wide parent and 				family engagement plan under Section 1112 of the ESEA: 
Principal’s Parent Advisory Committee meets once each semester to involve parents in the creation of the district plan.  All major programmatic issues are addressed. 
a.	Evening information workshops: Academic Planning. 9th Grade Transition, Financial Aid, College Admissions 
b.	Superintendent’s Steering Committee 
c.	Title I Parent involvement/ Compact meeting

2.	The district will take the following actions to involve parents in the 		process of school review and improvement under Section 1116 of the 		ESEA:  

a.	Report to the public
b.	School website
c.	Title I Parent Involvement/ Compact Meeting
d.	Superintendent’s Steering Committee

	3.	The district will provide the following necessary coordination, technical 		assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning 		and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve 		pupil academic achievement and school performance:

a.	Supplemental Education Services 
b.	School Website
c.	BSI Parent meeting on September 30, 2010 (Back to School Night)
d.	BSI Parent involvement letters: 9/1/10, 10/1/10, 3/18/11

4.	The school district will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following other programs:  (Insert programs, such as: Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Parents As Teachers, Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, and State-operated preschool programs), by:  

a. 	Intervention and Referral Services parental involvement meetings.
b. 	RTI/Interventions (parents involved in creating remediation and behavioral plans).
c. 	Title I Parent Involvement/ Compact Meeting
d. 	Superintendent’s Steering Committee 

5.	The school district will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this Parental Involvement Policy in improving the quality of its Title I, Part A schools.  The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parental involvement activities (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background).  The school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its Parental Involvement Policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents) its parental involvement policies.

a.	Periodic parent meetings will be held to review and update the plan.  This will provide an opportunity to foster communication with our community and parents.  They will be asked for their input in the distribution of federal funds.
b.	We will provide information on the utilization of funds so as to encourage parent analysis.
c.	Principal’s Advisory Committee meetings will also facilitate communication and discussion with parents relative to the utilization of federal Title I Part A funds.

		6.  	The school district will build the school’s and parent’s capacity for strong 				parental involvement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents 				and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the 				community to improve pupil academic achievement, through the 					following activities specifically described below:  

a.	The school district will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described below:

(1)    	The challenging State academic standards;

(2)    	The State and local academic assessments including 	alternate assessments;

(3)    	The requirements of Title I, Part A;

(4)    	How to monitor their child’s progress; and

(5)    	How to work with educators:

a.	Utilization of PowerSchool and the planned coordination with parents having access from home.
b.	The utilization of Pearson Inform as a data systems analysis tool to monitor student progress, behavior, attendance, RTI, testing data and to inform instruction.
c.	RTI teacher workshops.
d.	Co-Teaching workshops.
e.	Differentiated Instruction workshops.
f.	NCLB workshops.
g.	Reports developed through the main office the guidance office and the district office.
h.	Meetings to discuss benchmark testing and curriculum based measurements data.
i.	Parents can access student grade, testing, homework and attendance information through our PowerSchool student accounting software program.

b.     	The school district will, with the assistance of its schools, 		provide materials and training to help parents work with 		their children to improve their children’s academic 			achievement, such as literacy training, and using 			technology, as appropriate, to foster parent and family 		engagement, by:

1.	Parent I&RS meetings
2.	Parent RTI/behavioral meetings
3.	Senior initiative and scholarship nights
4.	Financial Aid parent workshop
5.	Academic Planning nights
6.	9th grade transition
7.	Superintendent’s Steering Committee 
8.	Guidance office newsletter 
9.	A student assistance coordinator is employed by the district who can assist parents in addressing social needs and in seeking resources from the surrounding community.
10.	A social worker is employed by the district who can assist parents in addressing social needs.

		c.     	The school district will, with the assistance of its schools and 			parents, educate its teachers, student services personnel, principals, 		other school leaders, and other staff, in how to reach out to, 			communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, in the 			value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to 				implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between 			parents and schools, by: 

1.	Informed and targeted professional teacher, administrator and staff development.
2.	Professional Development opportunities and requirements address substance abuse awareness, bullying awareness, child abuse and neglect etc.

d.     	The school district will, to the extent feasible and 			appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent and family 		engagement programs and activities with Head Start, Home 	Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents 		as Teachers Program, and public preschool and other 		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:

1.	Participating with colleges/universities/vocational institutions and armed services.
2.	Relevant and focused professional development
3.	Students Against Being Bullied program integrated with parent involvement

e.     	The school district will take the following actions to ensure 		that 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: 

1.	All-Call system alert
2.	School announcements and Website
3.	Parent letters
4.	Letters written in parent native language
5.	School newspaper

C.    	Discretionary District-Wide Parent and Family Engagement Policy 		Components

	1.     	The District-Wide Parent and Family Engagement Policy may 			include additional paragraphs listing and describing other 				discretionary activities that the school district, in consultation with 			its parents, chooses to undertake to build parents’ capacity for 			involvement in the school and school system to support their 			children’s academic achievement, such as the following 				discretionary activities listed under Section 1116(e) of the ESEA:

		a.     	Involving parents in the development of training for 				teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the 				effectiveness of that training;

		b.     	Providing necessary literacy training for parents from Title 				I, Part A funds, if the school district has exhausted all other 				reasonably available sources of funding for that training;
	
		c.     	Paying reasonable and necessary expenses associated with 				parent and family engagement activities, including 					transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to 				participate in school-related meetings and training sessions;

		d.     	Training parents to enhance the involvement of other 				parents;

		e.     	In order to maximize parent and family engagement and 				participation in their children’s education, arranging school 				meetings at a variety of times, or conducting in-home 				conferences between teachers or other educators, who work 			directly with participating children, with parents who are 				unable to attend those conferences at school;

		f.      	Adopting and implementing model approaches to 					improving parent and family engagement;

		g.     	Establishing a district-wide parent advisory council to 				provide advice on all matters related to parent and family 				engagement in Title I, Part A programs;

		h.     	Developing appropriate roles for community-based 					organizations and businesses, including faith-based 					organizations, in parent and family engagement activities; 				and

		i.      	Providing other reasonable support for parent and family 				engagement activities under Section 1116 as parents may 				request.

D.    	Adoption

	This Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents 		of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by the 		Superintendent of Schools or designee.  This Policy was adopted by the 		Board of Education on the adoption date noted at the end of this Policy 		and will be in effect for the period of one year and will be updated as 		needed on an annual basis.  The school district will distribute this Policy to 	all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before October 1 		of each school year.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title I, Section 1116(a)(2)

 

Date Adopted:  3/29/04
Date Revised:  11/21/05, 3/28/11, 7/26/22