Title I Parent Involvement Plan
Title I Parent Involvement Plan
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary believes positive parental involvement is essential in guiding the social, emotional, and academic growth of students. Our mission as educators and staff at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary is every child achieving at high levels and every adult accountable for every child’s success. Our school’s mission statement articulates the values and actions that we are committed to in service of students.
We believe that:
- All people have value.
- Valuing and respecting differences strengthens the individual and the community.
- People thrive when they feel connected, supported and affirmed.
- Everyone can learn.
- Hope inspires and empowers.
- Lifelong learning is essential for personal growth.
- Change is an opportunity for growth.
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School has jointly developed with parents, teachers and staff this Parent Involvement Plan. This plan establishes the expectations for parent/family and community involvement with Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, a Title I school.
The Parent Involvement Plan will be made available on the school’s website for parents/families to review and suggest improvements of the plan throughout the school year. Suggestions should be put in writing and submitted to the school administrator.
Parent/Family Information Night
Annually, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary will hold a fall Parent/Family Information Night. At this meeting, the principal and staff inform the parents of the school’s participation in Title I, explain the requirements of Title I, and the right of parents/families to be involved in the school. Parents/families will also be provided information on the school’s implementation and of MTSS/Response to Intervention (RTI) & Effective Schools and where to locate more information on the district website.
Parents/families will be notified of their rights to know the qualifications of their child’s teacher and if that teacher is highly qualified. If a substitute teacher is in the classroom for four consecutive weeks and is not highly qualified, a notification letter will be sent home to parents/families of those children.
Child Progress Updates
Title 1 families will also be informed of the school’s participation in the Title 1 Program at family literacy and math events at a minimum of twice a year and at parent/teacher conferences. During these events and conferences, parents will be encouraged to participate in decisions concerning the education of their child. They will also be provided progress that their child has made and information on how they can work to improve their children’s achievement.
English Learner Families
We have an annual EL Family Open House at the beginning of the school in late September or early October where we introduce our EL staff, the services we provide, and facilitate a multilingual listening session with the EL Team and school administration. In the past, this has been an in-person event in the school library and in classrooms for language group breakout sessions. Looking ahead to next year, we will probably conduct this event as an online virtual EL Family Night in response to the State and SPS mandates around health and safety protocols during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
In the Spring we will host a series of virtual family nights for our major language groups and also one session in English for all other EL families. We are planning on having similar events in the late winter or early Spring as a way to have a mid-school-year check-in and communication opportunity. The main focus of these events is home-family communication – especially during the pandemic when there are not many opportunities for face-to-face conversations and clarifications. Additional purposes of these meetings are to remind families of our EL service model, how we provide on-going support to students and families, and to ask for feedback and suggestions for future services and program offerings.
The EL team participates in and staffs all school-wide events such as curriculum night, parent-teacher conferences, IEP meetings and assemblies to support and connect with families. All school family events are planned throughout the year to create opportunities for parents/families to learn about technology resources (Source – parent portal, SeeSaw, etc.).
Family Survey
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary will administer a Parent/Family Needs/Evaluation survey in the spring seeking input about the effectiveness of the overall Title 1 program and Parental Involvement Plan.
School News and Updates
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary will ensure parents/families timely information about programs, curriculum, assessment, content standards and achievement expectations in the following formats:
- School Calendar
- Newsletters
- School/Teacher Website
- School to Home Folders
- Conferences
- Phone Calls
- Parent/Family Events
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary will coordinate parent/family involvement programs/activities/conferences at a variety of times to maximize opportunities for parents to participate and will ensure that information sent home is in parent/family friendly language that can be easily understood.
School Compact
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary will jointly develop a parent-school-student compact. The compact will outline how parents, school staff, and the students will share the responsibility for improved student achievement. It will also provide means by which the school and parents will build a partnership to help students achieve the state’s high academic standards.
Access to School Staff and Resources
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary gives parents reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer, participate, and observe in their child’s class. At any time, parents may request a meeting with teachers and/or staff to make suggestions and assist in the decisions affecting their child’s education.
To the extent possible, parent communication will be translated, as needed, into the foremost home languages for the school’s students other than English.
The Parent Involvement Plan was developed by Martin Luther King Jr. in October 2021 and is still in use. The school will distribute this Parent/Family Involvement Plan to all parents of participating Title I children and make it available to the community on or before October 31.