1. Parent Involvement Policies and Parent/School Compacts
Improving Student Achievement Through Strong Parent and Community Involvement
Judy Clark Guida
July 2005

2. Parent Involvement Evolution of Parent Involvement Benefits
Parent Involvement Policies
District Parent Involvement Policy
School Parent Involvement Policy
Parent-School Compact

3. 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
Policy Involvement - Parents of children receiving Title I services were to have a role in designing and overseeing their local Title I programs. Were the programs responsive to their children’s needs rather then the general school population.
Partners in Education – How to help their children in homework monitoring, enhancing communication between parents and teachers, home visits, and parent/school compacts.

4. 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.

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

6. 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)

7. Create a home environment that encourages learning
The most accurate predictor of a student’s achievement in school is not income or social status, but the extent that a student’s family is able to:
Create a home environment that encourages learning
Express high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their children’s achievement and future careers
Become involved in their children’s education at school and in the community.
Notes from Research: Parent Involvement and Student Achievement.
San Diego County Office of Education 1997

8. 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

9. 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.
Synthesis of research by Kathleen Hoover-Dempsey and Howard Sandler.
Parent Involvement is a complex activity especially among low-income families
Working class and low income parents see a limited role for themselves while upper middle class believe they are central to making connections.
If they believe they can help their child they will be more active at the school
Parents are sensitive to negative signals. And are wary of contrived opportunities. Sincerity and multiple opportunities for parents to participate and to be informed are key.

10. Parent as Consumer
To be a good consumer, parents must be informed and empowered decision makers in their children’s education.
Parent notification provisions of ESEA is the key in the parent role of knowledgeable decision maker and active partner.

11. Parents as Consumers: Reports and Notices
Understandable Format and Language
Provide information to parents directly through the mail or & through broader means such as the media and the internet.
14 different references to parent notifications and reports being in understandable and in a language understandable by parents.

12. 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 child’s level of English language proficiency.
This is opposite of Special education services which is an opt in program. Must get permission to test, permission to place in special ed.
Do not need permission to test for language proficiency. Students are placed in the program based on their assessment, parents are notified and given needed information, then can have their child opt-out of the service.

13. 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.

14. 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 District’s Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP)
Establishes the LEA’s expectations for parent involvement
Describes how the LEA will conduct parent involvement

15. LEA Policy The 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.
Process to send complaints to ODE from parents.

16. District Parent Involvement Policy Template
Development of a template for districts through support of Superintendent’s 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.

17. 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

18. 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.

19. District Wide Parental Involvement Policy
District Wide Parental Involvement Policy *This 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

20. 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.

21. Part III HOW THE DISTRICT WILL BUILD CAPACITY FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
The name of school district will build the schools’ and parent’s 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,
Oregon’s academic content standards,
Oregon’s student academic achievement standards,
Oregon and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,
the requirements of Title I Part A,
how to monitor their child’s progress, and
how to work with educators:
The activities to assist parents are described below:
(List actions)
Suggested Actions –

22. 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

23. 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
Must describe the school’s responsibility for providing a high quality curriculum in a supportive and effective learning environment
Ways parent will support their children’s learning
monitoring homework completion
TV time
Attendance
volunteering
participating in decisions relating to the education of their child

24. 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 State’s 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 child’s achievement. Specifically, those conferences will be held:
Provide parents with frequent reports on their children’s 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 child’s class, and to observe classroom activities,

25. 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.

26. 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