HACKETT
PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
PARENT
INVOLVEMENT POLICY
2012-2013
Hackett Public School
understands the importance of involving parents and the community as a whole in
promoting higher student achievement and general goodwill between the school
and those it services. It is the shared
responsibility of the school and the family to educate today’s youth. Toward
this collaborative end, Hackett School shall strive to develop and maintain a meaningful
and productive parental and community involvement plan that will result in
partnerships that are mutually beneficial to the school, students, parents and
the community.
In establishing a parent involvement plan for
each campus, elementary and high school, the current Arkansas laws were
addressed:
·
Involve
parents of students at all grade levels in a variety of roles.
·
Be
comprehensive and coordinated in nature.
·
Recognize
that communication between home and school should be regular, two way and
meaningful.
·
Promote
and support responsible parenting.
·
Acknowledge
that parents play an integral role in assisting student learning.
·
Welcome
parents into the school, and seek parental support and assistance.
·
Recognize
that community resources strengthen school programs, family practices and
student learning.
·
Support
the development, implementation, and regular evaluation of the programs to
involve parents in the decisions and practices of the school district, using to
the degree possible, the components of this plan.
·
Recognize
that a parent is a full partner in the decisions that affect his or her child
and family.
1.
The Hackett
School District will take the following action to involve parents in the
joint development of its district wide parental involvement plan under section
1112 of the ESEA:
·
Hackett Public School includes parents on the
Arkansas Consolidated School Improvement Plan, which includes parent
involvement components and lists the responsibilities of the parental
involvement committee.
2.
The Hackett
School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the
process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:
·
Parents are encouraged to input ideas and concerns,
with regard to the school at any time; parents are also invited to hear the school
report from the superintendent in the fall of the new school year and to have
input on what is incorporated.
3.
The Hackett
School District will provide the necessary coordination, technical
assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and
implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student
academic achievement and school performance:
·
Title I student
Academic Improvement Plans are discussed with individual students’ parents at
the first Parent/Teacher Conference in the fall. AIP’s not signed at that time will be sent
home to parents for signatures and teachers will contact parents to discuss
their child’s AIP. The high school also
has a parent involvement coordinator to help with parental concerns and get
other information out to parents.
4.
The Hackett
School District will take the following actions to conduct, with the
involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness
of this parental involvement policy in improving the quality of participation
by parents in parental involvement 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). The school district will use
the findings of the evaluation about its parental involvement policy and
activities to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to
revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents), its parental
involvement policies:
·
Parental Involvement surveys will be used to
assess parent concerns and discussions. Parents will be encouraged to talk with
their child’s teacher at Parent/Teacher Conferences, Open House, Pride Night,
School Board Meetings, etc.
5.
The Hackett
School District will build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong
parental involvement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and
to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community
to improve student academic achievement through the following activities
specifically described below.
·
Parent Involvement surveys will be used to
assess parent concerns and discussions
6.
The Hackett
School District will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools,
provide assistance to parents of children served by the school district or
school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by
undertaking the actions described in this paragraph:
·
The State’s academic content standards.
·
The State’s student academic achievement
standards.
·
The State and local academic assessments including
alternate assessments.
·
The requirements of Part A.
·
How to monitor their child’s progress.
·
How to work with educators.
The state’s academic content standards, the student academic achievement
standards, the state and local academic assessments including alternate
assessments, the requirements of Part A, how to monitor their child’s progress,
and how to work with and communicate with their child’s teachers is described
in each school’s respective handbook dispersed at the beginning of each school
year; benchmark test scores are attached to report cards for parents to pick up
at each school’s scheduled parent/teacher conferences (if the parent does not
pick up the report cards, they are sent home the following day); informational
booklets describing benchmark tests giving information how parents can help
their child be ready for testing are sent home;
7.
The Hackett
School District will, with the assistance of its schools, provide materials
and training to help parents work with their children to improve their child’s
academic achievement such as literacy training and using technology, as
appropriate, to foster parental involvement, by:
·
Each respective school will designate one
certified staff member to serve as a parent facilitator; send family packets
home with relevant materials for parents to use when working with their child. Academic reports are sent home four times per
year, with additional reports sent upon parental request, technology use guides are provided as
appropriate, i.e. GradeQuick, School Reach, EdLine, etc; materials and supplies
have been purchased and placed in each respective school library;
8. The Hackett School District
will, with the assistance of its school and parents, educate
its
schools and parents, educate its teachers, pupil 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 how to
implement
and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools,
by:
·
Each school’s respective principal will suggest
ways for teachers to contact parents, including e-mail and phone calls: each school
respectively helps parents understand and use resources to help meet the
state’s challenging student academic achievement expected for all children.
9.
The Hackett School District will, to the extent feasible and
appropriate, coordinate and
Integrate parental involvement
programs and activities with Head Start, Even Start,
Home Instruction Programs for
Preschool youngsters, the Parents and Teachers
Program,
and other appropriate preschool programs. The District will also maintain
Parent Resource Centers that
encourage and support parents to be more fully
Participating
in the education of their children.
·
Provide a variety of opportunities for our
students to transition into the high school setting including freshman
orientation, pre-registration, school tours, open house prior to the start of
school, teacher contact with families prior to the first day of school and
conferences scheduled as needed to meet IEP and 504 requirements.
10. The
Hackett School District will, with the assistance
·
Notices of all meetings are sent out from the
school, published in the student handbook, and published in local newspapers. Parents
of students in academic enrichment programs are provided with informative
reports telling of the child’s progress, ideas, and materials to work with the
student at home to improve reading skills.
11.
The Hackett School District will ensure that all staff members,
shall receive
annual
professional development according to state requirements. Training will
include,
but
not be limited to:
·
Child Maltreatment
·
Parental Involvement
·
Suicide