Parent and Family Engagement
A. District Expectations
1. In accordance with the requirements of Title I, Section 1116(a)(2), ESEA, the Board of Education agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:
a. The school district will put into operation programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents in all its schools with Title I, Part A programs. These programs, activities, and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
b. The school district will work with its schools to ensure the required school-level parent and family engagement policies meet the Title I, Part A requirements, and include, as a component, a school-parent compact.
c. The school district will incorporate this School Parent and Family Engagement Policy into its district plan.
d. In carrying out the Title I, Part A parent and family engagement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents of children with limited English proficiency, parents of children with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports in an understandable and uniform format and, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
e. If the school district plan for Title I, Part A funds is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school district will submit any parent comments with the plan upon request by the New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE).
f. The school district will involve the parents of children served in Title I schools in decisions about how the one percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and family engagement is spent, and will ensure that not less than ninety percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools. (Only applicable for districts with Title I, Part A allocations greater than $500,000.)
g. The school district will be governed by the following statutory definition of parent and family engagement, and expects that its Title I schools will carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this definition:
(1) “Parent and family engagement” means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:
(a) That parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
(b) That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;
(c) That 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; and
(d) The carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1116 of the ESEA.
h. The school district will inform parents and parental organizations of the purpose and existence of the Parental Information and Resource Center in New Jersey.
B. School Parent and Family Engagement Policy Required Components
1. The school will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district/school parent and family engagement plan:
a. Designate family liaisons/leaders to support engagement efforts, including attending educational events and disseminating various communications;
b. Make processes and procedures for plan development publicly available and accessible to parents and families, including when and how they will have the opportunity to engage;
c. Survey parents to learn more and seek input about the issues that matter most to families and students
2. The school will convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of their school's participation under Title I, Part A, and to explain the requirements of this part and the right of the parents to be involved:
Title I Presentation shared with parents and families during Back to School Night in school and posted on school’s website; additional Title I meetings will be held at school, as needed
3. The school will offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under Title I, Part A, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parent and family engagement:
Virtual and/or in-person parent-teacher conferences, student events where families are invited and offer multiple opportunities for outreach at different times of the day to accommodate various work schedules
4. The school will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family engagement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance:
a. The school will coordinate all meetings with parents and families
b. The school will provide technical assistance to parents and families in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to respond to new student needs, emerging technology and available resources
c. The school will provide all other supports necessary to assist in implementing effective parental involvement activities
5. The school will build the schools' and parents' capacity for strong parent and family engagement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below:
a. The school will, with the assistance of its Title I schools, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following:
(1) The challenging, state academic standards;
(2) The state and local academic assessments including alternate assessments;
(3) The requirements of Title I, Part A;
(4) How to monitor their child's progress; and
(5) How to work with educators to improve the achievement of their children.
(a) Workshops and professional development sessions
(b) Conferences and/or classes
(c) Any equipment or other materials that may be necessary to ensure success
6. The school will provide parents of participating children, if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practically possible.
a. The school will, with the assistance of its Title I schools, provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children's achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parent and family engagement, by:
(1) Facilitating literacy training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement
(2) Facilitating mathematics and/or science training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement
(3) Facilitating STEAM-based and/or the use of technology training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement
b. The school will, with the assistance of its Title I schools and parents, educate its teachers, student services personnel, principals, other school leaders, 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 reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools, by:
(1) Involving parents in the development of training for teachers, principals and other staff to improve effectiveness on how to reach out, communicate with and work with parents
c. The school will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement programs and activities with Head Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, Parents as Teachers Program, and public preschool and other programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children, by:
(1) Providing examples and models;
(2) Facilitating communications;
(3) Providing any necessary materials or other resources
d. The school will take the following actions to ensure that Title I information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents 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:
(1) Conducting ongoing surveys to determine predominant languages;
(2) Ensuring the highest possible quality of translations;
(3) Utilize a variety of formats to share information such as: memos/letters, email, flyer programs, newsletters, videos, social media and the school website.
7. The school will coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies under Title I with parent and family engagement strategies under the following programs: [Such as: Head Start, Parents as Teachers, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, and state-operated preschool programs], by:
a. The school may create Parent Resources Centers;
b. The school shall ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand;
c. The school may provide transportation and child care to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions;
8. The school will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement policy in improving the quality of its Title I schools. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parent and family 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). The school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its parent and family 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) its parent and family engagement policies:
a. An evaluation will be conducted utilizing a variety of meetings including paper based surveys & internet based surveys;
b. School administrators will be responsible for conducting the surveys;
c. Parents will be asked to participate in the survey by answering survey questions and where feasible may be asked to assist the school in conducting the survey. In addition parents may also be asked, when feasible, to assist the school in analyzing survey results and disseminating survey results.
9. The school will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement:
a. Engage parents in analyzing data, assessing needs, and identifying root causes that contribute to the areas of need;
b. Seek input from parents in writing and implementing the plan;
c. Engage parents in monitoring progress of plan at established checkpoints
10. If the Annual School Plan (school-wide program plan) is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the Annual School Plan (ASP) when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency:
a. Contact the school principal and copy the district family and community engagement coordinator
C. Shared Responsibilities for High Student Academic Achievement
1. As a component of the school-level parent and family engagement policy, each school shall jointly develop with parents for all children served under this part a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement:
a. During regular parent/teacher.student conferences, parents and students will be given the option to complete and sign the school-parent compact
b. Post school-parent compact on school website
c. As needed, the school-parent compact will be included in school newsletters along with this policy
D. Discretionary School Parent and Family Engagement Policy Components
1. The School Parent and Family Engagement Policy may include additional paragraphs listing and describing other discretionary activities that the school district, in consultation with its parents, chooses to undertake to build parents' capacity for involvement in the school and school system to support their children's academic achievement, such as the following discretionary activities:
a. Involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training.
b. Provide necessary literacy training for parents from Title I, Part A funds received, if the school district has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training.
c. Pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with parent and family engagement activities, including transportation and childcare costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions.
d. Train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents.
e. In order to maximize parent and family engagement and participation in their children's education, arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents who are unable to attend such conferences at school.
f. Adopt and implement model approaches to improve parent and family engagement.
g. Establish a district-wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parent and family engagement in Title I, Part A programs.
h. Develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities.
i. Provide other reasonable support for parent and family engagement activities under this section as parents may request:
(1) Inform parents about community resources, afterschool programs and other opportunities that may support their child’s learning and social emotional development;
(2) Utilize family liaisons/ambassadors to engage with families to build trust and foster ongoing relationships;
(3) Engage families through home visits, family workshops, and training and empowerment activities that are relevant to their needs
E. Accessibility
1. In carrying out the parent and family engagement requirements of this part, districts and schools, to the extent practicable, shall provide full opportunities for the participation of parents of children with limited English proficiency, parents of children with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents can understand:
a. Families of English Language Learners: Ensure translation is community-vetted and accurate, and hire and train community or family liaisons/leaders to support engagement. Policy structures all over the country and world are different, as are cultural norms about the role of educational leaders.
b. Immigrant Families: Invite families and school staff to participate in focus groups or information sessions to explore families’ and the school’s expectations and goals for students, and to begin an initial informal discussion of student needs and school support.
c. Families of Students with Disabilities: Engage members of the child study team in school leadership teams as they are aware of the needs of the students with disabilities in the school and they may have community connections to engage stakeholders in collaboratively supporting students and their families.
F. Adoption
1. This School Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by meeting minutes.
2. This Policy was adopted by the Board of Education on the adoption date noted at the end of this Policy and will be in effect for the period of the school year. The school district will distribute this Policy to all parents of participating Title I children on or before October 1 of each school year.
Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title I, Section 1116(a)(2)
Adopted: 18 October 2022