Title I School Wide Parental Engagement Policy

Title I School Wide Parental Engagement Policy 2018-2019 Northeast Middle School agrees to implement the following to encourage and promote meaningful parent engagement:

1. Northeast Middle School will take the following actions to actively engage parents in the joint development of its school parental policy.
    a. Invite parents from all grade levels and the various programs within the building to participate in the development of the parental engagement policy.
    b. Parent representatives will be included in the quarterly meetings of the School Wide Improvement Team.

2. The parental engagement policy will be distributed and made available to the local community by:
    a. Inclusion in the student agenda
    b. Distribution of the policy to students at the beginning of school.

3. Northeast Middle School will convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents shall be invited and encouraged to attend to inform parents of their school’s Title I participation, including rights of parents to be engaged. This will be accomplished by:
    a. Invitations sent via mail
    b. Open invitation on the school/community bulletin board

4. Northeast Middle School will take the following actions to engage parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESE, which include the planning, review and improvement of the Title I school wide program and activities.
    a. Invite parents from both grade levels and the various programs within the building to participate in the school review and improvement process.
    b. Parent representatives will be included in the quarterly meetings of the school wide improvement team where the revision and implementation of this process will be discussed.

5. Northeast Middle School will implement the following effective parental engagement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance.
    a. Quarterly parent engagement meetings on a variety of special topics i.e. reading strategies, computer awareness, PSSA preparation, etc.

6. Northeast Middle school will coordinate and integrate its parent engagement strategies to the extent possible with specialized programs.

7. Northeast Middle School will take the following actions to conduct, with the engagement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental engagement policy in improving the quality of the school. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parental engagement activities (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background). Northeast Middle School will use the finding of the evaluation about its parental engagement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parental engagement, and to revise, if necessary (and with the engagement of parents) its parental engagement policies.
    a. Invite parents from both grade levels and the various programs within the building to participate in the school review and improvement process.
    b. Parent representative will be included in the quarterly meetings of the School Wide Improvement Team where the revision and implementation of this process will be discussed.
    c. Staff will use results from parent engagement surveys distributed to Northeast Middle School parents, as part of the district-wide annual survey of parents, to identify strengths and weaknesses in Northeast’s parent engagement. These findings will be used to improve the parent engagement strategies for the subsequent school year and will be incorporated in the School Improvement Plan.

8. Northeast Middle School will building its capacity for strong parental engagement, in order to insure effective engagment of parents and to support a partnership among the school, parents andcommunity to improve student academic performance, through the following activities specifically described: a. Northeast Middle School will provide assistance to parents of children served, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described:
    i. School/district curriculum and the Pennsylvania Academic Standards
    ii. Information on proficiency levels students are expected to meet
    iii. The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) and the Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA)
    iv. The requirements of Title I, Part A
    v. How to monitor their child’s progress
    vi. How to work with educators

Such assistance may include the following activities
 Explanatory communications provided in both English/Spanish
 Explanatory meetings held quarterly to review and disseminate information on a variety of topics with Spanish translation available

9. Northeast Middle School will work with parents to improve their children’s academic achievement, such as literacy training, and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental engagement through quarterly meetings.

10. Northeast Middle School will educate its principal, teaches, and other staff in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, in the value an utility of contributions of parents, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools.

11. Northeast Middle School will take the following actions to insure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings and other activities, is sent to parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and to the extent practicable, in a language parents can understand.
    a. Explanatory communications provided in both English/Spanish
    b. Explanatory meetings held quarterly to review and disseminate information on a variety of topics with Spanish translation available

12. Northeast Middle School will revise, jointly with parents, its school/parent compact, which is a written agreement between the school and the parents that identifies the activities those parents, the entire school staff, and students will undertake to share the responsibility for improved student achievement. The school/parent compact will be reviewed and revised, if necessary, every two years.