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Parent and Family Engagement Policy

Weber School District 

Title I - Parent and Family Engagement Policy

2023-24

           Weber School District believes parental engagement is vital to the success of students at each school.  Title I schools are committed to meeting academic needs by providing support for students from diverse ethnic and social backgrounds, for students who are Multi--language Learners, and for students with learning challenges. We are committed to family engagement and families by coming together, working side by side, listening, and providing regular personalized communication.

              Weber School District involved parents in the development of this written policy.  The policy describes both parent engagement expectations and Weber School District’s role involving, supporting, and coordinating family engagement in schools,and evaluating the effectiveness of the policy in improving the academic quality of schools.  The policy will be distributed to parents/guardians of participating children.

                     PART I. GENERAL EXPECTATIONS  

Weber School District agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:  

  • The school district will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the engagement of parents in all of its schools with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with section  1116(a)(2) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).   Those programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.  
  • Consistent with section 1116(a)(2) , the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level parental engagement policies meet the requirements of section  1116(a)(2) of the ESSA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section  1116(a)(2)of the ESSA.
  • The school district will incorporate this district wide parental engagement policy into its Local Education Agency (LEA) plan developed under section 1112 of the ESEA.
  • In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental engagement 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 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 parental engagement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools.  
  • The school district will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental engagement, and expects that its Title I schools will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition:

              Parental 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;

(D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.

PART II.  POLICY IMPLEMENTATION

Weber School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the evaluation of this district wide family engagement  plan under section 1112 of the ESEA:  

  1. Annually the Weber Title I Director will organize a committee including parents/guardians of students in Title I Schools, and at least one teacher and principal from Title I Schools.  This committee will be provided materials and training needed to review and evaluate the policy and plans included.  The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents/guardians in family engagement activities with a focus on meeting academic needs by providing supports for students from diverse ethnic and social backgrounds, for students who are Multilingual Learners, and for students with learning challenges.The review will be completed prior to the beginning of the upcoming school year.
  2.  Weber School District will take the following actions to involve parents/guardians in the process of school review and improvement under ESSA Section 1003. 
  3.  Whenever a Weber Title I School is identified for school improvement or review, the School Community Council which includes parents/guardians will participate according to statute in the required activities aimed at improving the school.

BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVOLVEMENT

              Weber School District will build the capacity for strong family and school engagement through activities and strategies, such as:

  1. Parent Teacher Conferences, Back to School Night, Open House, School Community Celebrations, Kindergarten Readiness, Parent/Community Presentations, Literacy Nights, Math Nights, Arts Nights, focused family engagement nights,and other programs aimed at improving family to school engagement. 
  2. The school district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate family engagement programs and activities with United Way, community and city sponsored events, Division of WorkForce Services Preschool,and other agencies that encourage and support families in more fully participating in the education of their children.
  3. The school district will ensure that information related to the school and family- programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parent/guardian of participating children in a format that meets the families' language and/or communication needs (i.e. email, print or audio, translation, hardcopy mail).Each school will identify and share with parents/guardians various opportunities for engagement in the education of their children.  
  4.  Each school will implement strategies to support success with  families, such as: engagement in Parent Teacher Conferences, various family activity nights, and parenting classes. Successful strategies in this area will be shared with other Title I schools in the district.
  5. The school district will, with the assistance of its schools and families, educate its teachers, student services personnel, principals and other staff, in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with families as equal partners, in the value and utility of contributions of families, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between families and schools.
  6. The school district will engage families so they understand what their child should know and be able to do. Families will also know how well their child is doing so they can support what their child is learning each day. 

 



PART III.  PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT  POLICY COMPONENTS 

                       Weber School District-

(1) shall provide assistance to parents/guardians of children served by the school or local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the State's academic content standards and State student academic achievement standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of this part, and how to monitor a child's progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children;

(2) will listen to parents/guardians and  learn what parents think, dream, and worry about in an effort to gain partners in education;

(3) shall provide materials and training to help families work with their children to improve their children's achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster family engagement;

(4) shall educate teachers, student services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents/guardians in the value and utility of contributions of families, and understanding best practices for communicating and engaging with families as equal partners: working side by side with families  to, implement and coordinate family programs, and build ties between families and the school through regular personalized communication, and modeling of learning support strategies;

(5) shall, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate family engagement programs and activities with Division of WorkForce Services preschool, and other public preschools and programs, and conduct other activities, such as family resource centers, that encourage and support families  in more fully participating in the education of their children;

(6) shall implement home visits to reach out and engage families

(7) shall ensure that information related to school and  programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the families’ participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand;

(8) may involve parents/guardians in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training;

(9) may provide necessary literacy training from funds received under this part if the local educational agency has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for such training;

(10) may train parents/guardians to enhance the engagement of other parents/guardians;

(11) may 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/guardians who are unable to attend such conferences at school, in order to maximize family engagement and participation;

(12) may adopt and implement model approaches to improving family engagement;

(13) may establish a districtwide parent/guardian advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to family engagement in programs supported under this section;

(14) may develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in family engagement activities; and

(15) shall provide such other reasonable support for family engagement activities under this section as parents may request.

 

PART IV.  ADOPTION  

 This District-wide Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents/guardians of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by the following signatures:

PART V. ANNUAL EVALUATION

Weber School District meets annually in the fall with parents/guardians, teachers, staff, and administrators to analyze and discuss data. This data includes state end-of-level assessment data, Acadience data, WIDA data, and LEA discipline data.  We celebrate achievements and look at areas of concern. 

A survey (which includes these three specific questions/topics is given.)

  • What do you see as barriers to more meaningful parent/guardian engagement?
  • Discuss needs  to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers
  • What strategies to support successful school and family interactions would benefit families?

Weber School District uses this data to determine goals and allocate resources for our Title I schools. This helps us meet the needs of d families, thus closing the opportunity gap in our schools. 

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This policy was adopted by the Weber School District in the fall of  2023 and will be in effect for a period of one year.  The school district will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before November 1, 2023