Parental Involvement Policy
FY2007-2008
Valerie Williams - Principal
Felicia Johnson - Assistant Principal
Lorrie Watt - Media Specialist
Dennis Davis - Counselor
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY
I. DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION OF POLICY
This policy was developed by
using stakeholder feedback from the NSSE, 2002 parent surveys and implementing
various strategies to continuously involve parents as stakeholders in the
planning and improvement of the Title I programs. Dimon will provide a means for parents to
evaluate the current Title I programs annually through meetings and
surveys. These methods were used this
year and input was obtained to ensure parent participation in the development
of the Schoolwide Plan, the Parent Involvement Policy and other school
policies. In order to ensure compliance,
the following indicators will serve as documentation of Section I:
Hosting an Open
House PTA meeting, grade-level orientations, Math/Science Night, Technology
Night, Thanksgiving Family Day, Parent Breakfasts for each grade level, regular
PTA meetings, and a variety of workshops. Each of these activities serves to inform the parents of this school's
participation in Title I, its requirements, and their right to be involved.
The above
mentioned parent involvement activities are offered at varied times and
days. Refreshments, incentives, and/or
instructional materials are provided.
Parent
newsletters are used to keep parents informed.
Parent suggestions are responded to promptly and are strongly
encouraged.
Parents are
informed daily through required student planning journals.
At the beginning
of a new school year, an information packet informs parents regarding all
school policies and procedures.
Parent conference
requests are honored and strongly encouraged.
Dimon will
collect all non-satisfactory comments regarding the School Improvement Plan and
include comments with the plan when submitted to the LEA.
II. SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH
STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
The
faculty, staff, students, and parents have worked together to develop effective
methods of ensuring the shared responsibility of learning at Dimon. A unique student planner was developed as a
model approach to communicate with parents.
This planner is sent home daily to help the parents monitor specific
instructional needs and must be signed and returned. Work habits, conduct, homework, attendance,
and weekly vocabulary are addressed in this journal.
Effective
parenting will not be an occasional event, such as a parent conference. Rather it
will be an ongoing process that may include the following strategies that will
serve as documentation of Section II:
At the beginning
of a new school year, each parent is given a copy of the grade-level
appropriate academic standards and requirements provided by the school
district. This document includes
benchmarks, testing information, specific skill activities, and informative
websites.
Official academic
progress reports are sent home a minimum of two times per grading period.
Teachers
communicate with parents daily via the student planner.
Conferences are
scheduled during, before, or after school hours.
Early release
days are utilized for scheduled parent conferences.
The parents at Dimon
are welcomed to participate in either formal or informal visits, volunteer
programs, observations, and teacher conferences.
In the spring of
each year, state mandated tests will be administered to Grades K-5 to assess
academic performance. In addition to
their individual student report, parents will be informed of the school ranking
in the district and district ranking in the state. Scores will also be printed in the local
newspaper.
Parents will see
the value of their school contribution as it relates to the education of their
child/children.
III. BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVOLVEMENT
Dimon was recently commended
by a SACS Peer Team for its model efforts in communicating with and informing
parents of academic standards and requirements.
The following approaches
serve as a documentation of the compliance of Section II:
The Title I
Program provides opportunity and funding for parent workshops and family night
activities. In the past, such
opportunities have included Math, Reading, Technology, and Science topics. Distribution of pertinent training and
instructional materials are provided. These events serve to inform, improve,
educate, and include the parents in the individual academic progress of the
child/children.
Dimon chose to
use available funding to procure a Parent Coordinator
Summer workshops
for the Dimon faculty and staff have been vital in assisting teachers in a
clearer understanding of poverty, literacy, the value of positive parenting,
professional learning communities, and learning structures.
Release time is
made available to teachers for development of effective instructional practices
and grade-level planning.
The Best
Practices Conferences will continue to ensure professional growth.
Great efforts
have been made, by the current administration, to strengthen the current
professional learning community. The
PTA, parents, Partners-In-Education (PIE), neighborhood childcare agencies, and
other businesses have been informed of efforts to strengthen our school
community.
Dimon currently
has parent representation on the District Parent Committee, the Local School
Council (LSC) and the Management Team.
The District
Parent Committee members disseminate appropriate materials and information to
the other parent, of our school.
A model approach
of monthly parent workshops are held at Dimon for our preschool program. The workshops encourage the "parents as
teachers" teaching focus.
IV. ACCESSIBILITY
Dimon currently has no ESOL
or migrant students. We have not been
made aware of any parent with disabilities.
If this state changes, efforts will be made through the district to
communicate to the parents in an effective and appropriate format.
V. INFORMATION FROM PARENT INFORMATION AND
Parents are informed about
the existence of available resource centers in the fall of each school year via
a newsletter.
VI. REVIEW