Live Oak Unified School District - Parent Involvement Guide

Parent Involvement Guide

Please click here for the Spanish version

[NOTE: In support of strengthening student academic achievement, each local educational agency (LEA or school district) that receives Title I, Part A funds must develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parental involvement policy that contains information required by section 1118(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (District-wide Parental involvement Policy). The policy establishes the LEA's expectations for parental involvement and describes how the LEA will implement a number of specific parental involvement activities, and is incorporated into the LEA's plan submitted to the State educational agency (SEA).]

Part I. General Expectations

The Live Oak Unified School District agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

The school district will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents in all of its schools with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Those programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
Consistent with section 1118, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level parental involvement policies meet the requirements of section 1118(b) of the ESEA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d) of the ESEA.
The school district will incorporate this district-wide parental involvement policy into its LEA plan developed under section 1112 of the ESEA. It will be referred to as the District Parent Involvement Guide to distinguish it from the District Board Policy. The Sites will then develop a Site Parent Involvement Guide.
In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools 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 ESEA in an understandable and uniform format and, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
If the LEA plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1112 of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school district will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school district submits the plan to the State Department of Education.
The school district will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parental involvement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools.
The school district will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and expects that its Title I schools will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition:

Parental involvement 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 integral role in assisting their child's learning;
that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child's education at school;
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;
the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.

Part II. Description of How District Will Implement Required District-wide Parental Involvement Policy Components

[NOTE: The District-wide Parental involvement Policy must include a description of how the district will implement or accomplish each of the following components. [Section 1118(a)(2), ESEA.]

Joint Development of the District-wide Parental Involvement Guide

1. The Live Oak Unified School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district wide parental involvement plan under section 1112 of the ESEA:

Activities to include:

Develop a District Parent Focus Group to meet every three years
Review guide annually with the District Advisory Committee; included DELAC member
Continue services through a District Bilingual Translator and District Bilingual Parent Liaison to assist parents and schools with written and verbal translation and to provide a bridge between school and home

Process for School Review and Improvement

2. The Live Oak Unified School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:

Activities to include:

Distribute the guide to all parents each year in English and Spanish
Invite and encourage parents to attend meetings to review the guidelines through the school site process (Parents' Club, SSC, other)
Establish a District Advisory Committee that would meet twice a year to review the guide, as well as, annually review the LEAP, Title III, and the Consolidated Application

Coordination, Technical Assistance, and Other Support for Planning and Implementation of an Effective Parental Involvement Activities

3. The Live Oak Unified School District will provide the following 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:

Activities to include:

Parent training and materials in English and primary languages as appropriate and practical
Post district policy and district guide, and associated information on the district website
Set aside 1% of Title I monies for Parental Involvement planning and implementation, to include materials, training, and support; involve parents in the decisions regarding how the funds are spent
Distribute 95% of the 1% Parental Involvement set aside funds to Title I schools
Provide assistance to the schools to plan and implement an effective Site Parental Involvement Guide

Coordinate and Integrate Parental Involvement Strategies

4. The Live Oak Unified School District will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following other programs: [such as: Smart Start, Migrant Education, Latino Family Literacy, Head Start and State-operated preschool programs], by:

Activities to include:

Support administrators and site staff to strengthen parental involvement
Integrate and coordinate programs when practical and appropriate (i.e. summer school, district translation and parent liaison services, Latino Family Literacy, Parent Playbooks)

Annual Evaluation

5. The Live Oak Unified 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 guide in improving the quality of its Title I, Part A schools. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater 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 guide 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.

Activities to include:

Parent representatives on the DELAC, District Focus Group and District Advisory Group will meet annually to review the guide and provide input that will be considered for revisions.
The Director of Special Programs will hold the meeting, provide an agenda and supporting materials and establish the role parents play in the development and revisions annually. The parent's role is to participate in development of the guide and to conduct an annual review.
All data collected throughout the year from various parent groups will be considered.
Our main goal and focus will be on student achievement and how parents can support the standards and curriculum at home.
A secondary goal is to provide assistance to parents through a resource center and training center that would provide literacy skills.
Work with parents to address/resolve issues and listen to concerns in the DAC/DELAC/DFG
School Accountability Report Card will be distributed annually by each school site
Submit parents' comments to the California Department of Education if the school district's plan is not satisfactory to the parents

Building Capacity

6. The Live Oak Unified 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 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, and how to work with educators.

Activities to include:

Provide annual student assessment data to parents in a format that is understandable
Keep parents informed/involved annually on programs/services available for their children (i.e. Title I, Title III, SES, other)
Ensure that the schools schedule parent conferences annually; identify and calendar the dates; send calendars out to all parents; ensure that each school site has a process for holding conferences and plan for translation as appropriate
Ensure that all schools hold a Back-to-School Night where parents are informed of the Title I programs available for them and their children
Parents are informed of the names of schools in Program Improvement (PI)
When schools are in PI parents of those schools are provided with the option for Supplemental Education Services (SES) and/or School Choice based on Title I regulations
Provide information about English Learners as required under Title III
Provide an avenue for parents to request the right to request the teacher qualifications
Provide parents with information regarding the existence and purpose of the federally funded Parental Information and Resource Center (PIRCs) in California

Providing Assistance, Materials and Training

7. The school district will, with the assistance of its schools, provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement, such as literacy training, and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement, by:

Activities to include:

Provide materials and training
Develop and utilize an effective process for District Bilingual Translation Services and District Bilingual Parent Liaison to assist in parental involvement and support

Staff Development

8. The school district will, with the assistance of 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 in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools, by:

Activities to include:

Provide training for all teachers and administrators Provide training for all teachers and administrators in "parent involvement" best practices
Gain information and perspective from parents in District Parent Focus Group; share with all staff; fold input into the district direction/vision

Coordination and Integration of Programs

9. The school district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with [such as: Smart Start, Migrant Education, Latino Family Literacy, Head Start and State-operated preschool programs], and other 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, by:

Activities to include:

Build and develop the Cub House as a parent resource center and training facility
Hold an annual EL redesignation ceremony
Ensure that schools continue to hold academic events where parents can participate, view their child's work, and interact with the teacher
(see #4 above)

Distribution of Information in Uniform and Understandable Format

10. The Live Oak Unified School District will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent- programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand:

Activities to include:

Information required under Title I is sent home to parents in English and Spanish; Punjabi when practical and appropriate.
Utilize a supportive process for encouraging parent participation in and attendance to meetings and training sessions

Part III. Adoption

This District-wide Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by Live Oak Unified School District's Parental Involvement Policy. This policy was initially adopted by the Live Oak Unified School District on November 21, 2006, and will be in effect for the period of November 21, 2006-November 21, 2012. The school district will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before September 30, 2007, and annually thereafter.