Title I

MSD of Martinsville Title I Parent Involvement Policy

The Title I Programs of the MSD of Martinsville are committed to building a strong parent-school partnership by following parental policy guidelines in accordance with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as listed below:

Parent Involvement Policy Requirements

Through the use of written correspondence, conferences, surveys, meetings, and/or phone calls, each MSD of Martinsville Title I school pledges to:

1. Invite all parents to an annual meeting held at a convenient time.  The purpose of this meeting is to inform parents of the school’s participation in Title I, Part A, and to explain the requirements of the program and the rights of parents.  Title I parent policies, the Parent’s Right-to-Know letter, and the School-Parent Compact will be distributed at the annual meeting, along with information about Indiana Academic Standards and the school’s curriculum and assessments in use.  Parents who cannot attend the annual meeting will receive the above information through classroom distribution.
2. Involve parents in the joint development of its district-wide parental involvement policy and the process of school review and improvement.
3. Employ a Title I Parent Coordinator to provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities in order to improve student academic achievement and school performance.
4. Build the school and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement through:
5. Parent-teacher conferences and periodic written reports which provide assistance to parents of children served in understanding such topics as student academic achievement standards, how to monitor a child’s progress, and how to work with educators to improve the achievement of their children.
6. Assistance from the Title I Parent Coordinator, parents (as appropriate), and/or Family Service Coordinators to provide families with materials and training as they work with their children to improve their children’s achievement.  Such materials and training may include workshops on literacy development, use of technology in education, etc.
7. In-services, book studies, surveys, and workshops to educate educators with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents. This includes:

• How to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners
• How to implement and coordinate parent programs
• How to build ties between parents and the school.

1. Coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under Title I with strategies under other available programs, such as Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, Parents as Teachers, and Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters, and State-Run preschool programs.
2. Conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under this part. This includes identifying barriers to parental participation in activities (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background) and use the findings of such evaluation to revise parental involvement policies and design strategies for more effective parental involvement.
3. Invite parents to be involved in the activities of Title I schools.
4. Provide opportunities for flexible meeting times (mornings, afternoons, and/or evenings) in order to allow parents the opportunity to attend meetings/conferences, formulate suggestions, review and distribute parent policies and the School-Parent Compact, share experiences with other parents, and participate in decisions relating to the education of their children.
5. Provide full opportunities (to the extent practical) and other reasonable support for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children. This may include providing information and school reports required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Actin an understandable and uniform format with alternative formats in a language parents understand upon request.                                                                                                                  

*If the Metropolitan School District of Martinsville’s Title I Parent Involvement Policy is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school district will submit parent comments with the plan when it submits the plan to the Indiana Department of Education.