• Title I LEA-Level Parent and Family Engagement Policy
    ºÚÁÏÉç Union School District

     

    1.0 The local governing board of each local educational agency (LEA), or agency, receiving Title I, Part A funding shall establish and implement a written parent and family engagement policy and program. (California Education Code [EC] sections [§§] 11500-11504, 51101[b]; 20 United States Code [U.S.C.] § 6318[a][1], 6318[a][2])

    1.1 CVUSD has developed jointly with, agreed on with, and distributed to, parents and family members of participating children, an LEA-level written parent and family engagement policy. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][2]).]) Parents and family members throughout the district provide input into the development of the Parent and Family Engagement Policy at established school leadership meetings (i.e. English Language Advisory Committee and School Site Council), district leadership meeting (i.e. District English Language Advisory Committee, District Advisory Committee), at school site annual Title I Meetings, and through a districtwide survey.  Participation in the meetings are encouraged through district social media, the district website, and through school notifications. The LEA has distributed the policy to parents and family members of children served under Title I, Part A. The policy is published in the Annual Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, which parents review at registration each year. In addition, the policy is posted on the LEA website.The LEA incorporates the parent and family engagement policy into the LEA level plan. (20 U.S.C. § 6312, 6318[a][2]) Actions outlined in the CVUSD Title I Parent and Engagement Policy are intentionally aligned to the district vision of Happy Kids, in Healthy Relationships, on a Path to Gainful Employment.  In addition, the CVUSD Local Control and Accountability Plan Goal 2 directly aligns district wide goals with the actions with the CVUSD Parent and Family Engagement Policy. 

    To involve parents and family members in the Title I program at CVUSD, the following practices have been established: 

    1. The LEA involves parents and family members in the joint development of the agency’s plan, and in the development of support and improvement plans. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][2][A])
      In CVUSD, parents and family members have the opportunity to provide input into the development of school and district improvement plans (i.e., School Plan for Student Achievement/ Local Control Accountability Plan). At the school site level parents provide input through English Language Advisory Committees and School Site Council and principal held meetings throughout the year. In addition, parents, family members, school staff, and community members throughout the district are encouraged to participate and provide input and feedback based on the actions and services within the district and site plans. 

    2. The LEA provides coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of all participating schools within the LEA in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][2][B])
      CVUSD’s Director of Family and Community Engagement is responsible for the coordination, design, and implementation of comprehensive programs to engage and empower parents, family, and community members to serve as active district partners. The Director of Family and Community Engagement oversees a team of 20 family liaisons who provide support to families both at the site and district level. The director plans district wide programs, develops family engagement curriculum, creates and maintains a districtwide calendar of family engagement activities. The director also works with the FACE supervisor to collect and analyze family engagement data, provide professional development for both families and staff related to current academic programs.

    3. To the extent feasible and appropriate, the LEA coordinates and integrates Title I, Part A parent and family engagement strategies with parent and family engagement strategies of other relevant Federal, State, and local laws and programs. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][2][C])
      CVUSD’s Family Engagement Program is a multi-funded program intended to meet the needs of all parent and family members of students enrolled at schools throughout the district and to fulfill the requirements set out through local, state, and federal guidelines. To ensure all the strategies align with federal, state, and local programs, the Director of Family and Community Engagement teams with the Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services assess current policies, statutes and updates.  In CVUSD, district administrators, family liaisons, and school administrators offer regular opportunities for parents and family members to provide feedback on the parent and family engagement policy. These opportunities include facilitated discussions at parent leadership meetings, an annual Title I meeting and principal led site meetings. Parents and family members are also given opportunities to participate in the annual district Family Gallup Survey and school-based family surveys related to our parent engagement policy. Parent and family feedback informs changes needed in policy. 

    4. The LEA conducts, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under Title I, Part A. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][2][D])

    CVUSD offers a multitude of programs and services available for parents and families that address the many barriers to engagement with school activities. Barriers to parent and family participation in activities at CVUSD schools may include: challenges in accessing transportation to/from the school; meeting attendance time restraints; basic needs due to a lack of housing or food insecurity; the lack of a genuine relationship built with school staff; misunderstanding about the impact of family engagement; feelings of fear or intimidation in attending site or district meetings based on perceived knowledge or language barriers. 

     

    The LEA identifies the following:

    1. 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). (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][2][D][i])
      CVUSD will take the following actions to conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of its Title I. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in 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).  CVUSD will use the findings of the evaluation about its parent and family engagement policy to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, its parent and family engagement policies.

    2. The needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][2][D][ii])
      CVUSD will take the following actions to conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of its Title I. The evaluation will include identifying the needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their child and engaging with school staff members.  CVUSD will use the findings of the evaluation about its parent and family engagement policy to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, its parent and family engagement policies.

    3. Strategies to support successful school and family interactions. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][2][D][iii])
      CVUSD will take the following actions to conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of its Title I. The evaluation will include identifying evidence based strategies to support successful school and family interactions.  CVUSD will use the findings of the evaluation about its parent and family engagement policy to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, its parent and family engagement policies.

    1. The LEA uses the findings of such evaluation in section 1.1(d) of the CE program instrument to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parent and family engagement policy. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][2][E])
      CVUSD’s Director of Family and Community Engagement provides technical assistance and other support to schools in the planning and implementation of parent and family engagement programs throughout the district. This includes reviewing data on a district and school site level and meeting with parent leaders to ensure programs offered meet the needs of parents and families, and working with local community agency staff to bring necessary direct service programs onto the school campuses. Based on a yearly review of LCAP and SPSA goals and metrics, the director coordinates with central administrators, site principals, and community liaisons to refine family engagement offerings grounded in evidence-based practices to address the unique priorities of each school or district service. 

    2. The LEA involves parents in activities of schools served under Title I, Part A to adequately represent the needs of the population served by such agencies for the purposes of developing, revising, and reviewing the parent and family engagement policy. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][2][F])
      CVUSD strives to reach out to and involve all parents in stakeholder feedback, program evaluation and the development of the family engagement policy. Community liaisons at each school site actively build relationships that help increase parent involvement and engagement in the process. Parents are recruited by word of mouth, school letters, Parent Square and social and printed media. 

    1.2 The LEA policy on parent and family engagement for all schools (including Title I and non-Title I) in the LEA shall be consistent with the following goals and purposes: (EC §§ 11502, 11504, 11506)

    1. Engage parents and family members positively in their children’s education by providing assistance and training on topics such as state academic standards and assessments to develop knowledge and skills to use at home to support their children’s academic efforts at school and their children’s development as responsible future members of our society. (EC § 11502[a])
      CVUSD provides multiple opportunities for parents and family members to learn about state and local assessments and to obtain valuable information on ways to monitor their child’s progress towards their academic and personal goals. Current standards, assessments, and local programs are available on the district’s website. In addition to the web-based resources, the district provides all families access to essential information to support their child’s academic and personal success through the CVUSD Parent University and specific Parent education workshops both in person and virtual. Parent University is a series of parent sessions that focus on helping parents understand how to support their children with reading at home as well as helps them promote positive and effective parenting behaviors. Parent education workshops are single topic sessions that are created based on parents’ needs. Parent education workshops range from helping parents understand how to send an email to how to support their child in exploring their strengths and interests related to the district's World of Work Curriculum. The FACE Department helps schools enhance Back to School Night, Parent Teacher Conferences and Open House by helping teachers at these events learn to build relationships with parents, share one piece of academic data, set one academic goal, and then support that one goal with one strategy at home. Community Liaisons work directly with teachers daily to help parents understand how to support their child to attain academic success through in person and virtual communication. 

    2. Inform parents that they can directly affect the success of their children’s learning, by providing parents with techniques and strategies that they may utilize to improve their children’s academic success and to assist their children in learning at home. (EC § 11502[b])
      Parents and family members receive information about resources that can directly affect the success of their children’s learning through the year at district and school-site parent leadership meetings (i.e., School Site Council, English Language Advisory Committee and PTA, LCAP Parent Pre Meetings), at principal site meetings and at parent teacher conferences. Families receive notification of these opportunities through Parent Square, social media postings, and in electronic/email newsletters. Families may also attend in-person or virtual presentations through a Parent University series or during individual Parent education workshops hosted on the district website. 

    3. Build consistent and effective two-way communication between family members and the school so that parents and family members may know when and how to assist their children in support of classroom learning activities. (EC § 11502[c])
      Each school communicates to families regularly, through the family meetings, and Parent Square to share information and resources on ways to support their students’ education. 

    4. Train teachers, school administrators, specialized instructional support personnel, and other staff to communicate effectively with parents as equal partners. (EC § 11502[d])
      The Director of Family and Community Engagement and the district Family Liaisons with ongoing input from parents and families, provide guidance to school administrators and school staff on ways to build meaningful relationships and authentic partnerships that enhance a students academics and social emotional growth and development. Throughout the year, staff receive information on how to build meaningful relationships with families, promote positive communication between home and school, and strengthen Family Teacher Teams. The Family and Community Engagement team hosts Online Learning Resources which include various videos translated in the Districts primary languages on how parents can effectively partner in their students' education at CVUSD. These same videos are hosted in person and virtually. Parent outreach regarding these resources is communicated to families during arrival and dismissal, through social media, emails/ newsletters, and school communication systems. 

    5. Integrate and coordinate parent and family engagement activities with the local control and accountability plan (LCAP), as applicable, with other programs. (EC § 11502[e])
      Parent input and feedback is considered as each school site annually develops a School Plan for Student Achievement, which includes goals, actions, strategies
      and expenditures for family engagement in addition to goals to improve academic achievement.

     

    1.3 Parents and family members of children receiving Title I, Part A services shall be involved in the decisions regarding how funds reserved are allotted for parental involvement activities. (20 U.S.C. Section 6318[a][3][B]) CVUSD reserves 1% of district and school level Title I budgets for parent engagement activities. 

    1.4 Funds reserved by an LEA shall be used to carry out activities and strategies consistent with the LEA’s parent and family engagement policy, including not less than one of the following: (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][3][D])

    1. Supporting schools and nonprofit organizations in providing professional development for LEA and school personnel regarding parent and family engagement strategies. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][3][D][i])

    2. Supporting programs that reach parents and family members at home, in the community, and at school. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][3][D][ii])

    3. Disseminating information on best practices focused on parent and family engagement, especially best practices for increasing the engagement of economically disadvantaged parents and family members. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][3][D][iii])

    4. Collaborating, or providing subgrants to schools to enable such schools to collaborate, with community-based or other organizations or employers with a record of success in improving and increasing parent and family engagement. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][3][D][iv])

    5. Engaging in any other activities and strategies that the LEA determines are appropriate and consistent with such agency’s parent and family engagement policy. (20 U.S.C. § 6318[a][3][D][v])

      CVUSD’s Director of Family and Community Engagement meets regularly to evaluate the impact of programs and to plan to meet the evolving needs of parents and families at individual school sites and across the district which may include the following examples:

      Community Liaison Support - 20 itinerant liaisons located throughout the district to bridge the gap between families, school staff, and community.
      Family Teacher Teams - Repurposing traditional parent conferences which allow parents to support learning at home.
      Parent University - Parent curriculum that is culturally-relevant, age-appropriate, and through read-aloud activities helps parents support their child’s reading success.
      Parent Workshops - 60-minute workshops that are informative, interactive, and designed for parents. 
      Positive Home Visits - Visiting families to build meaningful relationships, increase parent involvement, and develop an overall positive attitude toward school.
      Initial Parent Welcome Meetings - Provide an introduction and welcoming environment for new families, whether new to the country, district, or school. Poverty Simulation - Professional development for school staff to help bridge the gap from misconception to understanding and empathy.
      LCAP Parent Pre Meetings- Participation in the LCAP process is made relevant by holding pre meetings where parents learn, discuss, and prepare to be active collaborators during the official LCAP meetings. 

    The above examples include in person and virtual workshops for parents on how to advocate for students, how to support students academically, and access community resources.