Overview

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, Greenbrier County Board of Education receives Title 1, Part A funds and therefore must jointly develop with, agree on with, and distribute to parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy that contains information required by Section 1116(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended. The policy establishes the district's expectations and objectives for meaningful parent and family involvement and describes how the district will implement a number of specific parent and family engagement activities.

Greenbrier County Board of Education agrees to implement the following requirements as outlined in Section 1116 of the ESEA, as amended:

• The school district will conduct outreach to all parents and family members in all of its schools with Title I, Part A Programs to implement programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents and family members. These programs, activities and procedures will be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children. [1116(b)] & [1116(a)(1)]

• Consistent with Section 1116, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level parent and family engagement policies meet the requirements of Section 1116(b) of the ESEA, as amended, and each include a component of the school-parent compact consistent with Section 1118(d) of the ESEA, as amended. [1116(b)] & [1118(d)]

• In carrying out the parent and family engagement requirements of this part, local educational agencies and schools, to the extent practicable, shall provide opportunities for the informed participation of parents and family members (including parents and family members who have limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory children), including providing information and school reports required under Section 1111 of the ESEA, as amended, in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language such parents understand. [1116(e)(4)]

• If the district plan for Title I, Part A, developed under Section 1112 of the ESEA, as amended, 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. [1116(b)(4)]

• The school district will be governed by the following definition of parent involvement and expects that its Title I, Part A schools will carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this definition:

Parent involvement means that the participation of parents in a 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; and

• the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in Section 1116. [8101 (39)]

Annual Evaluation

Greenbrier County Schools will conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of all the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all schools served under this part, including identifying:

(i) barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by this section (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);

(ii) the needs of the parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and

(iii) strategies to support successful school and family interactions.

(iv) The Greenbrier County Board of Education will coordinate Title I staff, along with other departments, and they will conduct an annual parent survey to evaluate the effectiveness of its parent and family engagement policy and practices.

The survey will explore with parents and families the effectiveness of school communication regarding the goals of the school, information about their child's progress, and other topics relevant to assisting families.

Data from the survey will be used to continually assess and improve the effectiveness of parent and family engagement programs at the school and district levels. The results will be shared with administrators, teacher groups, and the parent advisory council.

During the spring parent advisory council meeting, parents will revise the parent and family engagement strategies based on the survey results.

Evidence -Based Strategies

Greenbrier County Board of Education will use the findings of such evaluation listed above to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parent and family engagement policies.

The term evidence-based means an activity, strategy, or intervention that:

(i) demonstrates a statistically significant effect on improving student outcomes or other relevant outcomes based on:

(I) strong evidence from at least one well-designed and well- implemented experimental study;

(II) moderate evidence from at least one well-designed and well- implemented quasi-experimental study; or

(III) promising evidence from at least one well-designed and well- implemented correlational study with statistical controls for selection bias; or

(ii) (I) demonstrates a rational based on high quality research findings or positive evaluation that such activity, strategy, or intervention is likely to improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes; and

(II) includes ongoing efforts to examine the effects of such activity, strategy, or intervention.

• Data from the survey will be used to continually assess and improve the effectiveness of parent and family engagement programs at the school and district levels. The results will be shared with administrators, teacher groups, and the parent advisory council.

• During the spring parent advisory council meeting, parents will revise the parent and family engagement strategies based on the survey results.

Building Capacity of Parents and Family Members

Greenbrier County Board of Education will with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, build parents' capacity for strong parent and family engagement by providing materials and training on such topics as literacy training and using technology to help parents work with their children to improve their children's academic achievement. Assistance will also be provided to parents and family members in understanding the following topics:

• The challenging State academic standards

• The State and local academic assessments

• How to monitor their child's progress

• How to work with educators to improve the achievement of their children

• The requirements of Title 1, Part A

Each Title I school will offer a workshop, known as Title I 101, for all parents and families. This workshop will include an understanding of the state's standards, state and local assessments, how to monitor a child's progress and work with the school and staff to improve the achievement of their children.

The annual survey will provide information regarding the trainings and topics that parents and families need to improve their child's achievement.

Building Capacity of School Staff

Greenbrier County Board of Education will, with the assistance of its schools and parents, educate its teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, other school leaders, and other staff on how to reach out to, communicate, and work with parents as equal partners, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools.

• Greenbrier County Schools Title I staff will provide professional staff development for all Title I staff annually regarding parent and family engagement, the benefits and strategies to use when communicating with parents/families and the value of parents/families as partners.

• County-wide initiatives under the National Network of Partnership Schools from John Hopkins University will be offered.

• Schools and district personnel will work with the Title III staff to support the English as a Second Language families.