The Shotwell SHARK TANK

Shotwell Middle School Newsletter (FALL 2020)

PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY

2020 - 2021

Shotwell Middle School (“Shotwell”) shall jointly develop with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children, a written parent and family engagement policy, agreed on by such parents, that shall describe the means for carrying out the requirements of ESSA Section 1116 subsections (c) through (f). Parents shall be notified of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language the parents can understand. Such policy shall be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.

Title I regulations require that each school served under Title I, jointly develop and distribute to parents of participating children a written parental involvement policy agreed on by the parents that describes the requirements outlined in Title I law.

A. POLICY INVOLVEMENT

1. Convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of their school’s participation under this part and to explain the requirements of this part, and the right of the parents to be involved;

Shotwell holds a Title I meeting for families twice each year to discuss the Title I guidelines and distribute copies of the School-Parent Compact and the Parent and Family Engagement Policy (“PFE”). Also, the school holds an annual campus orientation for all students and parents by the end of August to review the Title I school requirements and the school’s PFE Policy and Parent Compact. The PFE Policy and Parent Compact are distributed in English and Spanish and explained to parents during family engagement events. In addition, the principal gives parents an update on school STAAR test data, adequate yearly progress status, and facilitates a review of the campus improvement plan.

2. Offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under this part, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parental involvement;

Parents are invited to participate in a variety of meetings and activities over the course of the school year. A Fall Open House (face-to-face or virtual) is held in October to provide parents an opportunity to formally visit their child’s classroom to become better informed about grade level expectations and their child’s academic progress. During Open House and other campus events/meetings, our gym is available for young children to be supervised by older siblings and/or designated campus personnel.

One of the highlights of our campus is a parent organization entitled, Mothers of Magnificent Scholars (MOMS). The organization encourages and educates parents to become more involved in their child’s school and become more knowledgeable in the role of education in order to better assist their child in making educational choices for their futures.

Title I funding for parental involvement is used to purchase a parent educational program entitled, ARK (Adults Relating to Kids), a fun, stimulating, growth opportunity for great parents which offers tips and suggestions for good parents who want to become more skilled at the most important (and difficult) job in the world. The program is designed to help good parents become even better parents.

The availability of the campus resource center encourages parent participation. Educational pamphlets and brochures that address the needs of our students and parents are available in the Attendance, Registrar, and counseling area of the school.

Parents will be invited to participate in a parent-teacher conference, as needed virtually, to discuss their child’s progress. Teachers may receive parents in the morning, during the school day and/or after school to accommodate parent schedules.

3. Involve parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under this part, including planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy; and

Throughout the year, our school invites parents to participate in several review and revision meetings to examine and discuss our Campus Improvement Plan (CIP), the School-Parent Compact, and the Parent and Family Engagement Policy. The school’s administrative team consistently reviews school policy in an organized, ongoing and timely manner. An organized parent empowerment club, Mothers of Magnificent Scholars (MOMS) has been established in our school to create a forum for parental input and involvement. Our affiliation connects our school to parental involvement through district resources associated with parent engagement.

4. Provide parents of participating children timely information about programs under this part; descriptions and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment to measure student progress and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet; and 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 suggestions as soon as practically possible.

Shotwell communicates with parents, the state’s curricular and assessment expectations, school-wide requirements in relation to the delivery of instruction, the techniques utilized to evaluate student work, and individual classroom rituals and routines pertinent to the academic success of our students. We use a variety of communicative techniques such as our district student handbook, campus newsletter, campus website, teacher websites, communication behavior folders, Blackboard communication system (phone, email, text), Schoology, Remind 101, Twitter, parent/teacher conferences, Student Success Initiative (SSI) meeting, Individual Education Plan and Admission/Review/Dismissal (IEP/ARD) meetings, parent organization meetings, individual notes/calls home, and surveys (paper and phone). Also used is the Home Access Center (HAC), parent workshops, Open House, Core-Subject Family Night, Elective-Subject Family Night, Mid-term Progress Reports, Report Cards, Benchmark test results, STAAR test data, as well as, the school marquee, to solicit parent participation and deliver important information in hopes of creating productive dialogue between home and school with the goal of impacting student behavior and academic achievement.

B. SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

1. As a component of the school-level parental involvement policy, each school shall jointly develop with parents for all children served under this part a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement.

The education of a student is not only the responsibility of the teacher, but also the parent and the child. For this reason, a School-Parent Compact has been developed and is utilized in our school. This document serves as an agreement between all parties that they will adhere to certain duties and responsibilities to ensure the success of the student. This compact is used to motivate students and parents to become more involved in the educational process and to let parents know that they are equal partners in their child’s learning and academic success.

C. BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVOLVEMENT

1. Shall provide assistance to the parents of children served by the school and local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the state’s academic content standards and the 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;

Shotwell will adhere to this provision, as stated in the Policy Engagement and Shared Responsibilities for High Student Achievement sections of this document, by providing materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve academic achievement.

2. Shall provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement;

Shotwell will adhere to this provision, as stated in the Policy Engagement and Shared Responsibilities for High Student Achievement sections of this document, by providing materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve academic achievement.

3. Shall educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school;

Shotwell’s faculty and staff members will be cognizant of educational research on parent engagement. Parental input will be solicited throughout the year in meetings, through surveys and during conferences. Information derived will be utilized by the school’s administrative team and the MOMS organization to strengthen the ties between school and home for the purpose of increasing student achievement. The Community Youth Specialist (CYS), along with the school Parent Engagement and Special Programs Coordinator, and campus counselors will take the lead in providing a multitude of opportunities for parents to become involved in our school over the course of the year in order to take full advantage of the benefits that come with active parent involvement. In addition, the CYS will assist with providing community resources to youth and families within the district.

4. Shall, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with community-based early learning programs and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children;

Shotwell’s population includes 6th through 8th grade middle school students. We are an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School which strives to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. Our school’s IB Coordinator works on-site to ensure that this Middle Years Program (MYP) is incorporated in our curriculum and culture. It is also the coordinator’s role to take the lead in educating parents about the IB program. Field trips and on campus activities are plentiful throughout the year and parents are encouraged to attend these events as often as possible.

5. Shall ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents can understand; and

Shotwell has made it a practice to ensure that all written information and correspondence provided to parents is in English and Spanish to ensure that all information related to our school is understandable. Campus translators assist with oral and written communication when necessary.

6. In carrying out the parental involvement requirements for this part, districts and schools, to the extent practicable, shall provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with children with limited English proficiency, parents with children with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents can understand.

At Shotwell, parents of all students, regardless of English proficiency, mobility or disability, are considered to be an important part of our learning community. All parents are afforded the opportunity to be involved in their child’s school environment. For this reason, if a special need is identified that would help a parent to more fully understand the educational process and the academic progress of his/her child, assistance will be provided. This type of support often comes in the form of interpreted school documents in a parent’s primary language, having an interpreter on hand to translate important information at school-wide meetings and events, working with an interpreter to provide translation in parent-teacher conferences, making available parent resources that are in English and Spanish, participating in faculty and staff training to better understand the culture of the students served, providing easier accessibility to parents and/or students with disabilities, etc..