KBF-E1 - Parent Involvement in Title 1 Policy
PARENT INVOLVEMENT IN TITLE 1 POLICY
This district-level policy has been developed jointly in cooperation with the parents/guardians of students participating in the school unit’s Title I programs. It provides an understanding of the shared responsibility of the school system and parents/guardians in improving students’ academic achievement and school performance. The Superintendent/Title I Director will be responsible for distributing the policy to parents/guardians of students participating in the school unit’s Title I programs.
Because parent involvement is so important to a student’s success in school, the School Committee encourages regular participation by parents/guardians in all aspects of Acton’s Title I programs.
The Acton School Department provides opportunities for parent/guardian involvement that are aligned with the requirements of Title I programs set forth in law as follows.
A. The Acton School involves parents/guardians in the joint development of the school systems plan to help educationally disadvantaged students meet challenging achievement and academic standards and in the process of school review and improvement by:
1. Establishing a district-level Parent Advisory Committee with parent/guardian representatives from each building;
2. Establishing effective and ongoing two-way communications between the school unit, staff, and parents/guardians;
3. Developing a district-wide newsletter to communicate with parents/guardians about the school units Title I plan; and
4. Training staff to work more effectively with families with diverse cultural backgrounds and/or barriers such as illiteracy or limited English proficiency.
B. The Acton School Department provides the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating Title I schools in planning and implementing effective parent/guardian involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance by:
1. Providing information to parents/guardians about the system and various instruments that will be developed or used to monitor student progress;
2. Providing district-level workshops to assist individual schools in planning and implementing improvement activities;
3. Holding training sessions for Parent Advisory Committee members so that there may be more effective communication between parents and schools; and
4. Seeking input from parents/guardians in developing workshops that will help them become more effective partners with the schools in supporting academic achievement.
C. The Acton School Department builds the capacity of Title I schools and parents/guardians for strong potential involvement by:
1. Developing and disseminating a master calendar of district-wide meetings to discuss Title I issues, including evaluation of and suggestions for the district-level Title I policy;
2. Engaging school Parent-Teacher Groups (PTGs) to seek out and involve parents/guardians through their communications and informational meetings.
3. Promoting cooperation between the Acton School Department unit and other agencies or school/community groups to furnish learning opportunities, increase awareness of support services, and disseminate information regarding parenting skills and child/adolescent development; and
4. Providing ongoing communication about opportunities to serve on the Parental Advisory Committee, to volunteer in the schools, and learn to work more effectively with their children to extend and reinforce learning and foster
D. The Acton School Department coordinates and integrates parent/guardian involvement strategies for Title I programs with those of other programs (such as Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Parents as Teachers, and State-run preschool programs) by:
1. Involving school system and school representatives from other programs to assist in identifying specific population needs; and
2. Sharing data between programs to assist in developing new initiatives to improve student academic achievement and school improvement.
E. The Acton School Department conducts, with the involvement of parents/guardians, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under Title I, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents/guardians in activities authorized by this section (with particular attention to parents/guardians who are economically
disadvantaged, disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited
literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background), using the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective
parent/guardian involvement, and revising, if necessary, the parent/guardian involvement policies described in this section by:
1. Evaluating the content and effectiveness of the parents/guardian involvement policy;
2. Identifying and overcoming barriers to effective evaluation and input; and
3. Identifying potential changes and program improvements.
F. The Acton School Department involves parents/guardians in the activities of the schools served under Title I by:
1. Keeping parents/guardians informed of the objectives of the Acton School Department Title I programs;
2. Providing communication and calendar information to alert parents/guardians of meeting or events;
3. Providing central coordination for district, school and PTG meetings and other events to create a master calendar to facilitate parent/guardian participation; and
4. Promoting opportunities for parents as volunteers in the classroom and in school programs.
Legal reference: 20 U.S.C. §6318
Adopted: June 9, 2009
Revised: February 8, 2024