his District-level Compact provides an understanding of the joint responsibility of the District and parents/guardians and family members to improve students’ academic achievement and school performance. To that end, the District provides opportunities for parent/guardian and family engagement at the District level as follows:

1.  The District involves parents/guardians and family members in the joint development of the District’s plan to help low-achieving children meet challenging achievement and academic standards (20 U.S.C. §6312), and the development of comprehensive and targeted support and improvement plans (20 U.S.C. §§6311(d)(1), (2)) by:

• Establishing a District-level committee with parent/guardian liaisons from each building as well as representatives from other relevant federal, State, and local programs.

• Establishing meaningful, ongoing two-way communication between the District, staff and parents/guardians.

• Developing a District newsletter to communicate to parents/guardians about the plan and seek their input and participation.

• Training personnel on how to collaborate effectively with families with diverse backgrounds that may impede parent/guardian participation, e.g., illiteracy or language difficulty.

2.  The District provides the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of all participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent/guardian and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance by:

• Providing ongoing District-level workshops to assist buildings in planning and implementing improvement strategies.

• Establishing training programs for building liaisons to bring the communication and facilitation skills to the buildings they represent.

• Providing information to parents/guardians about the various assessment tools and instruments that will be developed to monitor progress.

• Seeking input from parents/guardians in developing workshops.

• Providing ongoing communication about the District-wide committee through District newsletters or other written or electronically communicated means.

• Engaging the building PTO’s to actively seek out and involve parents/guardians through regular communication updates and information sessions.

• Utilizing PTOs to assist in identifying effective communication strategies based on their members’ needs.

• Providing a master calendar of District meetings to discuss pertinent topics.

• Allowing meaningful consultation with employers, business leaders, and philanthropic organizations, or individuals with expertise in effectively engaging parents/guardians and family members in education. 

3.  The District coordinates and integrates parent/guardian and family engagement strategies under this Compact, to the extent feasible and appropriate, with engagement strategies under other relevant federal, State and local programs by:

• Involving District and program representatives to assist in identifying specific population needs.

• Sharing data from other programs to assist in developing new initiatives to improve academic achievement and school improvement.

4.  The District conducts, with the meaningful involvement of parents/guardians and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent/guardian and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under Title I, including identifying: (a) barriers to greater participation by parents/guardians in activities authorized by 20 U.S.C. §6318 (with particular attention to parents/guardians who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background); (b) the needs of parents/guardians and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and (c) strategies to support successful school and family interactions. The District then uses the findings of such evaluation to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parent/guardian involvement, and to revise, if necessary, its District-level parents/guardians  and family engagement policies. The District does these activities by:

• Evaluating the effectiveness of the content and communication methods through a variety of means, including: focus groups, surveys, workshops, and informal coffees with District and building administrative staff, parents/guardians, and teachers.

• Identifying barriers to effective evaluation by language support or other assistance as needed.

• Identifying potential policy and compact changes to revise and improve program(s).

5.  The District involves parents/guardians in the activities of the schools served under Title I by:

• Providing communication and calendar information to parents/guardians of upcoming meetings, discussions or events and encouraging their participation.

• Providing Building Principal and PTO coordination of events.

• Establishing a parent-advisory board comprised of a sufficient number and representative group of parents/guardians or family members to adequately represent the needs of the District’s population for the purposes of developing, revising, and reviewing the parent and family engagement policy. 

UPDATED:    January 2017