Parent Involvement

District Wide Family/Community Engagement Policy

PART I. GENERAL EXPECTATIONS
Vista Grove Preparatory Academy agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

The school district will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents in all of its schools with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Those programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
Consistent with section 1118, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level Family/Community Engagement policies meet the requirements of section 1118(b) of the ESEA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d) of the ESEA.
The school district will incorporate this district wide Family/Community Engagement policy into its LEA plan developed under section 1112 of the ESEA.
In carrying out the Title I, Part A Family/Community 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.
If the LEA 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 when the school district submits the plan to the State Department of Education.
The school district will 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 Family/Community Engagement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools.
The school district will be governed by the following statutory definition of Family/Community Engagement, and expects that its Title I schools will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition:

Family/Community 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;
(D)   the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.

[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.

PART II. DESCRIPTION OF HOW DISTRICT WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED DISTRICT WIDE FAMILY/COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

1. Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district wide Family/Community Engagement plan under section 1112 of the ESEA:

Parents and families will be involved in the joint development of the district wide Family/Community Engagement plan with initiatives to collaborate during August open house, Fall Parent/Teacher Conferences, the KABOOM planning, winter planning meetings and during Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences.

2. Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:

Parents and families will be involved in feedback yearly surveys as well as feedback during August open house, Fall and Spring Parent/Teacher Conferences, and direct feedback to the school leader. All parents are given school leaders cell phone number for immediate feedback when needed.

3. Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective Family/Community Engagement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance:

Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will provide an open line of communication from front offices to classroom with Title I programs on support or effective Family/Community engagement.

4. Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will coordinate and integrate Family/Community Engagement strategies in Part A with Family/Community Engagement 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:

Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will coordinate activities with state-operated preschool programs, Head Start programs, as well as our current community partners (i.e. Boys & Girls Club programs).

5. Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this Family/Community Engagement policy in improving the quality of its Title I, Part A schools. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in Family/Community Engagement 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 Family/Community Engagement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective Family/Community Engagement, and to revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents) its Family/Community Engagement policies.

Vista Grove Preparatory will continue to describe how the evaluation will be conducted, identifying who will be responsible for conducting it, and explaining what role the parents play.

Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will build the school's’ and parent’s capacity for strong Family/Community Engagement, 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 such as the following, by undertaking the actions described in this paragraph --

the State’s academic content standards,
the State’s student academic achievement standards,
the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,
the requirements of Part A,
how to monitor their child’s progress, and
how to work with educators:

Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will send informative newsletters home inviting parents and families to workshops and other events where they can receive information and collaborate to ensure success.

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 Family/Community Engagement, by:

Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will invite parents to trainings and workshops throughout the year, during school events, where parents are most likely to have 100% participation, maximizing family/community engagement.

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:

Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will continue to provide teachers ACES training and maintain support with our expectations of frequent parent contact and communication focused on family/community collaboration towards student academic and social growth.

D. The school district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate Family/Community Engagement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even 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:

Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will continue having school readiness events throughout the school year, including having parents resources available.

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:

Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will continue to send newsletters home both with students and via email blasts through SchoolMessenger. Furthermore we will keep making personal phone calls with hard to reach parents.

PART III. DISCRETIONARY DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

NOTE: The District wide Family/Community 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 1118(e) of the ESEA:

Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will pay reasonable and necessary expenses, through existing programs and future grant programs, associated with Family/Community Engagement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions.
In order to maximize Family/Community Engagement and participation in their children’s education, Vista Grove Preparatory Academy will arrange school meetings at a variety of times, conduct in-home visits between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents who are unable to attend those conferences at school.

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PART IV.   ADOPTION

This District wide Family/Community Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by this document.
This policy was updated by the Vista Grove Preparatory Academy on 07/18/2017 and will be in effect for the period of 1year. The school district will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before 12/01/2017.
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