Parent and Family Engagement Policy

THOMAS G. MORTON SCHOOL

Parent and Family Engagement Policy

School Year 2020-2021

Revision Date: August 2020

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, Thomas G. Morton receives Title I, Part A funds and therefore must jointly develop with, agree on with, and distribute to parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy that contains information required by section 1116(b) and (c) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).  The policy establishes the school’s expectations for parent and family engagement and describes how the school will implement a number of specific parent and family engagement activities, and it is incorporated into the school’s plan submitted to the local educational agency (LEA).

The Thomas G. Morton School agrees to implement the following requirements as outlined by Section 1116:

  • Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under Title I, Part A, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan under Section 1114(b) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
  • Update the school parent and family engagement policy periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school, distribute it to the parents of participating children, and make the parent and family engagement policy available to the local community.
  • Provide full opportunities, to the extent practicable, 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 ESSA in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
  • If the schoolwide program plan under Section 1114(b) of the ESSA is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency.
  • Be governed by the following statutory definition of parent and family engagement and will carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this definition:

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) Parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning

(B) Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school

(C) 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

(D) Other activities are carried out, such as those described in Section 1116 of the ESSA

 

DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE SCHOOL WILL IMPLEMENT 

REQUIRED SCHOOL PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

Section A: JOINTLY DEVELOPED

Thomas G. Morton School will take the following actions to involve parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely manner in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs, including opportunities for regular meetings, if requested by parents, to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their child and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.

Parents will be invited to provide feedback and input to the Parent Compact and Parent and Family Engagement Policy during a meeting in the Spring 2021. Parents will be notified via Messenger, Class Dojo and Social Media. This year the meeting was held on August 20, 2020.

Section B: ANNUAL TITLE I MEETING

Thomas G. Morton School will take the following actions to conduct an annual meeting, at a convenient time, and encourage and invite all parents of participating children to attend to inform them about the school’s Title I program, the nature of the Title I program, the parents’ requirements, the school parent and family engagement policy, the schoolwide plan, and the school-parent compact.

We will hold the Annual Title I meeting on Back to School Night in September where we will inform parents about the Title I part A requirements, teacher qualifications and rights to know, state academic content standards and assessments, working with educators and how to monitor student progress as well as information about the school’s curriculum. We will also provide and send home a copy of the Parent and Family Engagement Policy at that time. Parents will be notified by Class Dojo, Messenger and Social Media.

 

Section C: COMMUNICATIONS

Thomas G. Morton School will take the following actions to provide parents of participating children with (1) Timely information about the Title I programs, (2) Flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, (3) transportation, child care or home visits, as such services relate to parent and family engagement and may use Title I funds and (4) 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.

Parents will be given the Parent Engagement Policy and Compact during Back to School Night, posted on the website as well as sent home with students. Parents are notified about various meetings, assemblies, Town Halls and events monthly through Messenger. Meetings, trainings and workshops are held at various times of the day to accommodate all families and their schedules. All communication sent home are in the family’s home language. Any translation can be made available upon request from the district’s Family and Community Engagement office. 

 

Section D: SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT

Thomas G. Morton School will take the following actions to jointly develop with parents of participating children a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, 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.

Parents will be invited to provide feedback and input to the School Parent Compact and Family Engagement Policy during the Spring. Parents will be notified via Messenger, Class Dojo and Social Media. This year the meeting was held on August 20, 2020.

 

Section E: RESERVATION OF FUNDS

Thomas G. Morton School will take the following actions to involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and family engagement is spent by:

Each winter, parents are invited to attend a budget review meeting. During this meeting , parents can give input into how they would like to see the parent involvement funds spent. Parent Involvement funds will be used to purchase take-home books for parents to use at home with their child(ren) as well as for various parent newsletters, copying and posting of communication to parents. At the annual Title I meeting, parents are made aware of the 1%fund set aside and parent surveys also ask parents how they would like the funds utilized.
Section F: COORDINATION OF SERVICES

Thomas G. Morton School will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement programs and activities with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool 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 (when in-person learning resumes)

  • Education Works- after school program that provides a safe haven in conjunction with homework assist and social skill development with individual and small groups to provide academic support.
  • West Philadelphia Tutoring Project- students from the University of Pennsylvania provide tutoring for students in grades 4 and 5.
  • Ithan Elementary School (Radnor) sponsors a book drive to provide literacy materials for students in grades K-5, inclusive of Autistic and Emotional support classes.
  • PAL- provides an after-school monitoring of children as a safe haven for working families. They provide activities to foster social and emotional growth.

 

Section G: BUILDING CAPACITY OF PARENTS

  1. Thomas G. Morton School will build the parents’ capacity for strong parent and family engagement to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school and the community to improve student academic achievement through the following:Providing parents with a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress, and the achievement levels of the challenging State academic standards; and
  2. Materials and training to help parents to work with their child to improve their child’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), as appropriate, to foster parent and family engagement
  3. Providing assistance, to parents of participating children, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following:
      1. a) The challenging State’s academic standards
      1. b) The State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments
      1. c) The requirements of Title I, Part A
      1. d) How to monitor their child’s progress
      1. e)  How to work with educators to improve the achievement of their child

Various workshops and trainings are offered to parents through the year. Some of the topics being offered are Parent Portal, School Selection, Waterford and Learning A-Z/Raz Kids. We share with families the requirements of Title I Part A, the State’s academic standards and local assessments as well as other topics listed above. There are three conferences held throughout the year, with an evening conference in November. During these conferences, teachers will discuss with parents how to monitor their child’s progress and elements of the school’s curriculum.

 

Section H: BUILDING CAPACITY OF SCHOOL STAFF

Thomas G. Morton School will provide training to educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, 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, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school by:

Surveys are made available to parents during all events, meetings and conferences. The results of these conferences are tallied and shared with the staff during professional development throughout the year. In August, staff will be trained on how to communicate with parents as equal partners.

 

PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY DISCRETIONARY COMPONENTS

Thomas G. Morton School will provide other reasonable support for parents and family engagement activities under section 1116 as parents may request by: Scheduling a meeting with parents, leadership team, SAC Committee, and other vested members to determine the benefits, personnel needed and expense required to meet the parent’s request would be mandatory.