6:170-AP1 Checklist for Development, Implementation, and Maintenance of Parent Involvement Compacts for Title I Programs

The development, implementation, and maintenance of parent/guardian involvement compacts must be accomplished with meaningful consultation with parents/guardians of children participating in Title I programs.  The Superintendent designates a person to be responsible for the process of obtaining meaningful consultation.  This checklist includes some measures designed to encourage meaningful consultation.

This is an annual checklist. Check steps as completed.

Plan regular meetings throughout the school year with parents/guardians to discuss the District and/or school compacts; identify dates and convenient times, places, and persons whose attendance is desired.  Offer meetings in the morning or evening, and, if funds are available under Title I for this purpose, provide transportation, childcare, or home visits, as such services relate to parent/guardian involvement.

Plan an agenda for meetings to be held to discuss District and/or school compacts.

• Always begin with “introducing where we are now” and end with “next steps.”
• Agendas should provide for 2-way communication between District and parents/guardians of children participating in Title I programs.
• Agendas can be built around the federal compliance requirements as stated in the IASB sample district- and school-level compacts.
• Agendas should also include a section to inform parents/guardians of their school’s participation under Title I and to explain Title I’s requirements regarding parent/guardian involvement, including the right of the parents/guardians to be involved.
• Agendas should also include a section to describe and explain the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.
• If requested by a parent/guardian, agendas should also include a section for parents/guardians to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to their children’s education.
• Agendas should also include a section to involve parents/guardians in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs, including the joint development of the schoolwide program plan under 20 U.S.C. §6314(b)(2).
• Another agenda topic is how funds are allotted for parent/guardian involvement in activities; parents/guardians of children receiving services must be involved in these decisions.

Notify interested persons of meeting dates to discuss the District and/or school compacts, including:

• Parents/guardians of students’ participating in Title I programs
• Staff members
• Students participating in Title I programs
• School Board members
• Media
• Coordinators for other school programs, e.g., Head Start and preschool programs

Other

Publicize the meeting dates, times, and locations to discuss District and/or school compacts.

Make all Open Meetings Act notifications and postings for meetings to be held to discuss District and/or school compacts.  Note: it is wise to assume these meetings will be in open session if Board members are expected to attend.

Appoint a recording secretary to keep meeting minutes.

Provide copies of working drafts to parents/guardians in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents/guardians can understand.

Determine “success” indicators to measure the effectiveness of the parental involvement compacts in improving the academic achievement.

Review the “success” indicators in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the parental involvement compacts in improving the academic achievement.

Identify barriers to greater participation by parents/guardians, with particular attention to parents/guardians who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background.  Use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parent/guardian involvement.

If the schoolwide program plan under 20 U.S.C. §6314(b)(2) is not satisfactory to the parents/guardians of participating children, submit any parents/guardians comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the School Board.

Provide status reports to the Board and, periodically, submit updated parental involvement compacts to the Board.

Revise the applicable parental involvement compacts as necessary.

Date Adopted:  October 16, 2007