Parental Involvement Plan

(Revised: 2007)

The mission of Owens Elementary School is to prepare students to become productive citizens by providing a challenging curriculum in a safe environment.  We know that parent involvement in our school can have a dramatic effect on the academic achievement of our students.  This plan is designed with the goal of developing a strong partnership with all of our parents so that our children will be provided with the best possible education we can offer.

So that parents will better understand our school's program and how they may become actively involved, we have addressed key areas of concern.  Please feel free to discuss any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have about this plan with your child's teacher, a PTO officer, or the school principal.  We welcome your input and suggestions.

Parents' Involvement with the Limestone County School System Plan Development

Annually, an LEA Advisory committee made up of faculty representatives and parents selected by the respective schools meet to review and update the Limestone County School System's parent involvement plan.  The plan is then made available to parents through distribution at each local school's annual fall meeting as an attachment with the local school parent involvement plan.  It is also placed on the school system website (http://www.lcsk12.org/), available through the principal's office at each school, or upon request from the central office.

School's Use of Parent Involvement Funds

Owens Elementary School will use its 2006-2007 allocation of parent involvement funds of $1,417.00 for Summer Bridges workbooks to be sent home at the end of the school year.

Parents' Involvement in How Parent Involvement Funds Will Be Used

As part of Owens Elementary School's meeting held each fall with parents to review and update the School-Parent Compact and Parent Involvement Plan, the allocation of parent involvement funds are discussed.  Funds are budgeted and expended based upon the goals and priorities set through that meeting. 

Procedures for Parents to Express Concerns Related to the Limestone County School System's Consolidated Application for NCLB Funds
Title I funds are allocated to each school system based upon the consolidated application submitted to the State Department on an annual basis.  Parents wishing to make and submit comments should they disagree with any part of the Limestone County School System's Consolidated Application for NCLB funds may do so by submitting those concerns, in writing, to:

Debbie Owens, Director of Federal Programs

 Limestone County School System

300 S. Jefferson St.

Athens, AL 35611

-and/or-

Ms. Gene LaBorde, Regional Specialist

Federal Programs

Alabama Department of Education

50 North Ripley Street

Montgomery, AL 36104

Annual Meeting

By the middle of September, Owens Elementary School will hold its annual meeting for all parents of participating children.  Parents are notified of the meeting through (1) notices sent home by students, (2) school intercom announcements, (3) school's marquee, (4) postings in main foyer, (5) school website, and (6) announcements in other languages when we have families whose primary language is not English.  To assist in providing the opportunity for all parents to attend, the meeting is offered at two separate times-once during the school day and once in the evening.  In addition, Owens Elementary School will be offering childcare.  Topics to be discussed at this year's meeting are:

• Title I participation, its services, and parents' rights
• An explanation of the school's curriculum
• The assessments used in our school to measure students' progress
• Our school's parent involvement policy
• Our school's parent compacts
• Resources available for parents

Flexible Schedule of Meetings

The leadership and staff of Owens Elementary School have a strong belief in the importance of parental involvement and therefore have put measures in place to offer parent meetings on a flexible schedule.  Our annual meeting for parents of participating children will be offered twice during the first month of school-once in the school day and once during the evening.  Limestone County schedules a Parenting Day in the school calendar for parent-teacher conferences.  Teachers schedule parent conferences as needed/requested throughout the school year.  Parents may obtain information regarding their child's progress by contacting the classroom teacher. Parents may visit the Owens' website for information pertaining to extracurricular activities and other upcoming events.

Involvement of Parents in Planning, Review, and Improvement of Title I Programs  Owens Elementary School believes in involving parents in all aspects of its Title I programs.  We have three parent representatives on our school-wide advisory committee who were active participants in the development of the plan and were involved from the first meeting of the schoolwide committee.  In addition, all parents were given the opportunity to review the plan and offer their input before the plan was approved.  For the Parental Involvement Plan, all parents are given surveys at the end of each school year seeking their input on activities, training, and materials that the school should offer to parents next year.  Each year, the schoolwide plan, including the parental involvement plan, is reviewed and evaluated.  Results of parent surveys are reviewed by the parent representatives and entire schoolwide advisory council in determining needed changes.

Timely Information About the Title I Program, the Curriculum, and Academic Assessments

At its annual meeting of parents at the beginning of the school year, Owens Elementary will hold a general meeting where information will be presented about its Title I programs, the curriculum, and forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress.  Parents will learn about our school's program and the following subjects taught:  reading, math, language, science, social studies, physical education, art, music, and computer science.  They will also learn about how to schedule parent-teacher conferences and how they can participate in decisions related to the education of their child.  We will review the Limestone County School System Student/Parent Handbook, as well as our school's information, which includes more detailed information on these topics and a copy of the parental involvement plan. Upon conclusion of the general meeting, parents will be invited to visit their child's classrooms and meet their teachers.  At this time, teachers will provide additional information on the subjects they teach and how students are individually assessed.

Submission of Parent Concerns About Our Title Plan

In late April of each year, Owens Elementary brings in its Schoolwide Advisory Committee to review, evaluate, and revise our Parent Involvement plan.  There are three parents on the Committee who represent all the parents of the school.  During the review process, all parents are notified of the review through notices sent home with students. The notices make parents aware that the plan is under review, that a copy of the plan is available for review in the office and the library, and that parents have the right to give input regarding the revision of the plan.  The notice also states that after the plan is finalized and approved, if a parent finds the plan to be unsatisfactory, they have the right to submit their concerns in writing to the school, and the school will submit their concerns to the central office at the same time that the Title I plan is submitted.

School-Parent Compacts

Owens Elementary revises its school-parent compact in May of each year in consultation of our schoolwide advisory committee and any parental comments received by teachers throughout the year. The compacts will be discussed with teachers at faculty meetings.  Each teacher will be given the responsibility to explain the compact to the students and obtain the students' signatures.   The teachers will sign the compacts and house them in his/her classroom for use during parent-teacher and/or student-teacher conferences.  All parents will be given a copy of the new compact in the student enrollment packet which will be distributed the first day of school by the classroom teacher. Classroom teachers will have copies for distribution, as needed.  The compact will be explained to the parents, and they will be asked to sign the compacts signifying their commitment to working in partnership with the school and their child. A copy of the school-parent compact is found in the appendix of this plan (see Appendix C).

Building Teachers' and Parents' Capacity for Strong Parental Involvement

To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among Owens Elementary School parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, Owens Elementary School shall:

Shall:

•1.      Provide assistance to parents of children served by the school as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the State's academic content standards and State student academic achievement standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of this Title I, and how to monitor their child's progress and work with teachers to improve the achievement of their children. At the annual Title I meeting held during the first month of school, the school/parent compacts, Limestone County Handbook, Alabama Course of Study, state assessments, and the Title I Schoolwide plan will be discussed.  Parents will be notified of this meeting through notices sent home by students and will be posted on the school marquee and website.  To assist in providing the opportunity for all parents to attend, the meeting will be offered once during the school day and once in the evening.  Daycare will be provided for the evening meeting.   

•2.      Provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children's achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement. All parents at Owens Elementary have access to materials such as "Where There's a Will There's an A", Hooked on Phonics, a variety of videos and books available for check out.  The ELL teacher sends home a monthly parental involvement activity sheet in Spanish with ideas on how to help children become successful. Parental involvement ideas are posted on the website. 

•3.      Educate teachers, office personnel, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school.  Owens will continue to work with its teachers through in-services, faculty meetings, and grade-level meetings in understanding the importance of parental involvement and that parents are our partners.

•4.      To the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with other federal programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children.  Title I, in combination with Title II Professional Development and Title III, will offer resource room materials to parents.

•5.       Ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. Title III provides services to translate notices and provides translators for parent meetings.

•6.       Provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request. Results from parent surveys sent home in May are evaluated and the results are used to plan parental involvement activities for the upcoming year.  Parent requests and input are welcome.

Participation of LEP Parents, Parents With Disabilities, and Parents of Migratory Children

Owens Elementary School to the extent practicable provides opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency and parents with disabilities.  Owens Elementary School presently has 32 Spanish-speaking students.  All notices of parent meetings are sent to non- English speaking parents in a language they can understand.  Individual academic assessments, and the interpretation of those results, will be interpreted for parents in a language they can understand through the assistance of our ELL specialists and translators available through the Limestone County School System. At this time, Owens Elementary School has 0 migrant students.  Every effort is made to accommodate parents with disabilities.  Handicap access ramps and ample handicap parking spaces are available near building entrances.  Parents that are homebound receive services by the following:  home visits, telephone calls, electronic mail and/or standard mail. 

Parents' Right-to-Know

"The No Child Left Behind Act" requires all school systems to notify all parents that they have the right to request and receive timely information about the professional qualifications of their child's classroom teacher(s) and paraprofessional(s). To ensure that parents are aware of this right, a summary of this policy shall be placed in the Student Code of Conduct. Parents wishing to request the professional qualifications of their child's classroom teacher(s) and paraprofessional(s) must complete the "Parent's Right to Know Notice" form and forward to the local school principal. These forms are available upon request through our school office or may be accessed through the school system website.

"The No Child Left Behind Act" also requires timely notice when a student has been assigned to, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not "highly qualified." This includes the use of extended substitutes whose qualifications are not deemed "highly qualified." Notification to the parent shall be made in writing and will be delivered by United States mail or hand delivery.