Parent Involvement Policy
School-Level
Parent and Family Engagement Plan
School Parent and Family Engagement Policy
Sumter County Intermediate School
School Year 2017- 2018
09/21/2017
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.
