Policy No. 2180

Instruction

PARENT, FAMILY AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

Parent Involvement

The Board believes that the education of children is a joint responsibility, one it shares with the parents and the community. To ensure that the best interests of the child are served in this process, a strong program of communication and/or collaboration between home and school must be maintained. The Board believes that it is the parents who have the ultimate responsibility for their children's in-school academic achievement and behavioral conduct. During school hours, the Board. through its designated staff, shall strive to serve the interests of parents in providing for the safety, health and welfare of their children.

The Board directs the Superintendent to provide coordination, technical assistance and other support necessary to assist schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance. Such activities will build the school’s and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement. Schools may offer a variety of parent involvement activities. Schools will:

            1.         Conducting parent-teacher conferences which facilitates two-way communication between home and school;

            2.         Holding open houses which provide parents with the opportunity to see the school facilities, meet the staff, and review the program and required paperwork;

            3.         Disseminating school and/or room newsletters to parents on a regular basis in a language and form they can understand that includes information that assists parents in understanding EALRs, assessment, how to improve achievement, how to connect with schools, and the importance of parent involvement;

            4.         Conduct meetings of parents and staff members, at flexible times, to explain and discuss matters of general interest with regard to child-school, child-home, or child-school-home relationships;

            5.         Conducting meetings of staff member(s) and individual or groups of parents of those students who have special abilities/aptitudes, disabilities, needs or problems;

            6.         Sponsor or co-sponsor special events of a cultural, ethnic and topical nature, which are initiated by parent groups, involve the cooperative effort of students and parents, and are of general interest to the schools or community;

            7.         Collaborating with parents, students and staff in school improvement planning, development, implementation, and review;

            8.         Providing interested parents of preschool children with information and/or training on successful parenting practices;

            9.         Coordinate and integrate parent involvement strategies under multiple programs (e.g. Head Start, EPIC, and Early Reading programs);

Page 1 of 2

Policy No. 2180

Instruction

            10.       Conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving academic quality of schools, including: identifying barriers to greater participation, especially under represented parents; using the findings to design strategies for more effective involvement; and revising, if necessary, the parent involvement policy;

            11.       Ensure parent participation in the process of hiring school staff;

            12.       Jointly develop with, and distribute to parents a written parental involvement policy that describes:

                        a.         parent involvement opportunities (meetings, conferences, planning teams, etc.);

                        b.         shared responsibilities for high academic achievement (school-parent compact);

                        c.         how the school assists in building capacity for parent involvement to improve academic achievement (e.g. family math night);

                        d.         to the extent possible, how the school addresses parent accessibility (translation times); and

                        e.         resources available for parental involvement.

For the benefit of children, the Board believes that parents have a responsibility to encourage their child's performance in school and recommends:

            1.         Supporting the schools in requiring that the children observe an school rules and regulations, and by accepting their own responsibility for children's willful in-school behavior;

            2.         Sending children to school with proper attention to their health, personal cleanliness and dress;

            3.         Maintaining an active interest in the students' daily work and making it possible for the student to complete assigned homework through providing a quiet place and suitable conditions for study;

            4.         Reading all communications from the school, and signing and returning them promptly when required;

            5.         Cooperating with the school in attending conferences set up for the exchange of information on the child's progress in school;

            6.         Participating in in-school activities and special functions; and

            7.         Communicating with schools, in a timely manner, any concerns regarding their student.

Amended Date: April 29, 2003

Page 2 of 2