Adoption Date: 06/22/2021

History: 3/22/22 (reviewed), 2/14/23 (updated), 2/13/24 (updated)

It is the policy of Iowa City Community Schools that parents or guardians and family members of participating children shall have the opportunity to be involved jointly in the development of the district plan and in the district's review process for the purpose of school improvement. Recognizing that parental or guardian involvement is a key factor to academic achievement, we seek to involve parents or guardians in an effective home-school partnership that will provide the best possible education for our students. The district provides coordination, technical assistance and other supports necessary to aid in the planning and implementation of parent or guardian involvement activities. The district encourages parent or guardian involvement and supports this partnership through providing information about standards and assessments; providing training and materials for parents to help their children; educating school personnel about involving parents or guardians and the value of parent or guardian contributions; and developing roles for community organizations and businesses to work with parents and schools.

1. This jointly developed and agreed upon written policy will be distributed to parents or guardians and family members of participating Title I children electronically at the beginning of the school year. In school-wide buildings, this will include all parents or guardians. (ESSA Section 1116(a)(2))
2. The district will provide technical assistance and support to schools in planning and implementing effective parent or guardian and family engagement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance through professional development regarding parent or guardian and family engagement. The district will partner with community groups as a means to engage families more creatively and successfully. (ESSA Section 1116(a)(2)(B))
3. The district will work to find ways to work cooperatively with other Federal, state, and local programs. The Title I program will work with the district homeless liaison, the early literacy program and special education programs (IDEA). (ESSA Section 1116(a)(2)(C))
4. The district will conduct an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the Parent and Family Engagement Policy. The evaluation tools and methods identify the type and frequency of school-home interactions and the needs parents or guardians and families have to better support and assist their children in learning. The evaluations will target at least three key areas: barriers, ability to assist learning, and successful interactions. (ESSA Section 1116(a)(2)(D)(i-iii))
5. The district will use the findings for the annual evaluation to design evidenced-based strategies for more effective parent or guardian and family engagement. The evaluation results will help uncover best practices that are working and adapt those ideas to the district and individual school needs. (ESSA Section 1116(a)(2)(E))
6. The district involves parents or guardians and family members in activities of the school through frequent communication and interactions, and seeks their input in the review and revision of the
   Parent and Family Engagement Policy. (ESSA Section 1116(a)(2)(F))
7. At least one annual meeting will be held to inform parents or guardians and family members of the school's participation in the Title I program and to explain the requirements of the program and their right to be involved. The meeting shall be for parents or guardians of both public and private schools. All elementary buildings will hold an annual meeting in the fall. Notification will be sent in the building newsletter. (ESSA Section 1116(c)(1))
8. Parent or guardian and family meetings, including parent conferences, will be held at different times during the day and Title I funds may be used to pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with parent and family engagement activities, including transportation, childcare, or home visit expenses to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions. (ESSA Section 1116(c)(2))
9. The district will involve parents or guardians in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s Title I program through participation in surveys and in-person meetings where parents give input and feedback. (ESSA Section 1116(c)(3))
10. In a school-wide program plan, parents or guardians will be asked to be involved in the joint development of the building’s school-wide plan through in-person meetings, surveys and electric feedback as appropriate. This applies only to Title I schools operating a School-wide Program. (ESSA Sections 1116(c)(3) and 1114))
11. Parents or guardians and family members of participating children will be given assistance in understanding the Title I program, with timely information about the Title I program. Through annual meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and report cards, the school will provide parents or guardians and family members of participating children with a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet. Parents or guardians and family members receive an explanation of the school's performance profile, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the expected proficiency levels in the annual progress report presented in the fall of the year, through individual reports given to parents at conference time, and through report cards. (ESSA Section 1116(c)(4)(A) & (B))
12. If requested by parents or guardians, the school will provide 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. (ESSA Section 1116(c)(4)(C))
13. If the school-wide plan under Section 1114(b) is not satisfactory, parents or guardians of participating students may comment. Comments may be made in writing to the school principal. (ESSA Section 1116(c)(5))
14. A jointly developed school/parent compact outlines how parents or guardians and family members, the entire school staff, and students all share responsibility for improved student achievement. The compact also describes the means by which the school and parents or guardians will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve our local high standards. It will be distributed at registration and reviewed at the annual meetings. (ESSA Section 1116(d))
15. Parents or guardians will be notified of this policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language the parents can understand. The policy will be provided in English, translated into other languages and will be free of educational jargon. (ESSA Section 1116(b)(1))
16. In order to ensure effective involvement of parents or guardians, and to support a partnership among the school, parents or guardians, and the community focused on improving student academic achievement, each school and local educational agency shall
    1. Provide assistance to parents or guardians in understanding challenging state academic standards, state and local academic assessments, how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children;
    2. Provide materials and training to help parents or guardians to work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), as appropriate, to foster parental involvement;
    3. Educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents or guardians, in the value and utility of contributions of parents or guardians, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents or guardians as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents or guardians and the school;
    4. Coordinate and integrate parent or guardian involvement 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 or guardians in more fully participating in the education of their children;
    5. Ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents or guardians of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents or guardians can understand; and
    6. Provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents or guardians may request. (ESSA Section 1116(e)(1-14))

17. The school, to the extent practicable, will provide opportunities for the informed participation of parents or guardians and family members (including parents or guardians and family members who have limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents or guardians and family members of migratory children) by providing information and school reports required under Section 1111 in a format and language the parties can understand.

 

Legal Reference:

20 U.S.C. §6318

Cross Reference:

903.2    Community Resource Persons and Volunteers