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Parent Involvement Policy PART I GENERAL EXPECTATIONS Hancock County Schools agrees to implement the following statutory requirements as part of its Parent Involvement Policy:
Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way 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: D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA. PART II. HOW THE DISCTICT WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS. 1.Hancock County Schools will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district wide parental involvement plan under section 1112 of the ESEA: Hancock County will implement the FLAG (Family Literacy Action Group) program. Through participation in the FLAG program, parents will work with Title I teachers in learning ways to help their child achieve academic success. 2.Hancock County Schools will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA: Through input of the LSIC, staff meetings, conferences and FLAG meetings, school achievement information will be shared with the individuals/groups. Strengths and weakness will be addressed as well as ideas shared on ways to implement improvement steps. 3) Hancock County Schools will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following other programs: Head Start The Title I Director (or designee) will provide transition programs to county Head Start parents. At these presentations parents will be provided information on their child entering Kindergarten, strategies to help their child achieve academic success, books to read with their child, etc. In addition, parents will be invited to FLAG meetings. 4) Hancock County Schools 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. During the first month of school, parents will be invited to a meeting at each respective Title I school. At this time, the policy will be shared with those present. In depth discussion will be held concerning the policy, any possible/necessary revisions, ways to assist more parents to become positively involved in their child's education, etc. Any concerns or suggestions will be forwarded to the Title I Director Parents of ESL students (or their designee) will be invited to all Title I functions. Special attention will be given to the strengths and weakness of the ESL students and ways the parent/ designee can help the child. All information sent home will be sent not only in English but also in the student(s) native language using the Alta Vista translation process. 5) Hancock County School will build the schools' 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 student 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 based on the following and by undertaking the actions described in this paragraph---
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 parental involvement, by: Through the use of Edline, parents will be afforded the opportunity to utilize this technology as an additional way to keep them updated on their child's academic progress. In addition, the Title I teachers (through the FLAG Program) will work with parents during the school year. The teachers will assist/instruct parents on varying methods to help their child at home and will provide educational materials and websites. C) The school district will, with the assistance of its schools and parents, educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, principals 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: Through presentations during IS days, PLC's and/or staff meetings all teachers will share ideas on varying methods of building partnerships between home and school. D) The school district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Partners Program, and public preschool and other programs, and conduct activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children, by: Pre K to kindergarten transition programs will be presented at individual school Kindergarten registration. Parents of all Pre K students will be invited to attend. In addition, Head Start and Pre K parents will be invited to county-wide Title I Parent Involvement programs. Representatives from private and Head Start Pre K's will be invited to county pre K meetings and will be invited to relevant trainings conducted by Hancock County Schools. E) The school district will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent programs, 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. Through the use of the Alta Vista translation program, all correspondence to parents of ESL students will be sent home not only in English but also in their native language. Parents of ESL students will also be invited to all FLAG meetings held throughout the year. PART III: DISCRETIONARY DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS FLAG PROGRAM FLAG (Family Literacy Action Group) is an important component of Hancock County School's parent involvement program. FLAG programs focus on providing parents with information on child development and child rearing. These programs will also provide practical strategies parents can apply at home to better help their child/children with reading and math skills. The FLAG program consists of several evening parent sessions. The first of these will be the beginning of the year "Kick-Off" meeting. This meeting will introduce parents to our county's Title I program. In addition individual schools will provide packets to parents containing pertinent information about the Title I program (including parent surveys, tutoring opportunities, summer school, etc.) in that school. The Hancock County Title I staff will coordinate and join talents in designing and implementing the FLAG program, with special attention given to parent concerns and suggestions. Meeting format will generally include activities and grouping that involves parent, children, and parents working with their child/children. Outside presenters may also be included. The following students/families will be included in our FLAG programs:
PART IV: ADOPTION This district wide Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in the Title I, Part A programs. This policy was approved by Hancock County Schools on 6-10-06 and will be in effect for the period of one year. The school district will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before September 30 of the school year.
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