Family Engagement PLan

Meigs Middle

Family Engagement Plan

Meigs Middle has a written parent involvement policy/plan, which includes all of the following components that was developed jointly with parents, and distributed to parents, and the plan is being implemented.

(a) Parents are notified of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language the parents can understand.

· A Student-Parent Folder will be provided that explains school policies and procedures, provides a yearly calendar of events, and other pertinent information.

· Family engagement plan is posted on the school website

· A Title I Open house will be held to inform parents about school procedures and all policies.

· Parent-Teacher conferences will be held several times a year and family engagement plan will be discussed.

· Title I personnel are available to meet with parents

b) The school’s parent involvement policy/plan is made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.

· The school will work with the Title 1 Advisory Committee to annually update the Parental Involvement Policy to meet the changing needs of parents and the school. The Title I Advisory Committee consists of parents, community members, and school staff.

· The school agrees to be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and will carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this definition:

1. Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring-

2. That parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;

3. That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;

4. 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.

· Family engagement plan is posted on new school website

· Copies are available in the front office and in the school library.

c) The school has convened an annual parent meeting to inform parents about the school’s parental involvement programs and right of parents to be involved.

· The participation of their child’s school in Title I,

· The legal requirements of Title I,

· The rights of the parents to be involved,

· The school’s Title I action plan or school improvement plan.

d) The school offers a flexible number of meetings- mornings or evenings;

· Parents are invited and encouraged to contact the school at any time to schedule a conference with any staff member.

· Parent Teacher Conferences are set on a different time schedule each time.

(e) Parents, or an adequate representation of parents, are involved in an organized, ongoing, and timely way in planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy and joint development of the school wide program plan (TSIPP);

· The Parent Advisory Committee, consisting of two parents from each Title I school in the district, shall review and provide input on the school’s Family Engagement Plan, as well give input to the director.

· Parent coordinators shall share the information with parents at the school level.

Meigs Middle shall require the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA.

· The school will include parents on its Tennessee Comprehensive System wide Planning Process (TSIPP) committee.

· Parents will be represented on the Consolidated Federal Programs Advisory Committee where data are reviewed regularly.

· Parents will be encouraged to give suggestions for improvements at the school and district levels.

· The school will have an annual Open House.

(f) The school provides parents with timely information about school programs under NCLB section 1118;

· Meigs Middle conducts, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement 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 parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parental involvement policies.

(g) The school provides parents a description and explanation of the curriculum the school uses, forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet

· Community meetings to introduce the new TN State Standards

· Articles in the local newspaper explaining grades and grade cards

· The district shall provide each school with two times per year flexible parent teacher conferences. These conferences will be used to discuss strategies for academic success. Conferences times can also be flexible to accommodate parent’s schedule.

· Meigs Middle provides training and materials to parents on (1) the State’s new academic content standards, (2) how to monitor their child’s progress, (3) how to work with educators, and (4) how to receive services that are available.

· Meigs Middle web site shall make grades, attendance available to parents.

· Meigs Middle handbook will contain a grading scale

· Meigs Middle will inform parents about the curriculum being taught and learning materials being used during the district-scheduled Parent Conference Days

· Meigs Middle’s school description will be posted on the website

· Meigs Middle School will have at least two parents as a member of the Parent Advisory Council, where strategies will be shared for family engagement and academic success.

· State provided explanation of TCAP results are given to parents in testing grades.

(h) Per parent request, 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;

· Meigs Middle School will hold a flexible number of meetings at varying times, and provide child care if needed, paid for with Title I funding as long as these services relate to parental involvement.

· Meigs Middle School will provide timely information about Title I programs to parents of participating children in a timely manner.

· Meigs Middle School will provide to parents of enrolled children a list of Grade Level Expectations in the curriculum.

· If requested by parents, Meigs Middle School will provide opportunities for quarterly 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 practicably possible.

· If the school-wide plan is not satisfactory to parents of enrolled students, Meigs Middle School will submit any parent comments on the plan to the district.

(i) A process is in place to submit parent comments on the school wide program (TSIPP) if it is not satisfactory to the parents when the school makes the plan available to the district / LEA.

· Parents and community members serve on each component of the SIP and offer comments and suggestions to providing an engaging educational process.

· SIP is available in school library for parents and community members to offer suggestions and comments to LEA

j) Building capacity for involvement- Assistance is provided to parents in understanding topics such as the State’s academic content standards, State student academic achievement standards, State and local academic assessments, how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve student achievement;

· Community meetings to introduce the new TN State Standards

· Articles in the local newspaper explaining grades and grade cards

· The district shall provide each school with two times per year flexible parent teacher conferences. These conferences will be used to discuss strategies for academic success. Conferences times can also be flexible to accommodate parent’s schedule.

· Meigs Middle provides training and materials to parents on (1) the State’s new academic content standards, (2) how to monitor their child’s progress, (3) how to work with educators, and (4) how to receive services that are available, (Parent Involvement Nights, PTO and Adult Education).

· Meigs Middle web site shall make grades, attendance available to parents.

· Meigs Middle handbook will contain a grading scale

· Meigs Middle will inform parents about the curriculum being taught and learning materials being used during the district-scheduled Parent Conference Days

· State provided explanation of TCAP results are given to parents in testing grades.

· Grades 6-8 have 3-week progress reports to provide parents additional information on their child’s academic progress.

(k) Building capacity for involvement- Materials and training are provided to help parents work with their children to improve their achievement, such as literacy training and using technology to foster parental involvement;

· Meigs Middle provides training and materials to parents on (1) the State’s new academic content standards, (2) how to monitor their child’s progress, (3) how to work with educators, and (4) how to receive services that are available, (PTO, Family Involvement Nights, and Adult Education).

(l) Building capacity for involvement- Staff are educated with the assistance of parents in the value and contributions of parents, and in working with parents-how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, build ties between parents and the school

· With the assistance of its district and parents, Meigs Middle School will train its teachers, student 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.

(m) Building capacity for involvement-Title I-A parental involvement strategies are coordinated and integrated with parent involvement strategies under other programs, such as Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Parents as Teachers, Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, State-run pre-school programs, and Title III language instructional programs

· Meigs Middle has a parent involvement plan that involves strategies and is coordinated with the Pre-K programs. The following is a sampling of these activities:

1. Open House

2. Parent Teacher Conferences

3. Family Involvement Nights

4. Chili Night

5. Thanksgiving lunch

6. Class room/Field trip Volunteers

7. Class Family gatherings for school events

8. Field day

9. End of the year Graduation

(n) Building capacity for involvement- Ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand;

· A monthly calendar will be sent to all parents and employees to provide information about upcoming events and an overview of what is happening at Meigs Middle.

· A school wide website is provided.

· A school sign in front of the school will provide announcements of upcoming events.

· Notes will be sent home, or phone calls made to address specific student needs or school activities.

· Teachers will initiate ongoing communication with parents.

· All communication is provided in the primary language spoken in the home. Information is obtained from the Home Language Survey

· All faculty and staff’s email is available on the Meigs County Schools website so parent and community members may contact them at any time.

o) Building capacity for involvement- Provide other reasonable support for parent involvement activities per parent request (Example: transportation, childcare)

· Our school has a counselor that works with the students weekly and daily to help meet student needs.

· Highly Qualified teachers aides provide yearly vision and hearing screenings. They also help the county -wide School Health Coordinator with yearly BMI (body, mass, index) screenings.

· Our countywide website provides curriculum based resources to help parents and students.

p) Accessibility-Local educational agencies and schools, to the extent practicable, shall 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 in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.

· Parents of ELL students are given information in Spanish.

Meigs Middle will to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrated parental involvement programs and activities with English Language Learners Program, Migrant Education Program, and Special Education