Parent Family Engagement

LEA Title I, Part A Parent and Family Engagement for 2024-2025

LEA: Bladen County
School: District Wide      

Sections 1118 of the Every Student Succeeds Acts (ESSA) requires the involvement of parents of participating children in the design and implementation of Title I projects that will support effective parental engagement and strengthen student academic achievement.

This Parent and Family Engagement Policy (Policy) describes the means for carrying out designated Title I, Part A, parent and family engagement requirements pursuant to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Section 1116(a).

PART I

The Bladen County School district agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

SEC. 1118. PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT

(a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY POLICY-

1. IN GENERAL- A local educational agency may receive funds under this part only if such agency implements programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents in programs assisted under this part consistent with this section. Such programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
    
2. WRITTEN POLICY- Each local educational agency that receives funds under this part shall develop jointly with, agree with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy. The policy shall be incorporated into the local educational agency's plan developed under section 1112, establish the agency's expectations for parent and family engagement, and describe how the agency will —
   
   a. involve parents and family in the joint development of the plan under section 1112, and the process of school review and improvement under section 1116;
   
   b. provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family engagement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance;
   
   c. build the schools' and parents' and families’ capacity for strong parent and family engagement as described in subsection (e);
   
   d. coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies under this part with parent and family engagement strategies under other programs, such as the Head Start program, Reading First program, Even Start program, Parents as Teachers program, and Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, and State-run preschool programs; 
   
   e. conduct, with the involvement of parents and families, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under this part, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by this section (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), and use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parent and family engagement, and to revise, if necessary, the parent and family engagement policies described in this section; and
   
   f. involve parents and families in the activities of the schools served under this part.

PART II

1. The Bladen County School District will take the following actions to involve parents and families in the joint development of its district wide parent and family engagement plan under section 1118 of the ESSA:

• Title I schools will identify a teacher, parent, or administrator to serve on the district level Parent Advisory Committee (PAC).
• PAC members will be notified of information meetings through the calling system, by written notice, on the district website, and in the monthly district calendar and to the extent possible, provide a choice of the day and time of the meeting(s).
• Parents and families are encouraged to make suggestions, ask questions, participate in surveys, visit the school campus, and be involved at all levels of the school operation; Allow for two-way communication.
• Parents and families will have access to various Title I information brochures provided by NCDPI.
• The district will seek recommendations from parents on how to enhance the school-home connection.

2. The Bladen County School District will take the following actions to involve parents and families in the process of school review and improvement under section 1118 of the ESSA:

• Parents and families are a part of the School Improvement Team, PTO organization and Advisory Council.
• Parents and families are notified of all meetings in advance.
• Parents and families are encouraged to make suggestions, ask questions, participate in surveys, visit the school campus, and be involved at all levels of the school operation; Allow for two-way communication.
• Parents and families are given an update on the progress of the school program on a periodic and/or as-needed basis.

3.  The Bladen County School district will provide the necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family engagement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance by:

• Providing schools and principals with timely and updated resource materials related to Title I and Parent and Family Engagement.
• Assist with all school-generated documents concerning Title I and Parent and Family Engagement to include, proofing, editing, and writing.
• Assist with planning and implementing school level parent nights, conferences, and PTO meetings where necessary.
• Advise according to best practices positive communication efforts.
• Meetings conducted at Title I schools by the superintendent and administrators.
• 1% of the Title I Budget is set aside annually for Title I schools to build and grow parent/family engagement in each building.

4. The Bladen County School district will coordinate and integrate parental and family engagement strategies in Part A with parent and family engagement strategies under the following other programs; Smart Start (district partner) and NC Pre-K by:

• Informing parents and families of informational Title I meetings and to the extent possible, provide a choice of the day and time of the meeting(s).
• Parents and families are encouraged to make suggestions, ask questions, participate in surveys, visit a school campus, and be involved at all levels of a schools’ operation; Allow for two-way communication.
• Parents and families are given an update on the progress of the school program on a periodic and/or as-needed basis.

5.  The Bladen County School District will take the following actions to conduct, with the engagement of parents and families, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement policy in improving the quality of its Title I, Part A schools. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents and families in parent and family engagement activities (with particular attention to parents and families who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background). The school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its parent and engagement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parent and family engagement, and to revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents and families) its parent and family engagement policies.

• Annual parent/family survey will be disseminated to all Bladen County School parents/families via Google forms. Results will be tabulated by Google Forms and shared with PAC at both the district level and the school level to determine if any changes or improvements need to be made to the Plan.

6.  The Bladen County School District will build the schools’ and parents’/families’ capacity for strong parent and family engagement, in order to ensure effective engagement of parents and families to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, families, and the community to improve student academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below:

1. The school district will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, provide assistance to parents and families of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described below:

• the State’s academic content standards,
• the State’s student academic achievement standards,
• the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,
• how to monitor their child’s progress, and
• how to work with educators:

✔ Accountability standards are sent home by every student at the beginning of the school year and explained at orientation.

✔ A copy of the PSU Testing Calendar with dates and the purpose of state-mandated testing requirements is sent home with each student at the beginning of the school year.

✔ Accountability reports are sent home by every student. (State Report Card provided by NCDPI).

✔ Individual student reports (ISR) are sent home with each student and discussed at parent conferences.

✔ Title I requirements are discussed at PTO meetings and Advisory Council meetings.

✔ Interim Progress reports are sent home every three (3) weeks to inform parents; EC Progress reports are sent home each nine (9) weeks.

✔ Report cards are sent home every nine (9) weeks and parents are invited for conferences.

B.  The school district will, with the assistance of its schools, provide materials and training to help parents and families work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement, such as literacy training, and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental and family engagement. These communications will come from various departments concerning their particular program by:

• Math Night
• EOG Night
• Curriculum Night
• Club Night
• Literacy Night
• Provide parents/families with US Department of Education brochures. (Title I)
• Provide parents/families with literacy training (target area K-5)
• NC Pre-Kindergarten Nights
• Preventative measures/resources as they relate to EC students.
• Learning Management System Information (Canvas) for parents

C.  The school district will, with the assistance of its schools and parents/families, educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, principals and other staff, in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents and families as equal partners, in the value and utility of contributions of parents/families, and in how to implement and coordinate parent/family  programs and build ties between parents, families and schools, by:

• NC PTA Toll-Free: 1-800-255-0417 www.pta.org: Building Successful Partnerships Training
• Involve PTO in the decision-making process and share with staff.
• Provide links on the school website for staff development and parent/family training.

D.  The school district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement programs and activities with Smart Start (district partner) and NC PreK, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents/families in more fully participating in the education of their children, by:

• A monthly calendar of school wide and district wide activities is provided for all parents/families.
• Student planners are provided by the school. Space is provided for teacher-parent communication.
• Correspondence from school and district.
• Alert Solutions notification system for phone/text/email communication.

E.  The school district will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent-family programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents and families of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand:

• Parents/families of English Language Learners (ELL) students are sent information in Spanish when available.
• The ELL coordinator calls parents/families to communicate immediate and important releases.
• The ELL coordinator serves as a liaison with parents/families to provide communication support.