1260 - Parent Involvement

Programs operated by the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools (SBCSS) recognize the value of active involvement by parents in the education of enrolled students. Research has validated that:

1. Parent involvement in children’s education improves student achievement.
2. Parent involvement is most effective when it is comprehensive, supportive, long-lasting and well-planned.
3. The benefits of parent involvement are not limited to early childhood; positive effects continue through high school.
4. We cannot look at the school and the home in isolation from one another. Families and schools need to collaborate to help children adjust to the world of school and beyond. This is particularly critical for children from families with different cultural and language backgrounds.

SBCSS agrees to implement the following Title I, Part A requirements:

• SBCSS will operate programs, activities, and procedures to involve parents in all of its Title I, Part A schools and programs, consistent with section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). All programs, activities and procedures will be planned jointly with input from parents of participating students.
• SBCSS will incorporate the parental involvement plan into its LEA Plan.
• SBCSS will reserve at least 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds for parental involvement activities, will ensure that at least 85 percent of the reserved funds will go directly to schools, and will involve parents of children participating in Title I, Part A in deciding how those funds will be used.

SBCSS will implement the following parent involvement components. Parent involvement practices within each component may vary between schools, depending on assessed program needs and input from program participants. Examples of parent involvement practices implemented at SBCSS sites are listed with each relevant component.

1) SBCSS and its schools will involve parents actively in the joint development and annual update of the local plan and the process of school review and program improvement, including

• SBCSS Title I, Part A parental involvement policy
• School parental involvement activities in Single Plan for Student Achievement
• School-Parent compacts

Other methods to involve parents are listed in component (e) below. Annually, SBCSS will distribute evaluation/input surveys to parents in all county school sites. Results will be used for LEA Plan, site Single Plan, and parent involvement policy evaluation and modification.

2) SBCSS will help schools plan and implement effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance by:

• Ensuring that each site reserves Title I, Part A funds for parent involvement activities
• Centralizing the annual assessment of parent training needs
• Disseminating needs assessment results to sites
• Providing Coordinators of Math and Language Arts with partial responsibility to develop and implement parent education in their respective fields Reviewing site plans and expenditure reports to ensure implementation of parent involvement activities.
• Encouraging participation at CDE-sponsored parent involvement workshops

Examples of parent involvement activities which may increase parent ability to improve student achievement include:

• Workshops, meetings, and written materials to inform parents of site learning expectations for students, including IEP Team meetings and Community Day School intake meetings which require parent attendance
• Distribution of homework packets for shared home learning experiences
• Workshops for parents on subjects such as discipline, behavior modification, improving language skills, effective parenting, working with children at home, and others as indicated by annual parent needs assessment
• Participation in transition meetings for students leaving juvenile court schools
• Orientation meetings to ease student transition from preschool to kindergarten
• Counselors offer family sessions and training
• Teacher-Parent conferences to discuss student progress
• Report cards, progress reports, and test score information shared throughout the year for individual students and school performance through the School Accountability Report Cards
• Communication will be encouraged by mail, note, and phone
• Reports to parents on progress in Title I intervention throughout the year
• Access to library for parent use, including ability to check out educational materials
• When parent attendance is not possible, other professionals will step in to plan academic and behavioral improvement strategies for students, such as multi-disciplinary team meetings with probation staff members for students in juvenile court school settings

3) SBCSS will build school’s and parent’s capacities for strong parental involvement. Whenever possible, SBCSS and schools will minimize the effects of language differences, physical and sensory handicaps, work schedules, child care, limited income, and other barriers to full parental involvement.

a) SBCSS will

• Support site staff in communicating effectively with parents
• Train advisory groups including in Title I goals and leadership skills

b) SBCSS will ensure that sites

• Elect, convene, and train advisory groups related to programs at their sites
• Encourage parents to visit classes
• Encourage parents to volunteer and recognize that involvement
• Help parents understand content standards and assessments that students will be held accountable for through:
  • Intake and enrollment meetings
  • IEP team meetings
  • Back-to-School Night
  • Open House
  • Other forms of annual Title I information meetings
  • Distribution of written materials

c) SBCSS will cooperate with Foster Youth Services and Homeless Liaison to provide information and services to group homes, foster homes, and homeless youth.

d) When possible, SBCSS and its Title I schools will provide for child care and offer refreshments to increase parent participation in parent meetings, trainings, and school activities.

4) SBCSS will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under Title I, Part A and under other programs such as State Preschool, Title I Part D, Title III by offering parent trainings to parents of students from other programs and by holding information meetings which serve more than one purpose. For example, Title I information might be given to parents of a Title I student while they attend that child’s IEP meeting.

5) SBCSS will conduct, with the help of parents of Title I students, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent involvement policy and use findings from the evaluation to design more effective parental involvement strategies:

a) Annual evaluation survey will be distributed by mail or at parent meetings.

b) Parents will evaluate site programs, including Title I parent involvement policy and activities, and give input for policy modification, future parent training topics, and indications of barriers preventing increased parent participation.
c) Evaluation results will be shared with School Site Councils to aid program evaluation and improvement effort.

SBCSS will distribute a written copy of the approved parent involvement policy to parents of Title I participants annually or upon initial enrollment in SBCSS programs by one of the following methods:

a) During intake and enrollment meetings for students enrolling in Community Day School and Independent Alternative Education programs,
b) During annual IEP team meetings for individuals with exceptional needs, or
c) By mail to parents of students in SBCSS juvenile court schools.

This written policy will be provided in English or Spanish, or as much as possible, in a language the parent can understand.

6) SBCSS and its Title I, Part A, schools and programs will involve parents in the activities of the Title I schools, such as

• Open House
• Back-to-School Night
• Special events, assemblies, field trips and celebrations
• Annual Poetry Day

Approved: June 28, 2006