HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

TITLE I, PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM

2020-2021 Title I Parental Engagement Policy

Robert L. Frost Elementary School agrees to implement the statutory requirements of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to ensure that the required level parental engagement policies meet the requirements, and each includes, as a component, a school-parent-student compact. Annually, the school will hold a joint meeting with parents to review, update, and adopt the policy. Frost Elementary will notify parents of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in language parents can understand. The policy will be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents, students, and the school. The policy will be on file in the school office and posted on the school’s website.

Frost Elementary School believes that parent engagement is the necessary link to help students meet promotion standards, pass state tests, and add knowledge and value to their daily learning. It is our plan and expectation that parents, students, teachers and staff will work together to support each student’s achievement, growth, and success. The school will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental engagement and 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:

• that parents play an essential role in assisting their child’s learning;
• that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school and at home;
• 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 and the carrying out of other activities such as those described in the ESSA.

 The school will hold an annual meeting in September to notify parents and students of Frost’s participation in the Title I program and to inform parents of the requirements of a Title I school and the rights of the parents to be involved. A minimum of four parent engagement meetings will be held each school year. The focus of each meeting will be to involve parents in their child’s education, to allow parents opportunities for input in making decisions relating to their child’s education, to give input for improvement of parent opportunities to be involved, and to review the school wide Title I plan and use of funds. For the 2020-2021 school year, Frost Elementary’ s Title I funds will be used to provide supplemental services (after school classes, tutorials, materials for tutorials, summer school and supplies for summer school) for the academic success of students at risk for not meeting standards.

On a timely and regular basis, the parents will work with the school to review, plan, and improve programs under the parent engagement policy. Parent input is called for at the four meetings or a parent can schedule an individual appointment with the principal to discuss his or her ideas for improvement of the program and or the school’s overall achievement. If the school wide Title I program plan is not satisfactory to the parents, the school will submit parents’ comments on the plan to External Funding and revise the plan as advised by the HISD Title I Part A Parental Engagement Program Administrator and other District designees. To the extent practicable, the school 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 ESSA in an understandable and uniform format and including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in language parents understand.

Annually, the school will provide parents with a description and explanation of the state curriculum used in HISD schools, the state and district assessments used to measure student progress and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet. HISD promotion standards are disseminated annually to parents and copies are available at the school as well as on the HISD website. In addition to meeting standard on state tests, HISD uses student grades (70 and above) HFWE grades (1-2), STAAR (GRADES 3-5) scores to determine if a student will progress to the next grade. The school will provide each parent an individual student report regarding their child’s performance on the state STAAR test by the end of June 2021. An explanation of the test and scoring is sent home to parents with the individual student scores.

Ongoing communication between the school and parents is essential to a student’s academic success. Parents are urged to volunteer in the school, join the PTA, participate in their child’s school activities, and observe their child’s classroom. Parents are encouraged to regularly and frequently communicate with their child’s teacher regarding their child’s progress in school/ Report cards are distributed quarterly (every 9 weeks) and progress reports are sent home every 4 – 5 weeks. At progress report time, report card time, and as needed, parents are encouraged to schedule a conference with the teacher or a school administrator to discuss their child’s progress and how they can best support their child’s education at home.

In addition to the Parent Engagement Policy, the school and parents will jointly develop a School-Parent Student Compact that outlines how parents, the school faculty and staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement. Robert L. Frost Elementary , and the parents of the students participating in activities, services, and programs funded by Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESSA) (participating children), agree that this compact outlines how the parents, the entire school staff, and the students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership that will help children achieve the State’s high standards.

The Frost Elementary Staff will: 

1. Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that supports children in meeting the State’s student academic achievement standards. 
2. Provide parents with frequent reports on their children’s academic and behavioral progress. In each classroom we will provide progress reports through Parent/Teacher conferences, samples of student work, updates on reading, writing and math assessments. We will initiate a parent contact at the first signs of a pattern of behavior that interferes with student learning.
3. Set high expectations for staff, students and parents by ensuring challenging curriculum, implementing programs targeted at increasing student achievement and committing to recruit, retain, and train qualified staff. Also, highlight/prepare ways that the parent can advance the learning at home.
4.  4. Provide parents reasonable access to staff. Teachers may be contacted through phone or written requests to meet on their specified conference time. Alternative times beyond school hours may be arranged directly with the teacher.  
5. Provide parents opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class, and to observe classroom activities, as defined by grade level teams or Parent Teacher Association (PTA) commitments. 

The Frost Elementary Parents will:

1. Establish routines to support my child’s success in school:  

o appropriate bedtime

o monitor attendance 

 o homework & reading nutrition

o grooming & hygiene 

2. Communicate the significance of success in school & its relationship with success in life.
3. Provide a volunteer time to the school during the school year.

1. Ensure that my child attends school on a regular basis and arrives at school on time.
2. Make sure that my child’s homework is completed and returned to school on time.
3.  Keep a updated and valid number on file for effective parent communication.

7. Stay informed about my child’s education and communicate with the school by promptly reading all notices from the school or the school district either received by my child or by mail and responding as appropriate.

The Frost Elementary students will:

1. Attend school regularly and arrive at school on time
2. Complete all daily homework and return it to school on time.
3. Be responsible for giving my family members all information sent home from school.
4. Consistently plan a portion of every day for a period of 30 minutes reading time.

 Frost Elementary strives to promote parental engagement and engagement on a school-wide level through the following committees, organizations, and activities:

• Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences- scheduled at grade reporting times and as needed
• Classroom Observations-at request of parent
• After School Tutorials-Reading, Language Arts, Math, Science, I-Station
• Parent/Community Correspondence: Home Communication Folders (sent by teachers), Letters to Parents, Monthly Calendar, Parent-Connect, phone messages, and marquee,
• Parent/Teacher/Community Committees and Organizations: PTA, PAC, LPAC, SDMC, Neighborhood Civic Clubs, Neighborhood Churches,
• Real Men Read program (Scholastic Based)
• Parent Volunteers (VIPS) during school day, field lessons, and for school events
• School Community Events and Projects: District and Area Activities, School Events and Projects: Open House, Festivals, Celebrations, and student performances
• Appreciations/Recognitions
• Title I Parent Workshops (Family Literacy, Reading/Language Arts/Math/Science, Homework Help)
• Title I Parental Engagement Policy/School Compact Committee/PTA meetings
• Project Reality Events

 Frost Faculty, Staff and Parents will work together engage and support parental engagement. The “School/Parent/Student Compact” explains how parents, school staff, and the students will each share responsibility for each student’s academic success. Both the “Title I Parental Engagement Policy” and the “School/Parent/Student Compact” are developed, reviewed, and adopted with parents of participating Title I students. All activities will be in compliance with the Houston ISD School Board Parental Engagement component, and the Texas State Department of Education. Parents are requested to participate in all areas of parental engagement and engagement established by the school. School and district information is sent home in the parent’s home language. We ensure that parents with disabilities have the opportunity to participate by providing handicapped access to our building. Interpreters and other modifications are provided as needed.

 The School Parental Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs as documented in a meeting on October 6, 2020.

 The policy was revised by HISD school, Frost Elementary on October 6, 2020 and will be in effect for the 2020-2021 school year. The school will distribute this updated policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before October 9, 2020.

Cedric Starks, Principal

Candice Marshall, Title I Coordinator