Top Bar

Lower Merion School District

Off-Canvas

Parent Involvement Policy

The Board recognizes that parental involvement contributes to the achievement of academic standards by students participating in Title I programs. The Board views the education of students as a cooperative effort among the school, parents/guardians and community.

Authority

In compliance with federal law at 20 U.S.C. Sec. 6318, the District and parents/guardians of students participating in the Title I programs shall jointly develop and agree upon a written parental involvement plan. When developing and implementing this plan, the District shall ensure the plan describes how the District will:

1. Involve parents/guardians in the joint development of the District’s overall Title I plan and the process of school review and improvement.

2. Provide the coordination, technical assistance and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance.

3. Develop activities that promote the schools’ and parents’/guardians’ capacity for strong parental involvement.

4. Coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies with appropriate programs, as provided by law.

5. Involve parents/guardians in an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the plan in improving the academic quality of schools served under Title I.

6. Identify barriers to participation by parents/guardians who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority.

7. Use findings of annual evaluations to design strategies for more effective parental involvement.

8. Involve parents/guardians in the activities of schools served under Title I.

Distribution

The Board shall adopt and distribute the parental involvement plan, which shall be incorporated into the District’s Title I plan and shall be evaluated annually, with parental involvement.

Delegation of Responsibility

The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the District’s Title I parental involvement plan and programs comply with the requirements of federal law.

The building principal and/or Title I staff shall provide to parents/guardians of students participating in Title I programs:

1. Timely information about programs under Title I.

2. Explanation of the reasons supporting their child’s selection for the program.

3. A description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.

4. 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 practicably possible.

The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that information and reports provided to parents/guardians regarding Title I are in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents/guardians can understand.

Guidelines

An annual meeting of parents/guardians of participating Title I students shall be held to explain the goals and purposes of the Title I program. Parents/Guardians shall be given the opportunity to participate in the design, development, operation and evaluation of the program. Parents/Guardians shall be encouraged to participate in planning activities, to offer suggestions, and to ask questions regarding policies and programs.

In addition to the required annual meeting, additional parent/guardian meetings shall be held at various times of the day and evening. If sufficient, Title I funding may be used to facilitate parent/guardian attendance at meetings through payment of transportation and child care costs. Parents shall also be involved in an organized, ongoing and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under Title I, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement plan and the joint development of the school-wide program plan under 20 U.S.C. Section 6314(b)(2), unless the District schools have in place a process for involving parents in the joint planning and design of the District schools’ programs, the District schools may use that process as long as such process includes an adequate representation of parents of participating children.

If the District’s Title I plan is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the District shall submit any parent comments with such plan when the District submits the plan to the State.