Nampa High School

Parent Involvement Policy

In support of strengthening student achievement, each school that receives Title I, Part A (Title I ) funds must develop jointly with agreed on with, and distribute to parents of participating children a School Parental Involvement Policy that contains information required by section 1118(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA). The policy establishes the school’s expectation for parental involvement and describes how the school will implement a number of specific parental involvement activities. The school’s school-parent compact is incorporated into the School Parental Involvement Policy.

PART I. GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

Nampa High School agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

• The school will jointly develop with parents, distribute to parents of participating children, a School Parental Involvement Policy that the school and parents of a participating child(ren) agree on.
• The school will notify parents about the school Parental Involvement Policy in an understandable and uniform format and to the extent practical, will distribute this policy to parents in a language the parents can understand.
• The school will make the School Parental Involvement Policy available to the local community.
• The school will periodically update the School Parent Involvement Policy to meet the changing needs of the parents and the school.
• The school will adopt the schools’ School Parent Compact as a component of the School Parent Involvement Policy.
• The school agrees to be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and will carry out programs and activities and procedures in accordance to with this definition:

Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring—

1.       That parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning

2.       That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;

3.       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;

PART II. DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE SCHOOL WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS.

1.       Nampa High School will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development and joint agreement of its School Parent Involvement Policy and its school wide plan, if applicable in an organized ongoing, and timely way under section 1118(b) of the ESEA:

o        Nampa High School holds (School Parent Involvement Policy Committee) meetings to plan for the improvement of the Title 1 program. (School Parent Involvement Policy Committee) annually meets specifically to receive input from parents on how to increase parent participation.

The principal initiates input from parents orally and in writing on how to improve student achievement and the environment of the school.

2.       Nampa High School will take the following actions to distribute to parents of participating children and the local community, the School Parental Involvement Policy:

o        The Parent Involvement Policy is disseminated through the Nampa High School website.

3.        Nampa High School will update periodically its School Parental Involvement Policy to meet the changing needs of parents and the school:

o        Every school year given changes in school culture and Program Improvement status, the Parent Involvement Policy will be reviewed and updated.

4.       Nampa High School  will convene an annual meeting to inform parents of the following:

o        That their child’s school participates in Title I,

o        About the requirements of Title I,

o        Of their rights to be involved,

o        About their school’s participation in Title I:

o        Use of letters home to reach parents to attend the annual Title 1 meeting.

5.       Nampa High School will hold a flexible number of meetings at varying times.

o        Hold the parent advisory meetings once per year.

6.       Nampa High School will provide timely information about Title I programs to parents of participating children in a timely manner:

o        Title 1 participation letter is sent home at the beginning of the school year along with the services that the Title 1 program provides.

o        Annual Title 1 meeting is held at the beginning of the year to discuss the services available to the students and parents through Title 1.

7.       Nampa High School will provide to parents of participating children a description and explanation of 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:

o        Parent conferences are held twice a year.

o        Parent education workshops, are held to teach parents about the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and proficiency levels students are expected to meet.

8.       Nampa High 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 practicably possible:

o        Nampa High School will provide opportunities for parents to make suggestions and to participate in decisions relating to their child’s education.

PART III. SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT.

1.       Nampa High School will build the school’s and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement, 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:

o        Will provide parents with opportunities to gain skills needed to deal with their children.

o        Will provide opportunities for parents to attend workshops on how to communicate with their child

2.       The school will incorporate the school-parent compact as a component of its School Parental Involvement Policy:

o        Parent compact disseminated in the Back to School/First Day Packet issued each year in August.

3.       The school will, with the assistance of its district, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described in this paragraph

o        The state’s academic content standards

o        The state’s student academic achievement standards,

o        The state and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,

o        The requirements of Title I,

o        How to monitor their child’s progress, and

o        How to work with educators:

§         Formal teacher conferences held twice a year. At these meetings parents are provided with information regarding standardized tests.

§         Teachers provide information on student progress and mastery of the state content standards

§         Conferences are held on an as need basis for student behavior and academic progress.

§         Parents are invited to attend district sponsored workshops to help students and parents support the instructional programs at home.

4.       The school will, with the assistance of its district and parents, educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, principals 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 implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools, by:

o        Making sure that there is a balance of staff, parents at (School) and ensuring that each member has a voice in the decision making progress.

5.       The school will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children.

6.       The school will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent-programs, meeting, 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:

o        All school information is translated and sent home through the students, standard mail, or electronically.

ACCESSIBILITY

Nampa High School will to the extend feasible and practicable, provide opportunities for participation by parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, Title 1 parents, and parents of traveling and migratory students. This includes providing information and school reports in a format and, when possible, in a language such parents understand.

PART IV. DISCRETIONARY SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS.

NOTE: The School Parental Involvement Policy may include additional paragraphs listing and describing other discretionary activities that the school, in consultation with its parents, chooses to undertake to build parents’ capacity for involvement in the school to support their children’s academic achievement, such as the following discretionary activities listed under section 1118 (e) of the ESEA:

• Involving parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of that training;
• Providing necessary literacy training for parents from Title I, Part A funds, if the school district has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for that training;
• Training parents to enhance the involvement of other parents;
• In order to maximize parental involvement and participation in their children’s education, arranging school meetings at a variety of times, or conducting in-home conferences between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents who are unable to attend those conferences at school;
• Adopting and implementing model approaches to improving parental involvement;
• Establishing a district-wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in Title I, Part A programs;
• Developing appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parental involvement activities; and
• Providing other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under section 1118 as parents may request.

PART IV. ADOPTION

This School Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by adoption by the (School Parent Involvement Policy committee).

This policy was adopted by the Nampa High School Site Council on February 3, 2010 and will be in effect for the period of two years. The school will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before (May 1,2010). It will be made available electronically before March 1, 2010.