FILE: IFD
PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
DISTRICT LEVEL RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACTIVITIES
Listed are the district level responsibilities and applicable activities and the school level responsibilities as it relates to Parent and Family Engagement (PFE). The St. Landry Parish School System agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:
Involve parents and family members in jointly developing the local educational agency’s Title I, Part A plan under section 1112, and the development of school support and improvement plans under section 1111(d). (WRITTEN POLICY sec.1116)
A select District Advisory Council will represent St. Landry Parish parents and family members to help develop, revise, and review the parent and family engagement policy.
The District’s plan will be included on the District website, in the student handbook, and in correspondence sent home; Attached to the plan will be an option for parents to provide real-time input.
Provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of all participating schools within the LEA in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities. These activities must improve student academic achievement and school performance, which may include meaningful consultation with employers, business leaders, and philanthropic organizations, or individuals with expertise in effectively engaging parents and family members in education. (WRITTEN POLICY sec.1116)
The Parent and Family Engagement (PFE) Coordinator will maintain a Google classroom fitted with partners, volunteer opportunities, example activities, and sample logs. This classroom will be accessible to both Parent Educators and Faculty Representatives.
Parent Educators and Faculty Representatives will work collaboratively to strengthen the school’s Parent and Family Engagement program.
PFE Coordinator, together with community partners, will implement district workshops that seek to promote parental engagement and mitigate resource inequalities.
Coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies to the extent feasible and appropriate, with other relevant Federal, State, and local laws and programs. (WRITTEN POLICY sec.1116)
PFE Coordinator shall attend professional development opportunities and perform research that aims to provide updated research-based strategies essential to promoting parental engagement.
PFE Coordinator will seek and share best practices and program improvement strategies.
Parent Educators and Faculty Representatives will attend professional development opportunities gaining knowledge to perpetuate a high-quality education within the school system.
Conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all schools served, including identifying —
Barriers to greater participation by parents/families in 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 needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and Strategies to support successful school and family interactions. (WRITTEN POLICY sec.1116)
Needs assessments will be administered to parents on the school level and evaluated upon completion; the results, thereof, will be used to improve the program.
The District and all schools will participate in a self-assessment evaluating the effectiveness of both district and school policies.
The District’s Parent Advisory Council will field calls and concerns identifying the needs and barriers of parents and families of their assigned zone.
Use the findings of such evaluation to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental and family engagement, and to revise, if necessary, the parent and family engagement policies. (WRITTEN POLICY sec.1116)
PFE Coordinator will elicit the help of the Parent Advisory Council and district leaders in analyzing the assessments/surveys.
Involve parents in the activities of the schools, which may include establishing a parent advisory board comprised of a sufficient number and representative group of parents or family members served by the LEA to adequately represent the needs of the population. This advisory board will help develop, revise, and review the parent and family engagement policy. (WRITTEN POLICY sec.1116)
Parent Advisory Council will meet at least twice per year to address policy and parental issues.
Electronic option to provide input on the policy will be on the website and on outgoing correspondence.
Calendar of district events will be posted on the PFE website.
PFE Coordinator will develop a 1 Year Action Plan based on the 6 Types of Parental Involvement.
Reserve at least 1 percent of the LEA’s allocation under subpart 2 to assist schools to carry out the activities. (RESERVATION sec.1116)
The District will support programs and disseminate information on best practices that reach parents and family members at home, in the community, and at school especially those programs and best practices geared towards increasing the engagement of economically disadvantaged parents and family members.
The District will provide professional development regarding parent and family engagement strategies.
Provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children’s achievement. (BUILDING CAPACITY sec.1116)
The District shall, through Parent Educators, maintain parent resource centers which are designed to encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children.
SCHOOL LEVEL RESPONSIBILITIES
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 and made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school. (SHARED RESPONSIBILITY sec.1116)
Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan. (POLICY INVOLVEMENT sec.1116)
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. (SCHOOL PFE POLICY sec.1116)
Convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend. (POLICY INVOLVEMENT sec.1116)
Jointly develop with parents a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and 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 to help children achieve the State’s high standards. (SHARED RESPONSIBILITY sec.1116)
Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children to meet the challenging State academic standards and identify the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning. (SHARED RESPONSIBILITY sec.1116)
Address the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis and develop identifiable community partnerships. (SHARED RESPONSIBILITY sec.1116)
Notify the parents of each student that the parents may request, and the agency will provide the parents, upon request (and in a timely manner), information regarding the professional qualifications of the student’s classroom teachers and paraprofessionals. (RTK sec. 1112 )
Provide to each individual parent information on the level of achievement and academic growth of the student. (RTK sec. 1112)
Provide timely notice that the student has been assigned or has been taught for 4 or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who does not meet applicable State certification or licensure requirements at the grade level and subject area in which the teacher has been assigned. (RTK sec. 1112)
Organize a Parent Action Team whose primary purpose is to oversee and create parent and family engagement activities that improve the academic quality of all students while integrating parent and family involvement. (LEA)
Assure Parent Action Team meetings take place- beginning, middle, and end of the year. (LEA)
Complete yearly evaluation of the school’s Parent and Family Engagement program. (LEA)
Using the 6 Types of Parental Involvement, develop a 1 Year Action Plan to be outlined in the school’s School Improvement Plan. (LEA)
ADOPTION
This LEA’s Parental and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by the agenda and sign-in of the District Parent Engagement meeting.
Revised: July 12, 2018
Revised: June 6, 2024
Ref: 20 USC 6312 (Strengthening and Improvement of Elementary and Secondary Schools)
20 USC 6318 (Parent and Family Engagement)
La. Rev. Stat. Ann. §17:235.2
Board minutes, 7-12-18, 6-6-24
St. Landry Parish School Board