2. Statewide Title I Network
Provides base level services
to Title I districts and schools
for free or reduced cost in five
service areas:
1. Title I Implementation
2. Title I Coordinator Leadership
3. Title I Related Professional
Development
4. Assistance to Districts and
Schools Identified for
Improvement
5. Resources and Collaboration
A collaboration between
the Cooperative
Educational Service
Agencies (CESA) and the
Department of Public
Instruction (DPI)
3. What you will need for this workshop:
Toolkit Handouts
School/District Parent Involvement Policies (if
available)
School-Parent Compacts (if available)
Kit boxes – highlighters, post-it notes, markers
Chart paper
4. Objectives:
To present the foundational research that supports
Parent/Family Involvement in schools
To provide the required components of
Parent/Family/Community Involvement in Title I
To share ideas and resources to help increase Family
Involvement opportunities that recognize parents and
caretakers as equal partners
5. Whose Child is This?
"Whose child is this?" I asked one day
Seeing a little one out at play.
"Mine", said the parent with a tender smile
"Mine to keep a little while.
To bathe his hands and comb his hair,
To tell him what he is to wear,
To prepare him that he may always be good,
And each day do the things he should". "Whose child is this?" I asked once more,
Just as the little one entered the door
"Whose child is this?" I asked again, "Ours", said the parent and the teacher as they smiled
As the door opened and someone came in. And each took the hand of the little child
"Mine", said the teacher with the same tender smile. "Ours to love and train together.
"Mine, to keep just for a little while. Ours this blessed task forever.“
To teach him how to be gentle and kind, ~Author Unknown
To train and direct his dear little mind,
To help him live by every rule,
And get the best he can from school".
.
.
.
6. Workshop Warm-Up
Task:
Form small groups. Select a recorder and a reporter.
Share and record the following information on chart
paper:
List successful family/parent/community involvement activities
that your school conducts to involve these stakeholders.
Identify one challenge your school faces in implementing
effective activities.
In your small group, brainstorm possible solutions.
Reporter shares one activity and one challenge/solution with
the whole group.
7. Workshop Warm-Up:
Record Responses on Chart Paper
SUCCESSFUL FAMILY OR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT ACTIVITIES:
CHALLENGES WE FACE IN IMPLEMENTING ACTIVITIES:
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO OUR CHALLENGES:
8. Parent/Family Involvement is required because it has a
positive impact on student achievement.
Students with involved families, regardless of income
or background, are more likely to:
Earn high grades and test scores
Enroll in higher-level programs
Improve their behavior and attitude
Pass their classes, earn credits and be promoted
Attend school regularly
Graduate and go on to post-secondary education
9. Supporting Research:
Regardless of family income or background, students whose parents are
involved in their schooling are more likely to have higher grades and test
scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, show improved
behavior, and adapt well to school. (Henderson & Mapp, 2002)
The most accurate predictors of student achievement in school are not
family income or social status, but the extent to which the family creates a
home environment that encourages learning, communicates high yet
reasonable expectations for the child’s achievement, and becomes involved
in the child’s education at school. (National PTA, 2000)
When parents are involved at school, the performance of all the children at
school, not just their own, tends to improve. (Henderson & Berla, 1993)
When they are comprehensive and well-planned, school/home partnerships
result in higher levels of student achievement. (Henderson & Berla, 1995)
10. Joyce Epstein’s “Big Six”:
Family-School-Community Partnerships
1. Parenting: Help families build on their strengths
and parenting skills. Identify resources and
support to help families nurture children.
2. Communicating: Plan and conduct workable
methods of two-way communication focused on
child’s learning.
3. Learning at Home: Provide ways for families
and school staff to develop learning goals and
continue children’s learning at home and in the
community to meet the goals.
11. 4. Volunteering: Recruit and organize volunteer
help from families and the community.
5. Decision making: Include parents in school
decisions to develop leaders and represent all
families in the school.
6. Collaborating with the Community: Identify
and connect community resources to strengthen
families, school programs, and student learning.
Joyce Epstein’s “Big Six”:
Family-School-Community Partnerships
12. ESEA Definition of Parent Involvement
Parent involvement means the participation of parents in regular,
two-way, meaningful communication involving student academic
learning and other school activities ensuring that--
parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning
parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s
education at school
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
(ESEA Section 1118 & Wisconsin Title I Guidelines)
13. Perform a needs assessment involving parents
Prepare written parent involvement policies
District
School
Create and sign School-Parent Compacts
Follow public and parents’ “right to know” reporting
requirements
Convene an annual Title I parent informational
meeting
Build parent capacity through training, information and
coordination activities
Perform annual assessment of the effectiveness of
parent involvement
Title IA Requirements:
14. Needs Assessment
The district engages in significant and meaningful
involvement with public and private school
parents and the community in:
the assessment of needs
program & curricular planning
program & curricular implementation
evaluation of family/parental involvement programs
evaluation of ESEA funded programs
(DPI Monitoring Guidance Document, 12/10/10)
15. Needs Assessment Requires
Parent Participation & Involvement
Activities & Possible Documentation Include:
Surveys (survey copies, results)
Planning meetings (agendas, sign-in sheets)
Focus groups/school improvement
committees/strategic planning teams (agendas, sign-
in sheets, minutes, outcomes)
* How does your district include parents in planning,
implementing and evaluating Title I Programs?
*** Think! Pair! Share!
16. District and School Policies Require
Parent Involvement
Parent involvement policies must include a board
approved district policy and a school policy.
Policies should not be identical.
District policies broadly address the needs of students and
families across the district.
School policies should be fluid and responsive to the
current needs of children and families within the school.
Parents must be involved in the creation and evaluation of
these policies.
The law requires all Title I parents to have access to these
policies (website, newsletter, annual meeting, etc.).
17. Documentation of Parental Involvement
Copy of a district parental involvement policy
Sample Title I school parental involvement policy
Sample of a school/parent compact
Evidence of parental involvement representing
both public and private school Title I students
Description of the district’s annual assessment
process utilized to determine degree of
effectiveness
Summary of the assessment results and how they
were used in planning or modifying activities
18. District and School
Parental Involvement Policies
Group Activity
Examine your district/school policy (or sample
Parental Involvement Policy templates) and compare
it to the appropriate (district or school) checklist
provided.
Question: What work needs to be done on these
policies in your district?
20. Parental Involvement Policy fact?
A school hires a consulting firm to conduct a
needs assessment on reaching out to parents for
school improvement purposes.
The school uses the report to write a policy with
strategies that the consulting firm recommended
and sends the policy home to parents at the
beginning of the year.
The school meets its parental involvement policy
requirements.
True or false?
21. Parental Involvement Policy fact
The school cannot set a policy on its own.
Parents have to be consulted in developing
and reviewing the parent involvement policy
and must agree on the strategies to be used
even if a consulting firm is hired to conduct the
needs assessment.
22. School-Parent Compacts
Required by all Title I schools
Must be developed jointly with parents of all
students served by Title I
All parents in Title I Schoolwide Programs must
be invited to participate
All parents of Title I Targeted Assistance students
must be invited to participate
23. School-Parent Compacts
Compacts must address:
How parents, staff and students share responsibility for
improved student achievement
School’s responsibility to provide high quality instruction to
meet standards
Ways in which parents will support their child’s learning at
home
Importance of communication between teachers and
parents on an ongoing basis
Importance of communication between school and home
Targeted Assistance vs. Schoolwide
Elementary vs. Secondary
24. School-Parent Compacts
At a minimum, communication between
teacher and parent must occur:
Annually at parent-teacher conferences
to discuss the compact
Through frequent reports on child’s progress
Through reasonable accessibility to staff,
opportunities to volunteer and participate in their
child’s class
(Wisconsin Title I Guidelines)
25. Evaluating School-Parent Compacts
Review your School-Parent Compact or sample
compact included in resources
Use the Title I School-Parent Compact Checklist
and evaluate your compact or sample
Discuss: How does your School-Parent Compact
describe the respective responsibilities of the school
staff, parents and students in striving to raise
student achievement?
27. School-Parent Compact fact?
A school-parent compact must include
concrete details about what parents should do
to help their children succeed academically.
28. School-Parent Compact fact
It will help make the compact understandable
to parents and measurable to reviewers if you
include specific actions.
29. School-Parent Compact fact?
Once you create a school-parent compact,
you just need to prove you kept it on file and
available for parents to review.
30. School-Parent Compact fact
Remember that the compact is meant to be
used. It should be reviewed and discussed
with parents as it relates to their child’s
progress.
31. Required Parent Notification and
“Right to Know”
Required notifications include:
Annual report card on student achievement
Qualifications of teachers (“highly qualified”)
Paraprofessional support/qualifications;
Identification for participation in Title I (targeted
assistance)
Participation in an ELL program
Must include reasons child was placed in a language
program
Level of English proficiency and how it was assessed
Status of child’s academic achievement
32. Required Parent Notification and
“Right to Know”
Schools are required to notify parents in a
language parents understand
Bilingual communication (newsletters, websites,
etc.)
Parent friendly language (readability)
Activity: Review resources provided for Parent
Notifications and Parents’ Right to Know.
How does your district fulfill the public reporting and parents’ “right
to know” requirements?
Turn and Talk. . .
33. Title I Annual Meeting
Schedule a meeting to explain Title I requirements and
parent involvement rights
Targeted Assistance—invite parents of identified children
Schoolwide—invite all parents
Be sure to include parents of all served
public, private, ELL and homeless students
“In order to keep parents informed, schools must invite to
this meeting all parents of children participating in Title I
and encourage them to attend. Schools must offer a
flexible number of additional parental involvement
meetings, such as in the morning or evening so that as
many parents as possible are able to attend.”
(Wisconsin Title I Guidelines)
34. Annual Meeting Requirements
Parent information must include:
A description and explanation of the school’s curriculum
A description of the academic assessments used to measure
student progress
Information on the proficiency levels students are expected to
meet
Keep Documentation:
Invitations, agendas, sign-in sheets
Curriculum guides, brochures, websites
Assessment matrix for parents
Classroom communications
35. Annual Meeting Reflection
Take a few moments to reflect on your annual
meeting and think about the following:
What topics have you covered?
What topics have emerged from your needs
assessment?
What activities have you used?
36. Annual Meeting Exchange of Ideas
Record ideas on an organizer and/or chart paper
Share with the whole group
Optional: Draft an annual meeting agenda
Annual Meeting Topics and Activities
Topics Addressed
Activities
37. Building Parent Capacity for Involvement
Build parent capacity through training, information
and coordination activities
Conduct a survey to collect parent
perspectives/needs:
Examples of topics for parents:
Their “right to know”
Common Core State Standards
State & local assessments
How to monitor their child’s progress
Literacy and math strategies
Volunteer opportunities
Coordination with other programs (Head Start, afterschool,
etc.)
Homework
38. “Twelve Promising Practices Schools
CAN DO to Engage Parents”
Here are just a few…
The formation of an Action Team for Parent-
Community Involvement
Multiple opportunities to meet with parents throughout
the year at different times and locations
Set up a “buddy” system for parents
Teachers make positive phone calls home
Create a service project that involves the whole
school
(From DPI Community Learning and Partnerships Team, 2001)
39. Appropriate Use of Title I Funds
Academic activities connected to goals/policies
NOT purely social events
Communication
Home visits
Child Care
Transportation
Food
Light snacks—not full meals (“reasonable & necessary to advance goals”)
40. Appropriate Use of Title I Funds
Districts can reach out to preschool families
(ages 0-5) living within the school boundaries of
a schoolwide building
Examples: “Book & Bib” to newborns
Promote Wisconsin’s Model Early Learning Standards
(WMELS)
Other outreach as needed
41. Appropriate Use of Title I of Funds
Conduct a Book Study:
Professional book studies among staff to increase
knowledge and awareness of pertinent issues related to
their students and families.
Non-professional book clubs in which parents could
participate—just for fun.
42. Appropriate Use of Family/Parent
Involvement Funds
Quick Comprehension Check
43. Appropriate Use of Family/Parent
Involvement Funds fact?
The school principal has suggested using Title
I parent involvement funds to provide
sandwiches and soft drinks for parents as a
way of encouraging more families to come.
Is this appropriate use of Title I funds?
44. Probably.
Remember, the ED has stated that “light
refreshments are allowable if the cost can be
justified as “reasonable and necessary” to
advance the goals of the parent involvement
program.
47. Annual Assessment of Effectiveness of
Family/Parent Involvement
Spring meeting, survey data, feedback, other?
Sample: Parent Involvement Evaluation - Title I
Program
Where do we go next?
48. If You Are Just Getting Started…
Guiding Questions for Discussion:
What are your areas of strength?
What are your limitations?
What goal(s) might you set to bring about the greatest
improvement in parental involvement in your school?
(J.L. Epstein et al. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships, Corwin
Press, Inc.)
49. If You Are Well On Your Way…
Review your current policies, programs, practices and
other documents.
What other questions might you ask to evaluate the
goals? Is there other information to gather?
Record any plan(s) for improvement.
50. ABC’s of Parental Involvement
What have you learned about parental involvement
in this workshop?
Record key ideas, words, phrases, tools, and
resources on the ABC Chart.
How many items can you record on the chart in 10
minutes?
Highlight or mark any items you might want to focus
on to improve your current parental involvement
practices.
51. Let’s Play 12 Square!
What are some key ideas, phrases, tools, and
resources you learned about in this workshop?
Record one in each of the 12 boxes on the group
recording sheet.
Number importance of the items from 1-12.
Share ideas with the whole group.
Start making connections…
Editor's Notes
This presentation will take approximately 2 1/2 hours depending on the number of activities used. It is designed to give the facilitator options depending on the needs of your audience. The goal is to help schools improve their current practices regarding Family Involvement, specifically moving beyond volunteering and conducting family literacy and math nights. Although these types of activities are not without value, our hope is participants will find this presentation informative, engaging and will spark an interest in involving families and community members in new ways.
Important note: Participants will need to be contacted prior to the workshop to bring School/District Parent Involvement Policies, School-Parent Compacts, and lists or agendas from activities, events, and meetings held during the school year for evaluative purposes. It is understood that not all participants will have the required documents at the time of the workshop. Samples will be provided in the Resource Section of this toolkit so all participants can engage in activities.
In the spring of 2009, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) initiated the Statewide Title I Network, which is a collaborative effort between the 12 Cooperative Educational Service Agencies (CESAs) and DPI to provide increased technical assistance and professional development for districts and schools with Title I programs. With financial support from DPI, each CESA has designated a staff person to provide Title I support services for all school districts in their CESA region for no cost or a reduced cost. Specifically, the Title I Network provides a base level of services to Title I districts and schools in the following five service areas: 1) Title I consultation regarding Title I law, programming, reporting requirements, and monitoring; 2) Title I Coordinator leadership; 3) access to multiple professional development opportunities based on survey results of Title I needs; 4) assistance to Title I districts and schools identified for improvement strategies and sanctions as required under federal Title I law; and 5) information and resources regarding other initiatives and agencies that can provide Title I related support including the Wisconsin Response to Intervention (RtI) Technical Assistance Center.
This presentation and toolkit was created through a collaborative effort between DPI and Statewide Title I Coordinators to be used to provide assistance in implementing and evaluating high quality Family/Parent Involvement programs across our state.
Do a walk-through of the Parent Involvement Toolkit Handouts with participants identifying the categories: Parent Involvement Requirements, District Policy, School Policy, School-Parent Compacts, Parent Notification and Right to Know, Other Resources and Activity Options. Participants who do not have their own samples may want to mark district/school policies and compacts with post-it notes.
Read slide as is. . .
Facilitator’s note: This is an optional introduction based on your audience. The goal is to create an emotional response from the participants, however, it might not be as appropriate for middle school or high school folks.
This short poem (Activity Options) describes the optimal family-teacher partnership. Let’s do a choral reading together: ½ of the room read the 1st stanza; the other 1/2 read the 2nd stanza; we will all read the 3rd stanza together.
Activity 1: (20 minutes) One of the benefits of having participants from several school districts in the room is to share activities and brainstorm. Let’s do a warm-up activity to get started—first in small groups and then sharing with the whole group. You’ll need chart paper to record your thinking. Each member in the group should share ONE successful activity and record on the chart paper. As a group identify ONE challenge and brainstorm ONE possible solution to the challenge. When it is time to share with the whole group, please select ONE of the parental/family involvement activities listed on the chart to share with the whole group. Each group will also share ONE challenge and the possible solution.
The next slide is an example of how to set up the responses.
Participants could use Workshop Warm-up Organizer (Activity Options) as alternative to chart paper or to organize thinking BEFORE recording on chart paper.
You might want to do a GALLERY WALK as an option for whole group sharing.
Keep these charts up throughout the workshop. You may want to revisit the challenges and solutions as the opportunities arise as you proceed through the presentation.
Facilitator might consider taking group notes on a Word document, which can then be copied and sent home with participants. Facilitator might refer back to challenges/solutions at the end of the workshop to make sure needs of participants are addressed. You might want to consider doing a Gallery Walk (participants walk around the room to see charts) instead of whole group sharing.
Now that we have had a chance to share some of the successes and challenges schools face when implementing parental involvement activities, let’s take a look at the requirements.
A synthesis of research is clear, positive, and convincing that families have a major influence on their children’s achievement in school and through life. (Read the slide as is. . .)
Other Resource: What Research Says About Parent Involvement in Children’s Education in Relation to Academic Achievement (Michigan Department of Education, March 2002).
Based on the needs of your audience you might want to refer to this document in the handouts.
There has been much research done in the area of parent involvement. Many connections have been found between parent involvement and student success in school. Some of the studies include: (Briefly mention the studies and summarize the findings in the slide).
Joyce Epstein (1995) identified six types of family-school-community involvement that shows how schools are meeting challenges to involve all families in many different ways in an effort to improve school climate, strengthen families, and increase student success in school. The definitions of the six types of involvement come from “Measuring Your Family-School-Community Partnerships: A Tool for Schools.” The National PTA created program standards of excellence by building upon the six types of parent involvement identified by Epstein of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at John Hopkins University,.
Other Resources: A Checklist for Schools Making Your Family-Community Partnership Work
Use the notes below to expand on these definitions.
Parenting - Help families with parenting skills by providing information about children’s developmental stages and home environment considerations that support children as students.
Communicating- Communicate effectively with families about student progress, school services and programs, and also provide opportunities for parents to communicate with the school.
Learning at Home –Share ideas with families to improve students’ homework strategies and other kinds of at-home learning, and provide information about the kinds of skills students are required to learn.
Use the notes below to expand on these definitions.
Volunteering – Find ways to recruit and train volunteers for the school and classroom. Try to accommodate parents’ schedules to maximize support for students and programs. This category also includes opportunities for parents to attend events at school in which their children participate.
Decision Making – Include families as partners in school decisions. Recruit members for school organization, advisory groups and committees.
Collaborating with the Community – Create two-way connections between the school and community that encourage businesses and other groups to take an interest in schools and offer students and their families ways to contribute to the well-being of the community.
The current Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as “No Child Left Behind,” defines parent involvement as follows (read the slide);
Parent Involvement Requirements: Wisconsin Title I Guidelines: Parental Involvement
So what is required? There are specific Title I requirements that schools must follow within their programming.
We will talk about each of these requirements in more detail in the following slides.
As you can see, parents play a significant role in the needs assessment process.
Parent Involvement Requirements: DPI Consolidated Requirements for Parent and Community Participation and Involvement (for reference if needed)
(Read slide as is and allow for discussion. . .) Remind participants that evidence of these activities will be requested by DPI in a monitoring visit.
Think/Pair/Share activity. Reflect on your district/school experience. Pair up with another participant and share your activities/evidence. Did you bring documents to share?
There are a few important things to remember when we talk about written parent involvement policies. Reading this slide will give you a good foundation. (Allow time to read.) There are subtle differences between the board policy and the school policy. The district policy is broad and must be board-approved; whereas, the school policy should include more culturally responsive language. The school policy should be reviewed annually.
What evidence of parent and community participation and involvement is required for Title I monitoring? What documentation is needed of program effectiveness? Read slide.
It is important to remember that public AND private school parents should be involved in the review and revision of policies. Evidence might include agendas, meeting notes with identified outcomes and attendance rosters. Parents should serve on district/school committees related to curriculum, instruction and assessment. Possible evidence includes agendas or summaries of planning meetings, focus groups, or advisory committees listing parent participants. How could program effectiveness be documented? Evidence might include standardized test scores, teacher/parent feedback, local assessments, etc.
District Policy Resources: District Parental Involvement Checklist and two District Parental Involvement Samples/Templates
School Policy Resources: School Parent Involvement Policy Checklist, and two School Involvement Samples/Templates.
Activity 2: Distribute district/school policy checklists and ask participants to reflect upon the requirements based on their own district/school policies. Determine revisions (if any) that need to done to improve their policies
OR
Locate a sample district or school policy and reflect upon the requirements stated in the checklists. How can you use this information to draft or revise your own policies?
Let’s see if you can apply what you’ve learned to a real-life scenario.
(Read slide as is. . .)
Let’s try another one…
“As a component of the school-building level parental involvement policy, all Title I schools must develop a school-parent compact. The School-Parent Compact must be developed jointly with parents of all students served by Title I. This means all parents in schoolwide programs and all parents of Title I students in targeted assistance programs must be invited to participate in the development of the compact.” (Wisconsin Title I Guidelines)
Compacts are a commonly cited problem in Title I monitoring. Your compact should be developed jointly with parents and tailored to meet their needs. In a Targeted Assistance school, only Title I students and their families get a compact; in a Schoolwide program, every student gets one. This is often done at Parent/Teacher Conferences in the fall. You should note that an elementary compact will look significantly different than a middle or high school compact since the needs are different.
Parents and teachers need to discuss the compact as it related to their child’s achievement.
School-Parent Compacts: (15 minute activity) Parent/School/Compact Checklist, 4 sample elementary compacts, including a Spanish version, a sample compact/learning form, a description of a middle school Title I program compact and the middle school compact.
Activity 3: Investigating School-Parent Compacts
Participants will use their own school-parent compact and evaluate the compact by using the Title I School/Parent Compact Checklist
OR
Use a sample compact included in the resources and evaluate the compact using the checklist.
Participants will review compacts and use the School/Parent Compact Checklist to evaluate the development and implementation of the compact.
Share, compare, and discuss guiding question with colleagues.
Let’s see if you can apply what you’ve learned to some real-life scenarios.
(Read slide as is. . .)
(Read slide as is. . .)
Here’s another one—(Read slide as is. . .)
(Read slide as is. . .)
Many districts choose to link WINSS and the School Performance Report directly to their website to comply with the notification requirements. In addition, it is important to note that parents have the right to request licensure information on teachers and paraprofessionals at any time. DPI’s license look-up is a good resource to share with parents. Keep in mind that a long-term sub teaching for more than four weeks may not be highly qualified, meaning parents would need to be notified.
There are specific rules and regulations tied to public reporting and parents’ right to know. Consider the language and readability of the materials available to parents. Be sure notes home and other reporting is no more than a 6th grade reading level. How does your district fulfill those requirements?
Parent Notification & Right to Know: Resources include Bulletin 03.03 (Overview of Parent Notification Requirements), Bulletin 02.09 (Parents Right to Receive Teacher Information), Sample Letter regarding Highly Qualified Status, Sample Letter regarding Parents’ Right to Receive Teacher Information, Information on Homeless Children, ELL students, and SIFI Level 1.
Activity 4: Allow some time for participants to peruse the Information Updates and samples provided in the resources. Consider which samples are important for your participants to notice. Allow time for discussion and questions.
In most cases, the Title I Annual Meeting is held in the fall, which allows for parents to be informed about Title I programming in your school. It works best to attach the annual meeting to a student activity or performance as this increases attendance.
The annual meeting is an excellent opportunity to educate parents about educational issues, like standards, programming, testing, funding, etc. Most of our reality and acronyms are a foreign language to many parents.
The reflection prepares participants to share with full group. Entire activity will take 10 minutes or can be extended based on the needs of the group. Additional ideas are given in the next slide’s notes.
Activity 5: Participants share topics and activities they have used in their annual meetings. Record on chart paper or use an organizer (Activity Options) to collect ideas. Share with the whole group.
OR
After discussing topics and activities with colleagues, this activity could be extended and participants could create an agenda for a Title I Annual meeting. The agenda could be created on the back of the graphic organizer.
An important aspect of any Title I program is to build parent capacity. Providing training, current information and other activities support parents and ensure they are connected to the school. Be sure to conduct parent surveys to find out what topics they are interested in, rather than choosing topics you think they need. Surveys should be broader than just topics for training; volunteering and other participatory activities could be solicited, such as opportunities for parents to participate in governance issues.
Resources : Parent Survey Sample
The DPI Community Learning and Partnerships Team has compiled a list of “Twelve Promising Practices Schools Can Do to Engage Parents.” Look in the Other Resources section for the handout that includes all twelve of these practical ideas.
Some districts choose to use Title I dollars to support preschool children and their families. This is allowable, as long as funds are supplementing and not supplanting.
Conducting book studies, both professional and “just for fun,” is a great way to examine and increase parent involvement. There are many professional books on parent involvement. Also consider inviting parents to be part of a book club themselves. You might be surprised at their enthusiasm and interest.
(Read slide as is. . .)
Sandwiches and soda would be deemed a reasonable expenditure to pull parents into a Title I meeting. A full catered meal would not be considered a reasonable expense.
A more comprehensive list of National Resources, Wisconsin Resources and books can be found in the Other Resources section.
Title I schools are required to do an annual evaluation of their policies, programs, and practices. The information gathered from this self-evaluation is used to make improvements in subsequent years. We began this investigation with the needs assessment and end it there as well. What do you NEED to improve Family/Parent Involvement in your school? Let’s take some time together to reflect on your current policies, programs, and practices and develop an action plan for improvement.
We know that all districts are required to have a written family/parent involvement policy, but in order for that policy to be truly effective, it must be evaluated each year.
Task: Examine the evidence of family and parent involvement using the Evaluation of Family-Parent Involvement Checklist. Record notes and compare Epstein’s Big Six. Develop a plan for evaluating your family/parent involvement program, policies, and practices.
Activity 6 (OPTION A): This activity will take approximately 20 minutes. Use this activity if your participants do not have their own policies, compacts, and other documents to evaluate.
Using the Measure of School, Family, and Community Partnerships self assessment tool (Activity Options), rate your school in each of the six types of family/parent involvement. You should leave here with some strengths and weaknesses clearly identified, and this activity will help you plan for improvement.
Activity 6 (OPTION B): Use this activity to evaluate the effectiveness of your family/parent involvement if your participants have their own policies, compacts, events, etc. to evaluate. Participants would have some of the Family/Parent Involvement policies and activities presented in this workshop already in place in their school.
Use the Evaluation of Family/Parent Involvement Checklist in Activity Options to evaluate the effectiveness of your family/parent involvement program/policies. Examine evidence of family/parent involvement recording notes on the organizer as needed. Look for specific examples of Epstein’s six types of involvement in documents/activities and record in the organizer. Create an action plan for improvement based on this evaluation.
You might choose to end the workshop with this activity.
The following two culminating activities are optional and can be used if time permits.
I want to thank you for attending today’s training, and I hope you will leave with some new ideas and ways to reflect on the parent/family involvement practices is your school/district. Let’s close with a culminating activity. (Closing activity, OPTION 1—last slide is OPTION 2)
Activity 7 (Closing Activity Option A): ABCs of Parental Involvement
Give participants 10 minutes to record as many key ideas, words, phrases, etc. from today’s workshop on the ABC Chart (Activity Options). Door prizes could be awarded based on number of items on the chart if desired.
Activity 6 (Closing activity OPTION B):
Each team/group of participants records ideas in each of the twelve squares on the recording sheet (Activity Options). Number the items from 1-12 based on their perception of importance.
Facilitator creates 12 Square on chart paper to be used for the whole group share. Divide chart paper into 12 sections.
Ask each group to tell their FIRST idea. Record ideas randomly on the group chart so all participants can see.
Ask for a volunteer to begin Twelve Square Game.
Select one idea and explain what you know about it or why it is important to parental involvement.
Mark that square with a #1.
Ask for volunteer to select another item. Mark square with #2. The volunteer explains next item and connects it to the square #1.
Next volunteer selects an item. Mark square with #3. Volunteer explains item, connects it to square #2 and square #1.
Game continues until the last person connects all 12 squares!
