1. Forsyth County Schools
Title I District Parent Involvement Training
August 17, 2006

2. Parent Involvement Defined
The term parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring that –
Parents plan an integral role in assisting their child’s learning.
Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school.
Parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child.
Other activities as described in section 1118 of NCLB
This definition, in conjunction with other provisions in NCLB, sets the parameters by which SEAs and LEAs and schools must implement policies, programs and procedures related to Title I, Part A Parent Involvement.

3. School, Family, & Community Partnerships: Caring for the Children We Share
There are three overlapping spheres of influence that directly affect student learning. With frequent interactions among schools, families and communities, more students are likely to receive common messages from various people about the importance of school, of working hard, of thinking creatively, of helping one another, and of staying in school. There are some practices that schools, family and community conduct separately and some that are conducted jointly to influence a child’s learning and development. Sometimes students are critical to the success of the family, the community or the school. Often, students are the parent’s main source of information about school.

4. What Research Says
Partnerships tend to decline across the grades, unless there is an intentional effort to develop and maintain the partnerships at each grade level
Affluent communities currently have more positive parent involvement
Schools in economically depressed communities make more contacts with families about the problems and difficulties the students are having
Single parents, employed parents, and parents who reside a lengthy distance from the school and fathers are less involved on average
Teachers and administrators would like to involve families at a greater level
Students at all levels want their families involved and actively participating in communication between the home and the school
All research is countered if there is an effort to establish a balance between the spheres of influence

5. Six Types of Parent Involvement
Parenting: Help all families establish home environments to support children as students
Communicating: Design effective forms of school to home communications about school programs and their children’s progress
Volunteering: Recruit and organize parent help and support
Learning at Home: Provide ideas to families about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions an planning
Decision Making: Include parents in school decisions, developing parent leaders and representatives
Collaborating with the Community: Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development
What are your starting points?
Identify strengths
Identify needed changes
Determine expectations
Define your community
Link you actions to measurable goals

6. Type 1: Parenting Workshops, videotapes, websites
Parent education and other courses or training for parents (GED, Adult ESL, family literacy)
Family resource center or designated area in the school
Family support programs to assist families with health, nutrition, and parenting
Home visits
Parent Mentor for Special Education/English Language Learners
School Annual Title I Meeting
Grandparents’ Day, Muffins for Mom, Doughnuts for Dad
Academic Open House

7. Type 2: Communicating
Newsletter with calendar of events sent home and posted online
Translations for ELL parents
Use of Translation Resource Persons (TRPs) for conferences and school events
School/Parent Compact
Parent Involvement Policy- Development, Distribution and Feedback
Parent/Teacher Conferences
Progress Reports, Report Cards
NCLB Parent Notifications – TransAct Communication & Compliance Center

8. Type 3: Volunteering
Volunteer hours recognized in the school newsletter and at the end of the year
Volunteer tutors
Mentors
PTA/PTO
Parent Support Group
Annual survey to identify interest, talents, and availability of volunteers
Utilize volunteers for phone trees or other structures to provide all families with needed information

9. Type 4: Learning at Home
Information for families on required skills in all subjects at each grade
Information on homework policies and how to monitor and discuss schoolwork at home
Information on how to assist students with skills they need to improve
Provide appropriate instructional materials through Learning at Home Toolkits
Calendars with daily or weekly activities for parents and students to do at home or in the community
Summer learning packets or activities
Family participation in helping students set academic goals for the year

10. Type 5: Decision Making School policy handbook District task forces
Encourage PTA/PTO participation
Title I School/District Parent Advisory Council
Networks to link all families with parent representatives
Surveys or phone calls to obtain parents’ input and reactions to school policies
School policy handbook
District task forces

11. Type 6: Collaborating With The Community
Information for students and families on community health, cultural, recreational, social support, and other programs and services
Information on community activities that link to learning skills and talents, including summer opportunities for students
School-business partnerships to attain school improvement goals
Open House
Strategic partnerships to support school readiness and family literacy
Tutors
Mentors

12. SEA Responsibilities Under NCLB
Required to involve parents & other stakeholders in the development of their plans for implementing federal law
Collecting and disseminating effective parental involvement practices
Technical assistance and monitoring of LEAs and schools
Develop a state report card
Establish written procedures for receiving and resolving complaints

13. LEA Responsibilities Under NCLB
An LEA receiving a Title I, Part A allocation that exceeds $500,000 must reserve at least one percent of its total Title I, Part A allocation for parental involvement
The LEA in conjunction with the parents of participating Title I, Part A students shall develop a written parental involvement policy which should be included in the CLIP.
Provide support and technical assistance to Title I schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to support academic achievement and school improvement.
Build capacity of the schools and of the parents for strong parental involvement.
Coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under Title I, Part A with parental involvement strategies under other programs (Head Start, HIPPY, Georgia Pre-K, and Title III language instructional programs)

14. Parent Notifications Title III Parents Rights Under NCLB
English acquisition program
Information on how the LEA will support the IEP or individualized services under Section 504
Private schools
Teacher and Paraprofessional qualifications
Prepare and disseminate an annual report card related to assessment, accountability and teacher quality
The LEA mus disseminate written procedures for receiving and resolving complaints to parents and to appropriate private school representatives

15. General School Responsibilities
Develop a written parental involvement policy jointly with, and agreed upon by, parents of participating students
Notify parents of the existence of the policy and make the policy available to the community
Develop jointly with parents a school-parent compact
Convene an annual meeting to inform parents of their school’s participation in Title I and to explain Title I, its requirements, and their right to be involved
Offer meetings using a flexible schedule
Provide parents timely information
Provide assistance to participating parents on school-related, NCLB and Title I requirements

16. School Responsibilities Continued…
Provide parent involvement materials and training
Educate teachers and other district staff on parental involvement
Coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs, activities and strategies with Head Start, Even Start, Migrant, Homeless, Vocational Education
Develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities
Conduct other activities as appropriate and feasible, such as parent resource centers
Involve parents in an ongoing and end of year assessment to evaluate the effectiveness of the parent involvement initiatives as a measure of school performance evaluations of the school

17. Building Capacity Section 1118 of NCLB requires 6 actions and
8 recommended actions to ensure effective
Involvement of parents and to support
Partners among the school involved,
parents and the community to improve
student achievement.
How can schools assist parents in developing their capacity to support their children’s education:
Engage them at school so they understand what their children are learning
Give them a voice in what happens to their children
Provide information about how to help their children at home, what their children need to learn, and how to plan for college, postsecondary education and a career.
Foster social connections between parents and teachers
Build families understanding of the education system and how to guide their children through it successfully
Offer access to social services and community agencies
Identify and build on strengths in the community and among families

18. Title I Monitoring Documentation
School Parent Involvement Policy has been written and evidence that it is updated periodically
Evidence that School Parent Involvement Policies have been distributed to all parents of Title I, Part A participating students
School-Parent Compact has been developed and distributed to all parents of Title I, Part A participating students
Evidence that schools hold an annual meeting to inform participating parents about Title I programs
Evidence that the schools have carried out the six requirements to build parents’ capacity to be involved in the schools
Evidence that the schools have informed parents about the existence of the Parent-Teacher Resource Center