Sumter County Intermediate

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, Sumter County Intermediate 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).

The Sumter County Intermediate School agrees to implement the following requirements as outlined by Section 1116:
• 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).
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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:

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) Parents play an integral role in assisting their child's learning
(B) Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child's education at school
(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
(D) Other activities are carried out, such as those described in Section 1116 of the ESSA

DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE SCHOOL WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED SCHOOL PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

JOINTLY DEVELOPED

Sumter County Intermediate 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.

• Through parent surveys and evaluations parents and teachers will work together annually to develop and revise our Parent Involvement Policy, our Parent-School Compact, and School-Wide/Improvement Plans. The parent survey will also provide feedback on the effectiveness of our programs. Program evaluations will follow Title I school events to determine the effectiveness of programs and, if necessary, the Parent Policy will be modified to include more effective strategies for continued school improvement.
• In order to encourage parent attendance at meetings and events, Sumter County Intermediate School will offer flexible schedules and will be held at various times to accommodate parent schedules. A language translator will be available upon request for parent meetings as needed in order to address English Language Learner communication support.

ANNUAL TITLE I MEETING
Sumter County Intermediate School will 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.

Annual Title I Parent Meetings will be held at Sumter County Intermediate School in the fall of each school year. Parents will be given information about the School Improvement Plan goal statements and the progress made by our students on state assessments. Parent input will be taken into account when making all Title I decisions.

COMMUNICATIONS
Sumter County Intermediate School will take the following actions to provide parents of participating children the following:
• Timely information about the Title I programs
• Flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide with Title I funds, transportation, child care or home visits, as such services relate to parent and family engagement.
• 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:

Parents will be provided with timely information in the following ways: a). Individual teacher communication with parents through informal conversations, phone calls, notes, e-mail, parent-teacher conferences, and report cards. b). Schedules and school calendars, weekly reminder, marquee, bulletin boards, school and district websites, information stations in main office and hallway, and the Sumter County Intermediate School Student Handbook . c). Automated Telephone Communication System.

SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT
Sumter County Intermediate 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.

• Sumter County Intermediate School has a Parent Compact developed and signed by staff, parents. The compact will be used annually at Parent-Teacher Conferences. The Compact is reviewed yearly and revised as needed to address concerns and suggestions by parents, students, and staff.

RESERVATION OF FUNDS
If applicable, Sumter County Intermediate 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:

• Parents are given opportunities for decision-making related to the education of their children during Annual Input Meeting.

COORDINATION OF SERVICES
Sumter County Intermediate 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:
• Hold annual transition meetings for third and sixth grade students.
• There is a Parent Resource Center available in the Media Center.

BUILDING CAPACITY OF PARENTS
Sumter County Intermediate 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:
• 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
• 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
• Providing assistance to parents of participating children, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following:
• The challenging State's academic standards
• The State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments
• The requirements of Title I, Part A
• How to monitor their child's progress
• How to work with educators to improve the achievement of their child

School will offer flexible schedules and will be held at various times to accommodate parent schedules. A language translator will be available upon request for parent meetings as needed in order to address English Language Learner communication support.
• The following workshops will be offered throughout the year:
 Understanding Georgia Milestones
 Master Math and Reading with your Child
 Holidays in Sumter
 Parent Portal, Living Tree, and Academic Websites
 Science/Social Studies Expo
 Transition Meeting (information for rising 4th and 7th graders)

BUILDING CAPACITY OF SCHOOL STAFF
Sumter County Intermediate 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:

• We will educate teachers to show that there are many ways in which parents can become involved with their child's education: Sumter County Intermediate School values both at-home contributions and those that take place at school and in the community. Sumter County Intermediate School encourages parental involvement in our school by asking for volunteers in the building and classrooms. We ask parents to become active members of the school Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), participating in the annual Open House/Curriculum Night, Activity Times, Student Assemblies, Field Day, sporting events, musical performances and other special events. Family participation helps to build a strong, rich partnership with parents, students and staff.

Sumter County Intermediate School will provide other reasonable support for parent and family engagement activities under Section 1116 as parents may request by:

• Sumter County Intermediate School will seek input from parents in a variety of ways: a). Parent Teacher Conferences will be held in September and February, in addition to any conferences scheduled due to parent or teacher request. c). Parent Surveys will be made available to determine satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the academic program, the school climate, leadership, the School Improvement Plan, and other important key issues involving parent-teacher partnerships including homework, and communication between home and school.