Futures High School - Parent Expectations & Involvement

Parent Expectations & Involvement

Futures High School believes in the importance of good communication between the home and the school in building a successful learning environment for all students. It is our desire to provide multiple opportunities for parents, students and school staff to establish strong, meaningful and lasting connections.

PART I. GENERAL SCHOOL’S EXPECTATIONS FOR PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

Futures High School agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

The school will jointly develop with parents, distribute to parents of participating children, a School Parental Involvement Policy that the school and parents of participating children agree on.
The School will notify parents about the School Parental Involvement Policy in an understandable and uniform format and to the extent practicable, will distribute this policy to parents in a language the parents can understand.
The school will make the School Parental Involvement Policy available to the local community.
The School Site Council (SSC) will periodically update the School Parental Involvement Policy to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.
The school agrees to 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-

that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;
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;

the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of ESEA.

PART II. SCHOOL’S IMPLEMENTATION OF SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY

1.Futures High School will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development and joint agreement of its School Parental Policy as specified under section 1118(b) of the ESEA:

involve elected parents through the SSC in the joint development and joint agreement of this policy.
prepare translated documents into languages that parent understand
involve parents through an annual parent needs assessment conducted in collaboration with SSC and the English Learning Advisory Committee

2. Futures High School will take the following actions to distribute to parents of participating children and the local community, the School Parental Involvement Policy.

distribute the School Parental Involvement Policy as a part of the information packet mailed to parents prior to the beginning of the new school year.
place a copy of the policy on the Futures High School Web Site.
post the policy in the “Futures’ Voices” parent newsletter.
share the policy via monthly school’s radio program.
share the policy during an annual Parent meeting.
place most recently updated policy available in the main office of the school.

3. Futures High School will update periodically its School Parental Involvement Policy to meet the changing needs of parents and the school.

will update the policy based upon the results of the annual needs assessment conducted by SSC in collaboration with the English Language Advisory Committee.
inform parents and community about the updates in the School Parental Policy via media, meetings, and written communication in the language the parents understand.
use the evaluation results to design strategies for more effective parental involvement and, if necessary, to recommend changes in the policy.

4. Futures High School on an annual basis will inform parents of the following:

child school’s participation in Title I
requirements of Title I
parents’ rights to be involved

5. Futures High School will provide to parents of participating children a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.
The principal or designee:

will prepare and distribute a Student Handbook to each family at the beginning of the school year.
will prepare and distribute a Futures’ Course Descriptions Handbook to each family at the beginning of school year.
will place the School Accountability Report on the Futures’ Web Site.
will facilitate counselor meetings with incoming ninth graders and their parents to develop 4-year plans.
will facilitate counselor meetings with 10th to 12th grade students and parents to review the 4-year plan and discuss progress toward graduation and post secondary plans.

6. Futures High School will provide parents of participating children, if requested by parents, opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any suggestions as soon as practically possible.
The principal or designee:

will provide Student Study Teams, where parents may request to meet with counselors, teachers, and school psychologists to prepare SSTs or 504 plans.
will facilitate meetings with individual teachers

PART III. SHARED RESPONSIBILITIES FOR HIGH STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

1.Futures High School will build the school’s and parent’s capacity for 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 academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below.
The principal or designee:

will encourage participation on school planning committees, SSC, and ELAC.
will provide opportunities for parents/guardians to observe classroom activities and volunteer.
will encourage participation in Back-to –School Night and Open House.
will encourage participation as volunteers for various school activities.
will provide notes and information in a format and language that parents/guardians understand, to the extent practical.
will continue the use of ABI Parent Portal, automatic phone messages, local community newspaper articles, and monthly radio programs.
will encourage parent-counselor and/ or parent-teacher contact through a variety of methods, i.e. email, etc.
will conduct educational parent workshops and forums.

2. Futures High School will incorporate the school-parents compact as a component of its School Parental Involvement Policy.
3. Futures High School will, with the assistance of the Gateway Community Charters Inc., provide assistance to parents of children served by the school in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described in the following:

the State’s academic content standards
the State’s student academic achievement standards
the school wide goals
the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments
how to monitor their child’s progress
how to work with educators

4. Futures High School will, with the assistance of the Gateway Community Charters Inc., provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their academic achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement.
Principal or designee:

will make referrals to parents/guardians for literacy training and/or parent education programs designed to improve their skills and enhance their ability to support their children’s education
will facilitate teacher contact with parents/guardians to suggest ways to work with their child to improve in an individual course
will facilitate counselor individual and group contacts with parents/guardians and students regarding study management, reading, and test-taking strategies
will continue to provide and explain the information in the Student and Course Descriptions Handbooks, regarding expectations and resources to assist with subject matter.

5. Futures High School will, with the assistance of the GCC Inc. and parents, educate its teachers 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 programs and build ties between parents and schools.

6. Futures High School will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, 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.

Principal or designee:

will ensure that progress and report cards are sent to parents
will ensure that teacher and counselor phone calls and/or emails continue
will continue use of the automatic phone message system
will continue the use of the school web site
will continue the bi-monthly parent newsletters
will continue the Student Handbooks
will continue the use of a translator (Russian) when necessary
will identify barriers to parent/guardian participation in school activities, including parents/guardians, who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background.

PART IV. DISCRETIONARY SCHOOL PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

The following activities will be used to support children’s academic achievement:

provide necessary literacy resources and trainings for parents
educate parents to enhance their involvement in school
maximize parental involvement and participation in their children’s education by arranging school meetings at a variety of times, or calling home to work directly with participating children and with parents
develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parental involvement activities
provide other reasonable support for parental involvement activities

PART V. ADOPTION

This School Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed upon with, parents of children participating in the SIP program, as evidenced by approval of the School Site Council.

This policy was adopted by Futures High School on ____________________ and will be in effect for the period of 2019-2020. The school will distribute this policy to all parents of participating children on or before _______________________________.

It will be made available to the local community on or before______________________.

Futures High School’s notification to parents of this policy will be in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provide a copy of this policy to parents in a language the parents can understand.

__________________________________
Signature of Chairperson, School Site Council
__________________________________
Date
__________________________________
Signature of Principal, Futures High School
___________________________________
Date