PART I. GENERAL
EXPECTATIONS
Portland Public Schools agrees to implement the
following statutory requirements:
á Portland Public Schools will put into operation
programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents in all of
its schools with Title IA 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.
á Consistent with section 1118, Portland Public
Schools will work with its schools 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.
á Portland Public Schools will incorporate this
district wide parental involvement policy into its LEA plan developed under
section 1112 of the ESEA.
á In carrying out the Title IA parental involvement
requirements, to the extent practicable, Portland Public Schools 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.
á If the LEA plan for Title IA, developed under
section 1112 of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating
children, Portland Public Schools will submit any parent comments with the plan
when the school district submits the plan to the State Department of Education.
á Portland Public Schools will involve the parents of
children served in Title IA schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of
Title IA funds reserved for parental involvement is spent, and will ensure that
not less than 95 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the
schools.
á Portland Public Schools will be governed by the
following statutory definition of parental involvement, and expects that its
Title I schools 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 childŐs
learning;
(B) that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their childŐs
education at school;
(C) that parents are full partners in their childŐs 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.
á
Portland Public
Schools will inform parents and parental organizations of the purpose and
existence of the Maine Parental Information and Resource Center. Maine PIRC
contact information is:
P.O. Box 2067
Augusta, Maine 04338
Phone: (207) 623-2144
Fax: (207) 623-2148
E-mail: parentconnect@mpf.org
Website: http://www.mpf.org/projects/mepirc.htm
PART II. DESCRIPTION
OF HOW PORTLAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL
INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS
1. Portland
Public Schools will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint
development of its district-wide parental involvement plan under section 1112
of the ESEA:
á In the fall of each school year, parents with
children participating in Title IA programs will be invited to participate in
Portland Public SchoolsŐ Title IA Parents Partnership Advisory Council (PPAC).
á The Portland Public SchoolsŐ Title IA Parent
Partnership Advisory Council (PPAC) will meet at least four times each year to
review parent involvement activities and develop a district wide plan for
ongoing activities provided for parents with children participating in Title IA
programs.
2. Portland
Public Schools will take the following actions to involve parents in the
process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:
á Portland Public Schools will develop and
disseminate for each Title IA school, an annual Report Card that provides
information on the performance of that school and its progress towards meeting
the Maine Learning Results.
á Portland Public Schools will promptly communicate
with parents about the identification of any school identified for school
improvement, including what the identification means, the reason(s) for a
schoolŐs identification and the parentŐs options regarding school choice and/or
supplemental education services. Portland Public Schools will also provide
parents with information about the academic achievement of a school to which
children may transfer under the school choice option.
á Portland Public Schools will ensure that parents
at any school identified for improvement are provided an explanation of how
they can become involved in addressing the academic issues that caused the
school to be identified for improvement.
á Portland Public Schools will publish and
disseminate information explaining what the identified schools are doing to
address the problem of low achievement, what Portland or the Maine Department
of Education are doing to help the schools address the problem, and if
applicable, a description of any specific corrective actions or restructuring
plans.
á In the case of any Title IA school failing to
make Adequate Yearly Progress for three consecutive years under Section
1111(2)(B), or being identified for corrective action or restructuring, Portland
Public Schools will arrange for the provision of supplemental education
services to eligible children at the identified school and will:
o provide annual notification to parents in an
understandable and uniform format and to the extent practicable in a language
the parents understand of 1) the availability of supplemental services; 2) the
identity of approved providers within or near Portland; and 3) a brief
description of services, qualifications and demonstrated effectiveness of each
provider;
o if requested, assist parents in choosing a
provider;
o apply fair and equitable procedures for selecting
students to be served if the number of spaces at approved providers is not
sufficient;
o not disclose to the public the identity of any
student who is eligible for, or receiving, supplemental education services
without the written permission of the parents of the student.
á Portland Public Schools, in the case of any Title
IA school identified for restructuring (which means a major reorganization of
the schoolŐs governance arrangement), will provide parents with prompt notice,
an opportunity to comment before any action under the restructuring plan takes
place, and an opportunity to participate in the development of any
restructuring plans.
3. Portland
Public Schools will provide the following necessary coordination, technical
assistance, and other support to assist Title IA schools in planning and
implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student
academic achievement and school performance.
á Portland Public Schools will make available the
assistance of the Director of Educational Planning and the NCLB Coordinator in
assisting the school in planning and implementing effective parental
involvement activities to improve student academic achievement.
4. Portland
Public Schools will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in
Part A with parental involvement strategies with such programs as Head Start,
Even Start, Parents As Teachers, and Home Instruction Program for Preschool
Youngsters.
á Portland Public Schools will continue to maintain
open and collaborative relationships with a wide variety of other programs in
order to coordinate and integrate parent involvement activities as possible and
appropriate.
5. Portland
Public Schools 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 Title IA
schools. The school district 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.
á Portland Public Schools will develop and
implement, with the assistance of parents, an annual evaluation process
designed to assess the content and
effectiveness of this parental involvement policy in improving the quality of
its Title IA schools. 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).
á Each year, surveys will be developed and approved
by the Portland Public Schools Parent Partnership Advisory Council and
implemented before the end of school in June.
á Responses will analyzed and presented to parents,
teachers and staff of Portland Public Schools in advance of the final meeting
of the Portland Public Schools Parent Partnership Advisory Council when the
Council will review and revise this parent involvement policy and planned
activities for the following school year.
A.
Portland Public
Schools will, with the assistance of its Title IA schools, provide
assistance
to parents of children served by Portland Public Schools or school, as
appropriate, in understanding topics such as understanding MaineŐs academic
content standards, The Maine Learning Results, MaineŐs student academic
achievement standards, Maine and local academic assessments including alternate
assessments, the requirements of Title IA, how to monitor their childŐs
progress, and how to work with educators by undertaking the actions described
in this paragraph --
á Workshops on these topics will be provided in partnership with
the Maine Parent Information Resource Center, as appropriate.
á NCLB Coordinator will provide presentation and/or
handout containing this information to Title I schools, to be shared with
parents during Title I Information Night at the school.
B. Portland Public Schools will, with the assistance of
its schools, provide materials and training to help parents work with their
children to improve their childrenŐs academic achievement, as appropriate, to
foster parental involvement.
á
Workshops and
materials will be provided in partnership with the Maine Parent Information
Resource Center, as appropriate.
C.
Portland Public Schools will, with the assistance of its schools and
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.
á
Workshops and
materials will be provided in partnership with the Maine Parent Information
Resource Center, as appropriate.
D.
Portland Public Schools will, to the extent feasible and appropriate,
coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head
Start, Even Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the
Parents as Teachers Program, and public preschool and other 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.
E.
Portland Public Schools 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:
á All materials will be translated as required by
student population into languages other than English and upon request
translation will be orally provided if possible into parentsŐ native language.
Parent Community Specialists are available through the Portland Public Schools
Multilingual Center to support the understanding and involvement of parents for
whom English is not their first language.
PART III. DISCRETIONARY
DISTRICT WIDE PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS
á
To the extent Title IA
funds are available, Portland Public Schools will pay any reasonable and
necessary expenses associated with parental involvement activities, including
transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in
school-related meetings and training sessions in Title IA schools and related
to Portland Public Schools Parent Partnership Advisory Council.
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PART IV. ADOPTION
This District-wide Parental
Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents
of children participating in Title IA programs, as evidenced by a vote of
approval to be taken at a meeting of the Portland Public SchoolsŐ Title IA
Parent Partnership Advisory Council.
This policy was adopted by
Portland Public Schools Parent Partnership Advisory Council and will be in
effect for the period of the 2008-09 school year. The school district will make this policy available to all
parents of participating Title IA children following its approval.
Katherine Theriault, No Child Left Behind Coordinator__
(Signature of Authorized
Official)
________ ______10/30/08_____
(Date)