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Parental Involvement Policy
The Opportunity Charter School agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:
- The school will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents in the school with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Those programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
- Consistent with section 1118, the school will work to ensure that the required school-level parental involvement policies meet the requirements of section 1118(b) of the ESEA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d) of the ESEA.
- In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under section 1111 of the ESEA in an understandable and uniform format and, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
- If the LEA plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1112 of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school district will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school district submits the plan to the State Department of Education.
- The school will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement and will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance 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—
(A) that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
(B) that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;
(C) 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;
(D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.
The school will inform parents and parental organizations of the purpose and existence of the Parental Information and Resource Center in the State.
1. The Opportunity Charter School will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its school’s parental involvement plan under section 1112 of the ESEA:
Establishment of a Leadership Committee consisting of faculty members, school administrators, UFT chapter leader, parents, and students to foster and develop a successful, high achieving climate at the school that will work in conjunction with the PTA.
2. The Opportunity Charter School will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:
Establishment of a Leadership Committee consisting of faculty members, school administrators, UFT chapter leader, parents, and students to foster and develop a successful, high achieving climate at the school that will work in conjunction with the PTA.
3. The Opportunity Charter School will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance:
Individual Access to OCS Social Workers
Access to Highly Qualified Staff members through workshops and meetings to describe curriculum to parents
Leadership Committee will communicate to parents at PTA meetings all future plans to improve school performance
4. The Opportunity Charter School will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following other programs:
Children’s Aid Society/Carrera Program
5. The Opportunity Charter School will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parental involvement policy in improving the quality of its school. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parental involvement 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). The school will use the findings of the evaluation about its parental involvement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents) its parental involvement policies.
The Leadership Committee will work in coordination with the PTA to meet these requirements.
6. The Opportunity Charter School will build the schools’ and parent’s 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:
A. The school district will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described in this paragraph --
the State’s academic content standards,
the State’s student academic achievement standards,
the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,
the requirements of Part A,
how to monitor their child’s progress, and
how to work with educators:
Annual Title I Meeting
Workshops provided by the Director of Assessment
Children’s Aid Society/Carrera Program
OCS Social Workers
Referrals to outside sources
B. The school will provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement, such as literacy training, and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement, by:
The PTA will poll their membership to find out their needs in this area and respond by providing appropriate parent workshops and outside resources.
C. The school will, with the assistance 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:
Leadership Committee will conduct an annual parental survey.
Provide Professional Development to staff based on the result of the survey
D. The school will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, Even Start, and the Parents as Teachers Program, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children, by:
Direct access to both OCS Clinical and Guidance Departments, as well as the Children’s Aid Society/Carrera Program to facilitate access to available programs.
Such programs have included Parent/Family Life Workshops addressing the need for parents to advocate for the children’s education.
E. The school will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent- programs, meetings, 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:
Information will be distributed through:
Mailings
“Backpacked” home with students
Automated phone calls
Posted on school’s website where appropriate
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By signing below, I ________________________(print name) acknowledge that I have received and reviewed the Opportunity Charter School’s Parental Involvement Policy.
Parent/Guardian Signature:__________________________________Date:______________
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