Parent Engagement Policy (March 1)

Title I School-Level Parent and Family Engagement Policy Southwest High School 2020-2021 (PDF)

2.0 With approval from the local governing board, Southwest High School has developed a written Title I parent and family engagement policy with input from Title I parents and family members. CIS, CRF and administration collaborate with volunteer parents to review :Needs Assessment Surveys, feedback from SSC and ELAC Minutes and feedback from parents attending parent meetings. The distribution of the policy occurs at Open House, Parent Meetings, SOH’s website, placement of hard copies throughout the site’s offices. [20 USC 6318 Section 1118(c),-(g) inclusive].

2.1 Involvement of Parents in the Title I Program
To involve parents and family members in the Title I program at Southwest High School, the following practices have been established:

  1. The school convenes an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited to attend and encouraged to attend, to inform parents and family members of their school’s participation in the Title I program and to explain the requirements, and the right of the parents to be involved. (20 USC 6318 (c)(1))

    1. Open House
    2. School Site Council Meeting

  2. The school offers a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with Title I funds, transportation, childcare, or home visits, as such services relate to parent involvement. (20 USC 6318 (c)(2))

    1. Coffee with the Principal
    2. Home visits are done as needed
    3. SOH’ Parent Center

  3. The school involves parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s Title I program, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan. (20 USC 6318 (c)(3))

    1. Annual Title I meeting
    2. School Site Council Monthly Meetings
    3. English Learner Advisory Committee Meetings
    4. Coffee with the Principal

  4. The school provides parents of participating students with

    1. Timely information about the Title I program. (20 USC 6318 (c)(4)(A))
      1. Open House
      2. Annual Title I meeting
      3. School Site Council meetings
      4. English Learner Advisory Committee
    2. 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. (20 USC 6318 (c)(4)(B))
      1. SOH’s curriculum is based on the California Adopted Textbooks, SUHSD’s Instructional Guides. Assessments include SBAC,ELPAC, CFAs
      2. Data from CA Dashboard is used to inform decisions made to support struggling at risk students. Parents receive notifications of their child’s results such as SBAC, ELPAC by mail. School-wide results are shared at SSC, Parent meetings, ELAC, Title I meetings
      3. if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible. (20 USC 6318 (c)(4)(C))
      4. Coffee with the Principal
      5. Morning/Evening ELAC meetings
      6. School Site Council Meetings
      7. Parent Walkthrough visits

  5. if the schoolwide program plan 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. (20 USC 6318 (c)(5))

    1. Upon evaluation of the Single Plan for Student Achievement, at each School Site Council meeting minutes are taken. Parent comments are reviewed and addressed by the site administrator.
      1. State and Federal programs requests that parent comments be included when school submits their site plan for board approval.
        Building Capacity for Involvement (Parent and Family Engagement Policy continued)

2.2 To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, each school and local educational agency assisted with Title I, Part A funds, the school has established the following practices:

  1. The school provides parents with assistance in understanding such topics as the challenging State academic standards, State and local assessments, the requirements of Title I, Part A, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children. (20 USC 6318 (e)(1))

    1. Interpreters are available at SSC, ELAC, Title I meetings, College Readiness nights, Curriculum nights, etc. to provide assistance for parents who speak who need interpretation services.
    2. Data from CA Dashboard is used to inform decisions made to support struggling at risk students. Parents receive notifications of their child’s results such as SBAC, ELPAC by mail. School-wide results are shared at SSC, Parent meetings, ELAC, Title I meetings

  2. The school provides parents with materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s achievement. (20 USC 6318 (e)(2)) See examples below:

    1. PIQE
    2. Technology Workshops
    3. ESL classes
    4. Restorative Trainings

  3. The school educates 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; (20 USC 6318 (e)(3))

    1. District/Site PD for Teachers
    2. Site Staff Meetings
    3. PLC meetings
    4. District/Site PD for Classified Staff
    5. Counselor Meetings
    6. Community Relations Facilitators and Student Program facilitators reach out to assist teachers with parent communication

  4. The school, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate the parent involvement programs and activities with other Federal, State, and local programs and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, to encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children. (20 USC 6318 (e)(4))

    1. After school programs
    2. Promise Neighborhood
    3. Career Technical Education
    4. Adult Education
    5. Foster/Homeless Youth support

  5. The school ensures that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities to parents is sent in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. (20 USC 6318 (e)(5))

    1. Meetings Agendas are posted in English and Spanish
    2. Infinite Campus Messenger calls in English and Spanish
    3. Jupiter Grades calls in English and Spanish
    4. No other language in the district exceeds the minimum requirement for translation. (3% Filipino, 3% Asian)

  6. The school provides such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents may request. (20 USC 6318 (e)(14))

    1. Input is gathered at School Site Council, ELAC, Coffee with Principal, College Readiness night, Parent Progress Report meetings etc.
    2. Goal 3 of the LCAP and school site plan is directed toward fostering and honoring parent/guardian and community engagement to support excellence in each student’s success.
    3. Accessibility

2.3 Southwest High School , to the extent practicable, provides opportunities for the informed participation of all parents and family members (including parents and family members with limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory students) including providing information and school reports are provided in a format and language that parents understand.
(20 USC 6318 (f))

  1. Meetings Agendas are posted in English and Spanish
  2. Infinite Campus Messenger calls in English and Spanish
  3. Jupiter Grades calls in English and Spanish
  4. No other language in the district exceeds the minimum requirement for translation. (3% Filipino, 3% Asian)
  5. The district and school’s websites are 508 compliant and provide family members with visual disabilities access to important information.

*It may be helpful to include the parent and family engagement policy review in the annual review of the Single Plan for Student Achievement.
**The policy must be updated periodically to meet changing needs of parents and family members and the school. If the school has a process in place for involving parents and family members in planning and designing the school’s programs, the school may use that process if it includes adequate representation of parents and family members of Title I children.