2415.50  High Point Regional High School TITLE I – SCHOOL PARENT
      	   AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT (M)
A.    	District Expectations
 	1.     	In accordance with the requirements of Title I, Section 1116(a)(2), ESEA, the 			Board of Education agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:
		a.     	The school district will put into operation programs, activities, and 				procedures for the involvement of parents in all its schools with Title I, 				Part A programs.  These programs, activities, and procedures will be 				planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of 				participating children.
		b.     	The school district will work with its schools to ensure the required 				school-level parent and family engagement policies meet the Title I, Part 				A requirements, and include, as a component, a school-parent compact.
		c.     	The school district will incorporate this School Parent and Family 				Engagement Policy into its district plan.
		d.     	In carrying out the Title I, Part A parent and family engagement 					requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools 				will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents of children 				with limited English proficiency, parents of children with disabilities, and 			parents of migratory children, including providing information and 				school reports in an understandable and uniform format and, including 				alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a 				language parents understand.
		e.     	If the school district plan for Title I, Part A funds is not satisfactory to the 			parents of participating children, the school district will submit any 				parent comments with the plan upon request by the New Jersey 					Department of Education (NJDOE).
		f.      	The school district will involve the parents of children served in Title I 				schools in decisions about how the one percent of Title I, Part A funds 				reserved for parent and family engagement is spent, and will ensure that 				not less than ninety percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to 				the schools. (Only applicable for districts with Title I, Part A allocations 				greater than $500,000.)
		g.     	The school district will be governed by the following statutory definition 				of parent and family engagement, and expects that its Title I schools will 				carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this 				definition:
			(1)    	“Parent and family engagement” 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; and
				(d)   	The carrying out of other activities, such as those 						described in section 1116 of the ESEA.
		h.     	The school district will inform parents and parental organizations of the 				purpose and existence of the Parental Information and Resource Center 				in New Jersey. 
B.    	School Parent and Family Engagement Policy Required Components
	1.     	The school will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint 				development of its district/school parent and family engagement plan:
		a.	The school will hold several, publicized meetings for 					parents and families to provide input on the school’s Title I 				programs.
	
		b.     	The school will consult with Local Educational Agencies 					(LEA’s) and collaborate on proven, effective strategies for 					developing and sustaining effective parental engagement.
		c.     	The school will designate a section of its website to the 					dissemination of information about the school’s Title I programs, 				as well as information regarding how parents and students can 				become active participants in Title I related collaboration.
	2.     	The school will convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all 			parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to 			inform parents of their school's participation under Title I, Part A, and to explain 			the requirements of this part and the right of the parents to be involved:
		The school’s annual Title I Meeting and General Information Session will 			be held on a weeknight in September during a “Back to School” program. 			The meeting will be held in the school’s media center.
	3.     	The school will offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the 			morning or evening, and may provide, with funds provided under Title I, Part A, 			transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parent and 			family engagement:
		The school will make reasonable efforts to accommodate parents’ diverse 			scheduling needs.  During the year, meetings will be held during the 			school day as well as in the evenings. Further, the school will invite 			parents to participate in meetings virtually so as to support engagement 			from parents who might not be able to attend in-person meetings.
	4.     	The school will provide the following necessary coordination, technical 				assistance, and other support to assist Title I schools in planning and 				implementing effective parent and family engagement activities to improve 			student academic achievement and school performance:
a.	The school will support parental engagement by providing technical assistance to parents wishing to participate in meetings virtually.

b.	The school will provide facilities to host on-site meetings.
c.	The school will assist in promoting the dates, times and locations of Title I parental and family engagement meetings.

	5.     	The school will build the schools' and parents' capacity for strong parent and 				family engagement, 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:
	
		a.     	The school will, with the assistance of its Title I schools, provide 					assistance to parents of children served by the school district or school, 					as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following:

			(1)    	The challenging, state academic standards;

			(2)    	The state and local academic assessments including alternate 						assessments;
			(3)    	The requirements of Title I, Part A;
			(4)    	How to monitor their child's progress; and
			(5)    	How to work with educators to improve the achievement of their 					children.
				(a)    	The school will provide training to parents in how 						to use the school’s student information system (SIS) 					in order to effectively track student progress.
				(b)	The school will release tutorials to families and 						parents in order to help them to be informed 							regarding Title I and related academic and support 						programs.
	6.     	The school will provide parents of participating children, if requested by parents, 			opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as 			appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond 			to any such suggestions as soon as practically possible.
		a.     	The school will, with the assistance of its Title I schools, provide 				materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve 			their children's achievement, such as literacy training and using 					technology, as appropriate, to foster parent and family engagement, 				by:
			(1)    	The school will assist parents in how to access and 						understand digital learning tools such as Newsela, 						Classroom and IXL. By understanding how these platforms 				work, parents and families will be better equipped to 					support student learning.
			(2)	At Title I parent and family meetings, the school will 					inform parents of the many support services available to 					help them become empowered to assist their children in 					their academic work. 
		b.     	The school will, with the assistance of its Title I schools and parents, 				educate its teachers, student services personnel, principals, other school 				leaders, 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 reach out to, communicate with, 				and work with parents as equal partners to implement and coordinate 				parent programs and build ties between parents and schools, by:
			(1)    	The school will utilize staff in-service programs to inform 					staff members of the importance of frequent and specific 					communication with parents and families, as well as their 					professional responsibiliites related to such communication. 
			(2)	The school will host multiple open house type events which 				will provide opportunities for staff and parents to engage in 				both a formal and informal manner.
		c.     	The school will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and 				integrate parent and family engagement programs and activities with 				Head Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, 				Parents as Teachers Program, and public preschool 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:
			(1)    	The school will provide parents with information regarding 					effective strategies for helping secondary students to 					succeed academically, socially and emotionally. 		
		d.     	The school will take the following actions to ensure that Title I 					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:
			(1)	The school will utilize traditional mailings, email, the 					student information system and other modes of 						communication to inform parents of Title I programs and 					opportunities and to assist parents in learning more about 					these programs, as well as how to support their children’s 					education.
	7.     	The school will coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies 		under Title I with parent and family engagement strategies under the following 			programs:  [Such as: Head Start, Parents as Teachers, Home Instruction Programs 		for Preschool Youngsters, and state-operated preschool programs], by:
		a.	The school will work with local support and service providers 				(Pass it Along, Project Self-Sufficiency, Atlantic Health, etc.) in an 			effort to increase parental engagement with these services and 				those provided by the school’s Title I program..
	8.     	The school will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of 			parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and 			family engagement policy in improving the quality of its Title I schools. The 			evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in 			parent and family engagement 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 parent and family 			engagement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parent 			and family engagement, and to revise if necessary (and with the involvement of 			parents) its parent and family engagement policies:
		a.     	The school will evaluate its Title I parental and family engagement 				program annually. This evaluation will be overseen by the school’s 			Director of Curriculum and Instruction. The evaluation will 				include surveys as well as feedback from meetings and an analysis 				of academic progress related to Title I programs. 
	9.     	The school will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of 			school review and improvement:
		a.     	The school will share the survey results with parents and invite 				their feedback on how to take appropriate steps to address needs 				identified in the Title I evaluation.
	10.   	If the Annual School Plan (school-wide program plan) is not satisfactory to the 			parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the Annual 			School Plan (ASP) when the school makes the plan available to the local 				educational agency:
		a.	The school will inform parents of the opportunity to notify the 				school of their dissatisfaction with the Title I services being 				provided. The school will consider how to remedy these parental 				concerns and will document attempts to address such parental 				concerns. 
C.    	Shared Responsibilities for High Student Academic Achievement
	1.     	As a component of the school-level parent and family engagement policy, each 			school shall jointly develop with parents for all children served under this part a 			school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and 			students will share the responsibility for improved student academic 				achievement:
		a.     	At the Title I Parent and Family Engagement meeting in 					September, the school will review the process by which school 				stakeholders will jointly work to bring about an increase in student 				achievement.
D.    	Discretionary School Parent and Family Engagement Policy Components
	1.     	The School Parent and Family Engagement Policy may include additional 			paragraphs listing and describing other discretionary activities that the school 			district, in consultation with its parents, chooses to undertake to build parents' 			capacity for involvement in the school and school system to support their 			children's academic achievement, such as the following discretionary activities:
		a.     	Involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, 				and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training.
		b.     	Provide necessary literacy training for parents from Title I, Part A funds 				received, if the school district has exhausted all other reasonably 					available sources of funding for such training.
		c.     	Pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with parent and family 			engagement activities, including transportation and childcare costs, to 				enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training 				sessions.
		d.     	Train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents.
		e.     	In order to maximize parent and family engagement and participation in 				their children's education, arrange school meetings at a variety of times, 				or conduct in-home conferences between teachers or other educators, 				who work directly with participating children, with parents who are 				unable to attend such conferences at school.
		f.      	Adopt and implement model approaches to improve parent and family 				engagement.
		g.     	Establish a district-wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all 				matters related to parent and family engagement in Title I, Part A 				programs.
		h.     	Develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and 				businesses in parent involvement activities.
		i.      	Provide other reasonable support for parent and family engagement 				activities under this section as parents may request:
			N/A
E.     	Accessibility
	1.     	In carrying out the parent and family engagement requirements of this part, 			districts and schools, to the extent practicable, shall provide full opportunities for 			the participation of parents of children with limited English proficiency, parents 			of children with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including 				providing information and school reports required in a format and, to the extent 			practicable, in a language such parents can understand:
		a.     	The school will publish materials in multiple languages based upon 			results of the Home Language survey. Title I materials will be 				provided in additional languages upon request.  Also, at Title I 				meetings, as needed, the school will provide interpreters to the best 			of the school’s ability.

F.     	Adoption
	1.     	This School Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly 			with, and agreed on, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, 			as evidenced by meeting minutes.
	2.     	This Policy was adopted by the Board of Education on the adoption date noted at 			the end of this Policy and will be in effect for the period of the school year.  The 			school district will distribute this Policy to all parents of participating Title I 			children on or before October 1 of each school year.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title I, Section 1116(a)(2)

Adopted: August 23, 2022