Highcliff Elementary Parent Engagement Policy

I.	Highcliff Elementary will involve parents in the joint development of its overall Title I plan and the process of school review and improvement.

A. A committee comprised of parents, teachers, and administrators will be established to develop Highcliff’s Title I Plan and Highcliff’s Improvement Plan;

B. The purpose of the meeting (Spring) will be to review the policy, and to identify any necessary changes in the coming year.

II. Highcliff Elementary will plan and develop an effective parent involvement policy

A. Parents are informed, by written notification, of intent to evaluate students who are eligible for Title I testing.

B. Parents are informed, by written notification, of all testing results and recommendations for the completion of all evaluations.

C. Parents are informed, by written notification, of the intent to dismiss a student who has met the exit criteria from the Title I Reading Program.

D. Parents are given input into the development and revision of the Highcliff Elementary Parent Compact

E. Each school year parents are given a copy of the Parent Compact and the Parent Involvement Policy.

F. Every effort will be made to provide an interpreter to support those parents who speak a language other than English.

More detailed explanations of opportunities for parent involvement follow in the remainder of this document.

III. Highcliff Elementary will work to increase parent involvement by offering the following programs to strengthen the school/family partnership, and to provide materials and training for school staff and parents.

Parent/Teacher Conferences: We hold face-to-face and/or telephone conferences during the day and evening. Phone calls and individual meetings are encouraged. Title I procedures and all test results are shared with parents at this time.

Planned Course Guides: These are available for all parents at every grade level.

Report Cards

Various ooks: “Put Reading First” and “! hild ecomes a Reader” are provided to parents.

Curriculum Night: Standards and curriculum are explained to parents.

Open House: Families are encouraged to attend, and student work is displayed.

PT! Functions: Events such as the “ack to School Picnic”, Book Bingo, family nights, and monthly meetings (day and evening).

Read Across America Celebration

Author’s Day: A tradition that has featured authors such as Paula Danziger, Elizabeth Levy, and many more. Students attend assemblies given by the authors as well as writing workshops.

Book Fair: There are several book fairs that are held during the course of the school year.

Standards Brochures: This is found in the lobby of our school. It provides a great number of useful brochures free to interested parents.

Elementary Handbook

Assignment Books: All students use a system to report their assignments to their families.

Parent Newsletters

Field Trips

Teachers’ Newsletters

Title I Website: A link to this is found on the North Hills District website

Parent Portal: This can be used by parents to access the grades earned by their children

Televised Board Meetings: These can be viewed on the local cable access network.

District Calendar: This is sent to all students’’ families in the district; !ll of the district’s major events are listed;

North Hills School District E-Link: Residents and teachers of the North Hills School District can subscribe to this free service.

North Hill School District Newsletter: Our Schools

Reading Department Newsletter: On Reading

Midwestern IU4 Parent Resource Center: availability of free materials

Student Performances: Arts Alive, various class plays, performances by chorus, orchestra and band groups, science fair

Education Council (District Level) and other district committees

Informational flyers about community activities: Many sports activities, YMCA events, Chamber of Commerce events, various community theaters

Community/School Partnerships: Monthly work for senior citizen apartments, VFW partnership

Annual Parent Title I Workshop: This is held once a year to provide parents with strategies to help their children be more successful in school

Sight Word Reinforcement Packets – K, 1, and 2

Book-It

Book swap

Parent Volunteers in Classrooms

Email communication between school and home

Summer Reading Program – K – 6

Summer Reading List

Study Island Web Site for PSSA practice

RTII Programs for parent/school collaboration

Northland Library – online tutoring

Homework Club – 4, 5, and 6

Reading Counts

Think Through Math

Reading A-Z

RAZ-Plus – K, 1, and 2

Connected.McGraw-Hill.com

IV. Highcliff Elementary will coordinate Title I parent involvement activities with other parental involvement activities within the district, and community agencies such as: North Hills Community Outreach, North Hills Youth Ministry, Mercy Behavioral Health, and the Red Cross.

V. Highcliff Elementary will conduct with parents an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent involvement policy; assess how much parent involvement has increased, and the barriers to parental participation that needs to be addressed. The finding will be used to design strategies for school improvement and to revise parental involvement policies.

A. Highcliff Elementary will provide all parents of students in the Title I Reading program with the opportunity to complete a written evaluation of the Title I Program

B. Highcliff Elementary will conduct an annual meeting of the Parent Involvement Planning Committee to evaluate the content and effectiveness of the Title I parent involvement plans, procedures, and policies and use the evaluation to identify successful parent involvement strategies, barriers to parent participation, and make recommendations for improving parent involvement. Barriers to participation of parents, who are economically disadvantaged, disabled, have limited English proficiency, are limited in literacy skills, or are part of an ethnic/minority background, will be identifies to ensure greater parent participation in school activities. If necessary, after review of the findings of the evaluation, procedures will be revised.