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Title IA Parent Involvement Policy

Title IA Parent Involvement Policy
This school policy for Maine Virtual Academy (MEVA) has been developed in consultation with the parents/guardians of students participating in Title IA programs at MEVA. The policy includes a “School-Parent Compact” that outlines the way parents, school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement. The Head of School will be responsible for distributing this policy to parents/guardians of students participating in the school Title IA programs.

  1. PARENT INVOLVEMENT MEETINGS

The school shall convene an annual meeting at a convenient time to which all parents/guardians of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend to inform them of the school’s participation under Title IA, explain the right of parents to be involved, and to encourage their involvement in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s Title I programs and parent involvement policy. The school will offer at least two (2) other meetings during the school year, held at various times in the morning or evening for parents/guardians of students participating in Title IA programs.

The Head of School/Title IA Coordinator will:

  1. Invite parents/guardians of participating children to the annual meeting and to other meetings held during the school year;
  2. Provide an overview of Title IA and the programs the school provides under Title IA;
  3. Explain the rights of parents/guardians to be involved in developing and reviewing the school’s parent involvement policy, including the School-Parent Compact;
  4. Provide 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;
  5. Give parents/guardians an opportunity to ask questions and engage in informal discussion about student achievement and school performance;
  6. Respond to requests from parents for opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate (as appropriate) in decisions relating to the education of their children;
  7. Invite parents/guardians to serve on the Parent Advisory Committee and/or other school or district-level Title IA committees;
  8. Invite parents/guardians to participate in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under Title IA and the school-parent involvement policy and establish a schedule for this activity;
  9. With the input of parents/guardians, establish a process by which an adequate representation of parents/guardians can be assured;
  10. Describe the process by which parents/guardians may express concerns and complaints if they are dissatisfied with the Title IA program;
  11. Engage school-based parent organizations in outreach to parents/guardians of students participating in Title IA; and
  12. Arrange for child care so that parents/guardians who would otherwise be unable to attend may do so.
  1. SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT

This School-Parent Compact describes how parents, school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will develop a partnership to help children achieve the State’s academic achievement standards.

  1. The school is responsible for providing a high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables students served under Title IA to meet the State’s academic achievement standards.
  2. Parents/guardians will be encouraged to support their children’s learning by:
  1. Monitoring their children’s attendance;
  2. Providing assistance and encouraging their children to complete homework assignments;
  3. Encouraging their children to ask for help from teachers or classroom aides (Ed Techs) when needed;
  4. Talking with their children about the school day;
  5. Reading to or with their children;
  6. Monitoring and limiting their children’s technology usage;
  7. Volunteering in the classroom and for school-related activities such as field trips;
  8. Participating, as appropriate, in decisions related to the education of their children; and
  9. Enrolling their children in extracurricular and age-appropriate, community-based, after-school activities.
  1. The school will address the importance of communication between parents and teachers on an ongoing basis by:
  1. Scheduling one or more parent-teacher meetings annually for parents/guardians of elementary school level students during which the Compact shall be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievement.
  2. Providing reports to parents/guardians on their children’s progress;
  3. Providing parents/guardians with reasonable access to staff to discuss issues related to their children’s learning;
  4. Welcoming parents as volunteers in the classroom; and
  5. Providing adequate supervision and feedback for parents/guardians who volunteer.

Legal Reference: 20 U.S.C. § 6318