School, Parent, and Family Engagement Policy

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As a building that receives Title I funding from the federal government for the purpose of strengthening student academic achievement, we are called upon to work with families to distribute our school's parental involvement policy in accordance with section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Below are several points related to the school's policy for parent and family engagement associated with this program:

PART I.

GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

Troy Middle School agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

Consistent with section 1118, the school will work to ensure that the required school level parental involvement policies meet the requirements of section 1118 of the ESEA, and include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d) of the ESEA. Schools will notify parents of the policy in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. The policy will be made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school. In carrying out the Title I, Part A, parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school 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 school-wide program plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1114(b) of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school submits the plan to the local educational agency (school district). The school will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title 1, Part A funds reserved for parental involvement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the 1 percent reserved goes directly to the schools.

The school will build its own and the parent's capacity for strong parental involvement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, The school will provide other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under section 1118 of the ESEA as the parents may request.

The school will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and 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

A) that parents play an integral role in assisting their child's learning

B) that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child's education at School

C) 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;

D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.

Part II

DESCRIPTION OF HOW SCHOOLS WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED SCHOOL PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

Troy Middle School will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its school parental involvement plan under section 1118 of the ESEA:

Through participation on building committees and other leadership opportunities.

Troy Middle School will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:

a.) Hold community events addressing the core curriculum.

b.) Hold an annual meeting to inform parents of the school's participation in Title 1, Part A programs, and to explain the Title I, Part A requirements and the right of parents to be involved in Title I, Part A programs. The school will convene the meeting at a time convenient for parents and will offer a flexible number of additional parental involvement meetings so that as many parents as possible are able to attend. The school will invite all parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs to this meeting, and will encourage them to attend.

c.) This will be a collaborative approach with district administration, building administration and the community. Feedback will be received through surveys, such as the 5Essentials Survey, and collaborative discussion. Results will be shared with all.

d.) Will provide parents of participating children information in a timely manner about Title I, Part A program that includes a description and explanation of the school's curriculum, the forms of academic assessment used to measure children's progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.

e.) Will hold curriculum night, parent teacher conferences as well as parent events held throughout the school year.

f.)  At the request of parents, provide opportunities for regular meetings for parents to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions about the education of their children. The school will respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.

g.) Will gather feedback during curriculum night, parent teacher conference, and reinforce our open door policy for administrators and teachers at all times. Additionally, parent feedback can be obtained by 5Essentials data.

h.) Will provide each parent an individual student report about the performance of their child on the State assessment in at least math, language arts and reading.

i.) Parents will be provided with updates on their child's progress which may include progress reports, report cards as well as local and standardized measures.

j.) Will provide assistance to parents of children served by the school, as appropriate, in understanding topics by undertaking the actions described below:

the state's academic content standards, 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 partner with educators to support their child's progress.

Part III

Description of building and community events incorporating common core curriculum, College and Career Readiness Standards as well as literacy and mathematics initiatives.

a.) Will 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.

b.) Provide a series of parent involvement activities focused on the core curriculum.

c.)  Will 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 of contributions of parents, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools by working collaboratively as a staff including having a community outreach committee and joint partnership with parent volunteer groups.

d.) Will to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities as deemed appropriate.

e.) Will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent-programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to 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.

PART IV

DISCRETIONARY SCHOOL PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

a.) Provide training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of instructional practices, which could include parent input.

b.) Paying reasonable and necessary expenses associated with parental involvement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions.

c.) Training parents to enhance the involvement of other parents.

d.) Arranging school meetings at a variety of times, or conducting virtual meetings between teachers or other educators who work directly with participating children, in order to maximize parental involvement and participation in their children's education.

e.) Adopting and implementing model approaches to improving parental involvement; establishing a school parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement, developing appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses, including faith-based organizations, in parental involvement activities.

PART IV.

ADOPTION

This School Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title 1, Part A programs.

This policy was adopted by Troy Middle School in February, 2025.  The school will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before August 18, 2025.

Renee M. Marski

Principal

Troy Middle School