Policies for Family Engagement and Anti-Bullying
Family Engagement Policy
2415.90 (Paterson STEAM High School) TITLE I –
SCHOOL 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 are 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:
(List actions)
a. Involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s parental involvement policy, in a systematic, ongoing, and timely manner.
b. Offer technology workshops for parents/caregivers that provide technical training on how to monitor their child’s progress on Google Classroom and Infinite Campus, including technical assistance with setting or resetting login credentials for Infinite Campus (e.g. usernames and passwords).
While the workshops will be held virtually and in-person, a screencast of the presentation will be posted on the school’s website. Time and Dates for the workshops will be communicated to parents/caregivers through letters mailed home and posted on the school’s website.
c. Create a family engagement survey to administer to parents/caregivers, students, teachers and other school staff. The results will guide the development of a family engagement plan and its related goals.
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: (Describe when and where the annual meeting will be
held.) The school will offer virtual and in-person meetings in the morning, afternoon, and evening. For example, the annual school meeting will be held in-person during the last week in September on Tuesday from 5:30pm to 6pm. Additional dates for virtual meetings will be scheduled for Wednesday from 8:30am to 9am and Thursday from 1:30 pm to 2 pm. The school will create a screencast of our Title I process that will be posted on our school’s website, if needed it will be presented in languages other than English (e.g., Spanish, Bengali, and Arabic)
to accommodate the linguist needs of parents/caregivers.
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:
(Describe how flexibility is provided.)
Flexible meeting times: The strategy for offering flexible time for parents and family is to schedule the annual school meeting and workshops for parents when the school schedules other events, such as Back-to-School Nights. For parents/caregivers who are unable to attend the annual meeting in person, virtual meetings to accommodate them will be held in the morning and afternoon as noted above. A screencast of our Title I process will be posted on the school’s website.
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:
(List activities)
a. Recruit parents/caregivers to participate in an advisory capacity by serving on school PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) or focus group. Recruit students (representative of the student body) to serve on student advisory councils.
b. Provide technology workshops for parents/caregivers to provide technical training on how to monitor their child’s progress on Google Classroom and Infinite Campus, including technical assistance with setting or resetting login credentials for Infinite Campus (e.g. usernames and passwords.
While the workshops will be held virtually and in-person, a screencast of the presentation will be posted on the school’s website. Time and Dates for the workshops will be communicated to parents/caregivers through letters mailed home and posted on the school’s website.
c. Provide workshops for parents/caregivers informing them about standardized testing and how to read the report results. Parents/caregivers will be provided with a report of their child’s/children standardized test scores. They will receive an explanation about the testing process and support with interpreting their child/children's assessment results.
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.
(List activities, such as workshops, conferences, classes, both in-state and out-of-state, including any equipment or other materials that may be necessary to ensure success.)
(a) Opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer and/or contribute to the development of the parent engagement plan by serving in an advisory capacity (e.g. PTO, focus groups, steering committees, School Improvement Team/Annual School-
wide Plan, and surveys).
(b) Curriculum evening. Parents/caregivers are invited into the classroom (with or without their students) to learn about: grade level curriculum, content, resources and standardized testing. During this time parents also run through a simulated schedule of their child’s school day and see student work samples.
(c) Parent workshops described in the previous sections.
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:
(List activities)
(1) Opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer and/or contribute to the development of the parent engagement plan by serving in an advisory capacity (e.g. PTO, focus groups, steering committees, School Improvement Team/Annual School-wide Plan, and surveys).
(2) Curriculum Evening (event): Parents/caregivers are invited into the classroom (with or without their students) to learn about: grade level curriculum, content, resources and standardized testing. During this time parents also run through a simulated schedule of their child’s school day and see student work samples.
(3) Parent workshops described in the previous sections.
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:
(List activities)
(1) Opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer and/or contribute to the development of the parent engagement plan by serving in an advisory capacity (e.g. PTO, focus groups, steering committees, School Improvement Team/Annual School-wide Plan, and surveys).
(2) Curriculum Evening (event): Parents/caregivers are invited into the classroom (with or without their students) to learn about: grade level curriculum, content, resources, and standardized testing. During this time parents also run through a simulated schedule of their child’s school day and see student work samples.
(3) Parent workshops described in the previous sections.
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:
(List activities)
(1) Providing opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer and/or contribute to the development of the parent engagement plan by serving in an advisory capacity (e.g. PTO, focus groups, steering committees, School Improvement Team/Annual School-wide Plan, and surveys).
(2) Holding celebrations in honor of the academic achievement (e.g. honor roll breakfast and awards ceremony).
(3) Ensuring that the school counselors and the career pathway supervisors will provide workshops to parents to assist in guiding their child/children through the process of transition from high school to college or as they prepare to enter the workforce in their desired career pathway.
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:
(List actions)
(1) The school’s parental engagement policy will be disseminated annually. Translated documents will be provided, as needed.
(2) The parent compact will be collaboratively developed between parents/caregivers, students, and school staff will be evaluated and revised annually.
(3) Special considerations as to the needs of parents will be taken into account in planning and hosting the school's annual Title I meeting, which will take place at time, date and in a format that meets the needs of the parent/caregivers.
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:
(List activities)
a. Providing opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer and/or contribute to the development of the parent engagement plan by serving in an advisory capacity (e.g. PTO, focus groups, steering committees, School Improvement Team/Annual School-wide Plan, and surveys).
b. Ensuring that school staff are available for ongoing communication and coordination with parents, as needed (e.g., conferences period built-in teacher schedules, substitute coverage as needed to cover teachers for parent-teacher conferences so as to accommodate the schedules of parents/caregivers, progress reports, updated grades available to parents in Infinite Campus).
c. Seeking the input of parents/caregivers in their implementation of programs geared toward improving the academic achievement of students.
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:
(List actions, such as describing how the evaluation will be conducted, identifying who will be responsible for conducting it, and explaining what role parents will play.)
a. The school will provide opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer and/or contribute to the development of the parent engagement plan by serving in an advisory capacity (e.g. PTO, focus groups, steering committees, School Improvement Team/Annual School-wide Plan and surveys).
b. The school will ensure that school staff are available for ongoing communication and coordination with parents, as needed (e.g., conferences period built-in teacher schedules, substitute coverage as needed to cover teachers for parent-teacher conferences so as to accommodate the schedules of parents/caregivers, progress reports, updated grades available to parents in Infinite Campus).
c. The school will seek the input of parents/caregivers in their implementation of programs geared toward improving the academic achievement of students.
9. The school will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement:
(List activities)
a. Parental involvement through their participation in creating the School Improvement Plan.
b. Parents will be involved in developing and assessing the Parent engagement compact that outlines how parents/caregivers, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the State's high standards.
c. The school and its staff members will use various methods of communication to share important information with parents/caregivers about back-to-school nights, parent-teacher/staff conferences, and other school events (e.g., letters sent by mail, email, school messenger, school newspaper, Google Classroom, Infinite Campus and the school’s website).
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:
(List actions)
a. Parental involvement through their participation in creating the School Improvement Plan.
b. The parent engagement plan will be collaboratively developed between parents/caregivers, students, and school staff will be evaluated and revised annually.
c. Provide opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer and/or contribute to the development of the parent engagement plan by serving in an advisory capacity (e.g. PTO, focus groups, steering committees, School Improvement Team/Annual School-wide Plan, and surveys).
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:
(List actions)
a. Parental involvement through their participation in creating the School Improvement Plan.
b. The parent engagement plan will be collaboratively developed between parents/caregivers, students, and school staff will be evaluated and revised annually.
c. Provide opportunities for parents/guardians to volunteer and/or contribute to the development of the parent engagement plan by serving in an advisory capacity (e.g. PTO, focus groups, steering committees, School Improvement Team/Annual School-wide Plan, and surveys).
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:
(List actions)
(1) The school will extend learning opportunities to students by creating partnerships with community-based business and organizations like post-secondary education institutions that lead to career certification and/or earned college credits.
(2) The school will support and provide guidance to students and families by creating partnerships with community-based organizations, post-secondary education institutions allow student to explore college and career interests (e.g., college tours, job fairs, internships, service-learning projects and college/career counseling.
(3) Parental involvement through their participation in creating the School Improvement Plan.
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:
(List actions)
a. Printed material sent to parents by mail and email. The materials will be translated, as needed.
b. Use of School Messenger to communicate with parents.
c. Use of the school’s website.
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 2023