Rockbridge County Public Schools

District Wide Parent Involvement Policy

PART I. GENERAL EXPECTATIONS
The Rockbridge County Public Schools agrees to implement the following statutory
requirements:
The school district will put into operation programs, activities and
procedures for the involvement of parents in all of its schools with
Title I, Part A programs, consistent with section 1118 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Those programs,
activities and procedures will be planned and operated with
meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
Consistent with section 1118, the school district will work with its
schools to ensure that the required school-level parental involvement
policies meet the requirements of section 1118(b) of the ESEA, and
each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with
section 1118(d) of the ESEA.
The school district will incorporate this district wide parental
involvement policy into its LEA plan developed under section 1112 of
the ESEA.
In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements,
to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools will provide
full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English
proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory
children, including providing information and school reports required
under section 1111 of the ESEA in an understandable and uniform
format and, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the
extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
If the LEA plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1112 of
the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children,
the school district will submit any parent comments with the plan
when the school district submits the plan to the State Department of
Education.

The school district will be governed by the following statutory
definition of parental involvement, and expects that its Title I schools
will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with
this definition:
Parental involvement means the participation of parents in
regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving
student academic learning and other school activities that
ensure:
(A) Parents play an important role in helping their child
learn;
(B) Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in
their childs education at school;
(C) Parents are full partners in their childs education
and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making
and on advisory committees to assist in the education
of their child;
(D) All activities described by the law are included in our
plans
PART II. DESCRIPTION OF HOW DISTRICT WILL IMPLEMENT
REQUIRED DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
POLICY COMPONENTS

1. The Rockbridge County Public Schools will take the following actions to involve
parents in the joint development of its district wide parental involvement plan under
section 1112 of the ESEA:

Notify parents in writing, via distribution of the current district parent
involvement policy at the beginning of each school year and when a
student is referred and enrolled in the program.

Feedback on annual parent surveys will be considered when revising this
policy.

Hold division-wide parent meeting annually that:


a. Provides incentives for parent participation
b. Solicits feedback on the policy and plans for the
following year
c. Provide support for meaningful parental involvement in
their childs achievement.


Utilize a variety of media (print and social) to communicate with parents on
events at the division and school level.


Include on the division web site:
a.) Parent information on meetings
b.) Resources for supporting student achievement
c.) School Report Cards as documented by Virginia
Department of Education


Teachers will provide parents with reading resources during parent teacher
conferences, parent nights or through individual sessions if needed.


2. The Rockbridge County Public Schools will take the following actions to involve
parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the
ESEA:

For any Title I Schools designated as in improvement under No Child
Left Behind, Rockbridge County Public Schools will notify in a timely
manner parents whose children attend that school and will follow all the
steps required by the regulations of No Child Left Behind.

Parents at Title I schools will be informed of school improvement plans and
achievement of school goals.


3. The Rockbridge County Public Schools will provide the following necessary
coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in
planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve
student academic achievement and school performance:


Provide support of Title I through funding and field support.
a.) The Coordinator for Federal Programs will meet on a
regular basis (at least 4 times) throughout the year with
Title I teachers to share best practices for parental
involvement, professional development and trainings.

Provide support for a Parent Involvement Advisory Board.

Provide financial support and resources for parent activities as deemed
necessary by the Parent Advisory board

Plan and provide financial resources, including:
a. District wide advertising for Title I events
b. Central office personnel to facilitate parent meetings
c. Central office personnel to assist in planning and implementation
of activities for school level or district-wide parent meetings and
events.

4. The Rockbridge County Public Schools will coordinate and integrate parental
involvement strategies in Title I Part A with parental involvement strategies under
the following other programs: Head Start and Division Preschools sponsored by
the Virginia Preschool Initiative by:
Coordinating transitions from preschool to elementary school through
working with the family services personnel in the Head Start and VPI
programs to :
(a) Support families through the Kindergarten registration process,
(b) Inquire which school a child will attend for Kindergarten and
coordinate students meeting the Kindergarten teachers and principal,
in the spring of their preschool year
(c) Coordinate the sharing of student portfolios and assessments between
preschool and Kindergarten
Connect families early to their childs home school.
(a) Include preschool parents in school newsletters during the
preschool year
(b) Include preschool students in school assemblies, parent nights
and PTA activities.

Collaboration among all area preschools and elementary schools
concerning issues of curriculum, character education, and parent
involvement.
5. The Rockbridge County Public Schools will take the following actions to conduct,
with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and
effectiveness of this parental involvement policy in improving the quality of its
Title I, Part A schools.


The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by
parents in parental involvement 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).

The school district will use the evaluation findings of the parental
involvement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective
parental involvement, and to revise policy if necessary.

Annually, the Title I teachers and the Coordinator for Federal Programs
will collaboratively develop and distribute survey forms to seek input on
parent involvement activities in the schools.

Based on the parent feedback, Rockbridge County Public Schools, Title I
teachers and the Coordinator of Federal Programs will develop division
practices and make instructional improvements in regards to the Title I
program and its goals.

Rockbridge County Public Schools will utilize parent feedback to revise
the parent involvement policy and will review the policy at least every 2
years.


6. The Rockbridge County Public Schools will:
build the schools and parents capacity for strong parental involvement,
ensure effective involvement of parents
Support a partnership between parents, the school and the community.
Strengthen parent involvement by the following activities specifically
described below:


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

the States academic content standards,
the States student academic achievement standards,
the State and local academic assessments including alternate
assessments,
the requirements of Part A,
how to monitor their childs progress, and
how to work with educators:
a.) Information will be provided to parents explaining content
standards and expectations for student achievement through
presentations, literature, newsletters and parent conferences
b.) Information will be provided to parents explaining academic
assessments given through out the year through presentations,
literature, newsletters and parent conferences
c.) Information concerning parent-teacher conferences and
working with educators will be provided prior to scheduling
conferences and will be discussed in parent meetings
d.) Information will be provided to parents describing Title I
requirements and activities and programs at their childs school

B. The school district will provide materials and training for parents that will
support their efforts to improve their childrens academic achievement.


The schools and district will collaborate to provide monthly updates and
suggestions for parental involvement in student achievement.

The district will assist Title I teachers to provide materials which support ongoing
parent involvement in reading.

The district will seek parent input to establish training needs and appropriate
venues for parents including suggested parent activities for supporting reading
and students success at the annual district parent meetings.


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

Principals and instructional leaders will regularly address best
practices for parent involvement at division and school level
meetings.
Rockbridge County Public Schools will partner with PTA/PTOs at
each school to connect with parents.

Rockbridge County Public Schools will work with community
partners through the Community Services Board Prevention Task
Force to coordinate parent programs that build ties between parents
and schools that reach beyond traditional academics.

D. The school district will coordinate and integrate parental involvement
programs and activities with local area preschool programs to encourage
parental involvement.

Meeting at least annually and collaboratively during the year with
Head Start concerning ways to connect parents to schools

Utilizing school PTA/PTO organizations to support reading for all
students including those receiving Title I services

E. To ensure that all parents have information regarding school and parent
programs, and other school activities, the Rockbridge County Public School
will:

Provide information in understandable and uniform formats, including
alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a
language the parents can understand

Work with building level principals on the need for understandable
and uniform formats for disseminating parent information including
alternative forms upon request


Rockbridge County Public Schools will maintain parent information
and resources on the Division web site
http://www.rockbridge.k12.va.us

PART III. DISCRETIONARY DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
POLICY COMPONENTS

To maximize parental involvement and participation in Rockbridge County Public
Schools will:


Arrange school meetings at a variety of times or encourage phone
conference for parents who are unable to attend those conferences at
school

Facilitate the establishment of the Parent Advisory Board. This board will
be comprised of interested representatives from each Title I school in the
district.

Maintain regular contact (at least twice a year) with the district wide
parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental
involvement in Title I, Part A programs;

* * * * *
PART IV. ADOPTION

This District wide Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and
agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced
by parent feedback on letters accompanying policy and discussions during district wide
parent meetings.

This policy was adopted by the Rockbridge County Public Schools on June 3, 2014 and
will be in effect for the period of two years. The school district will distribute this policy
to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before October 31, 2014.