Parent Involvement Policies and Parent/School Compacts

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Parent Involvement Policies and Parent/School
Compacts

• Improving Student Achievement Through Strong
  Parent and Community Involvement

Judy Clark Guida July 2005
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Parent Involvement

• Evolution of Parent Involvement
• Benefits
• Parent Involvement Policies
• District Parent Involvement Policy
• School Parent Involvement Policy
• Parent-School Compact

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Evolution of Parent Involvement

• Formal role for parents began in early 1970s in
  response to lobbying by parents, educators and
  community activists.
• Originally, Parent Involvement referred to policy
  involvement
• Reauthorization in 1988 through 1994 (IASA)
  schools helping parents help their children to be
  more successful in school partners in education
• 2001 NCLB - preserved the policy overseer and
  partners in education roles but added consumers
  of the education provided by local schools

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Consumers of Education for their Children

• Put pressure on schools and districts to work on
  continual school improvement.
• Provide students an opportunity to leave schools
  that are not working for them.
• Provide students additional services to meet
  their academic needs.

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Parental Involvement Title I Subpart A
Non-Regulatory Guidance April 2004

• http//www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/parentinvgu
  id.doc

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What does research tell us about the Influence of
Parent Involvement?

• When schools work together with families to
  support learning, children tend to succeed not
  only in school, but throughout life.
• When families and schools cooperate, the results
  include
• Higher grades and test scores
• Better attendance
• More homework completed
• Higher graduation rates/greater enrollment in
  post-secondary education
• ADD IT UP Using Research to Improve Education
  for Low-Income Minority Students. Poverty
  Race Research Action Council (2001)

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The most accurate predictor of a students
achievement in school is not income or social
status, but the extent that a students family is
able to

• Create a home environment that encourages
  learning
• Express high (but not unrealistic) expectations
  for their childrens achievement and future
  careers
• Become involved in their childrens education at
  school and in the community.
• Notes from Research Parent Involvement and
  Student Achievement.
• San Diego County Office of Education 1997

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PTA Benefits of Parent Involvement

• Teachers
• Greater morale (and self-esteem)
• Teaching effectiveness (proficiency) increases
• Job satisfaction increases
• Communication/relations with students, parents,
  families, and communities improves
• Community support of schools increases
• Parents
• Communication/relations with children and
  teachers improves
• Self-esteem increases
• Education level/skills increase
• Decision-making skills become stronger
• Attitude toward school and school personnel
  improves
• 
  
• National PTA 2005

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Parents and their Connection to School

• Three Main Factors
• Belief about what is important, necessary, and
  permissible for parents to do at school.
• Parents sense of efficacy. That they can help
  their children academically even when their own
  education level is not high.
• How parents perceive the invitation to
  participate. They are wary of contrived
  opportunities.

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Parent as Consumer

• To be a good consumer, parents must be informed
  and empowered decision makers in their childrens
  education.
• Parent notification provisions of ESEA is the key
  in the parent role of knowledgeable decision
  maker and active partner.

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Parents as Consumers Reports and
Notices

• Understandable Format and Language
• Provide information to parents directly through
  the mail or e-mail through broader means such
  as the media and the internet.

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LEP Students and Opt-Out

• If LEA is using Title I and/or Title III funds
  for English language instruction programs, the
  parents may opt out of the program.
• No later than than 30 days after the start of the
  school year parents of LEP students need to
  receive specific information regarding the
  program and their childs level of English
  language proficiency.

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Parent Involvement Key Changes

• If receive 500,000 in Title IA then 1 must be
  used for parent involvement.
• New to law 95 of the funds set-aside for
  parent involvement must be distributed directly
  back to the Title I funded schools.
• LEA must develop and distribute to parents a
  written parental involvement policy
• Describes how LEA will support the involvement of
  parents, and the policy is developed jointly with
  parents and agreed upon by them.

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District Parent Involvement Policy

• Develop jointly with, agree on with, and
  distributed to parents of participating children
  a written parent involvement policy
• This policy is incorporated into the Districts
  Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP)
• Establishes the LEAs expectations for parent
  involvement
• Describes how the LEA will conduct parent
  involvement

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LEA PolicyThe LEA will

• Involve parents in the joint development of the
  plan and the process of school review
• Provide coordination and support necessary to
  assist Title I Schools in planning and
  implementing effective parent involvement to
  improve student academic achievement.
• Build the schools parents capacity for parent
  involvement
• Coordinate and integrate strategies with other
  programs such as Head Start, Even Start
• Conduct with the involvement of parents an annual
  evaluation of the content and effectiveness of
  the policy.

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District Parent Involvement Policy
Template

• Development of a template for districts through
  support of Superintendents Advisory Team UMSAAT
• UMSAAT Underrepresented and Minority Student
  Achievement Advisory Team
• For the Parent and Community Involvement subgroup
  of UMSAAT creating a useful template was a major
  goal.

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Policy Template Development

• Meet NCLB Requirements
• Understandable to parents and community members
• Provide support and ideas for district and
  parents
• UMSAAT Parent/Community Involvement subgroup
  included a variety of perspectives
• Eduardo Angulo, Annalivia Angulo (Salem Keizer
  Coalition for Equality)
• Anita Olsen (Oregon PTA President Elect)
• Janet Rash (Intel)
• And many other group members

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TIP SHEET for Parent Involvement Policy

• Though the law requires this policy apply to only
  Title IA funded schools, parents, community
  members and educators usually desire the policy
  to apply to all schools within the district,
  therefore many districts find it beneficial to
  make this policy district wide.
• Strive to make this policy easily understandable
  and readable to a wide range of parents and
  community members.

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District Wide Parental Involvement PolicyThis
sample template of a District Wide Parental
Involvement Policy is provided as an example.

• Part I Statutory Requirements
• The name of school district agrees to implement
  the following statutory requirements
• The school district will conduct programs,
  activities and procedures for the involvement of
  parents and guardians in all of its Title IA
  funded schools. These programs, activities and
  procedures will be planned and operated with
  meaningful consultation with parents and
  guardians of participating children with
  particular attention to parents who are
  economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have
  limited English proficiency, have limited
  literacy, or are of any racial, cultural or
  ethnic minority background

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PART II. HOW THE DISTRICT WIL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED
DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY
COMPONENTS

• 1. The name of school district will take the
  following actions to involve parents in the joint
  development of its district wide parental
  involvement policy
• (List actions.)
• Suggested Actions
• Include parent representation from the onset of
  the development
• Hold a series of accessible meetings with parents
  and guardians to develop and review the parental
  involvement policy.
• Conduct parent meetings to review and update the
  policy yearly (a minimum of one annual meeting is
  required).
• Take parent involvement policy draft to various
  parent/community groups that reflect the
  diversity of the community for feedback, with
  particular attention to parents who are
  economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have
  limited English proficiency, have limited
  literacy, or are of any racial, cultural or
  ethnic minority background.

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Part III HOW THE DISTRICT WILL BUILD CAPACITY
FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

• The name of school district will build the
  schools and parents capacity for strong
  parental involvement. This will ensure effective
  involvement of parents and support a partnership
  among the school involved, parents, and the
  community including businesses to improve student
  academic achievement, through the following
  activities described below
• 1. The school district will, with the assistance
  of its Title I, Part A schools, provide
  assistance to parents in understanding topics
  such as,
• Oregons academic content standards,
• Oregons student academic achievement standards,
• Oregon and local academic assessments including
  alternate assessments,
• the requirements of Title I Part A,
• how to monitor their childs progress, and
• how to work with educators
• The activities to assist parents are
  described below
• (List actions)
• Suggested Actions

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Key Changes at the School Level-School Parent
Involvement Policy

• Each Title I funded school must develop and
  distribute its own written parental involvement
  policy that includes
• Annual meeting
• Offer a flexible number of meetings
• Involve parents in planning, review and
  improvement of Title I programs
• Provide timely information regarding the programs
• Provide opportunity to submit dissenting views to
  LEA

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School-Parent Compacts

• Each Title I funded school must have a compact
• Developed jointly with parents of the school
• Describes school and parents responsibilities.
• The compact must also address the importance of
  ongoing communication between teachers and
  parents. At a minimum
• Parent-teacher conferences (at least annually) in
  elementary school,
• Frequent reports to parents on their child
  progress
• Reasonable access to staff and school

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REQUIRED SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT PROVISIONS

• School Responsibilities
• Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction
  in a supportive and effective learning
  environment that enables the participating
  children to meet the States student academic
  achievement standards as follows
• Hold parent-teacher conferences (at least
  annually in elementary schools) during which this
  compact will be discussed as it relates to the
  individual childs achievement. Specifically,
  those conferences will be held
• Provide parents with frequent reports on their
  childrens progress. Specifically, the school
  will provide reports as follows
• Provide parents reasonable access to staff.
  Specifically, staff will be available for
  consultation with parents as follows
• Provide parents opportunities to volunteer and
  participate in their childs class, and to
  observe classroom activities,

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OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS

• Student Responsibilities
• School responsibilities that
• are required but do not have
• to be stated in compact.
• Optional school responsibilities
• Signatures are not required
• Note All parents in Schoolwide Title I programs
  receive a compact. In Target Assistance programs
  the parents of targeted students receive a
  compact.

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Parent Involvement

• Parent Involvement is a complex activity.
• Ultimately schools that include the legal
  requirements as part of a larger effort for
  establishing effective parental partnerships are
  more likely to improve school-community
  relationships, the school environment, and the
  academic achievement of their students. NREL
  2002