Madison Middle School ~ Parent Involvement Policy

Last Update 1/3/2012

Madison Middle School encourages, supports, and values the participation and involvement of parents and families in the education of their children. The school recognizes that students learn best when families and schools work together to develop a relationship of shared responsibility and mutual support. It is important to understand that the involvement of families in their children's education is not limited solely to attendance at PTO meetings or volunteering at school. What parents do at home with their children is even more important to the total education effort, and schools need to let parents know that they value both their contributions at school and their participation at home.

The school is committed to implementing a Parent Involvement Policy, jointly developed by school personnel and parents, which encourages shared responsibility for high student performance, builds capacity of school staff and parents for involvement, and increases accessibility for participation of parents of all children. Madison Middle School's Parent Involvement Policy includes the following areas: 1) a school leadership team, 2) coordination, technical assistance and support, 3) school capacity, 4) community resources, and 5) program evaluation.

School Leadership Team

The School Leadership Team, consisting of parents and school personnel, will determine the needs of the school by:

• Conducting a comprehensive needs assessment.

• Develop a continuous school improvement plan.

•  Review and update school policies/procedures.

• Determine priorities for the use of Title I funds.

Coordination, Technical Assistance and Support

Provide coordination, technical assistance and other support necessary to effectively implement parent involvement programs by:

• Providing materials and training not otherwise available to help parents with their child's achievement.

• Educating teacher, pupil services personnel, principals, and staff on how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners.

•  Ensuring, to the extent possible, that information is sent home in language and form parents can understand.

• Providing information on literacy training available in the community.

• Ensuring school-parent compacts are being used to outline responsibilities of the school staff, parents, and students in striving to raise student achievement and explain how an effective home-school partnership will be developed.

School Capacity

Build the school's capacity for strong parental involvement through:

• Providing parents information about the curriculum, the Idaho Academic Standards, academic assessments used to measure progress and proficiency levels of students.

• Maintaining the school website with detailed information about the curriculum, school performance profiles and assessment data. (http://d321.k12.id.us/main/)

• Providing parents information about their individual child's assessment results.

•  Providing resources for parents to learn about child development and child rearing issues that are designed to help parents become full partners in the education of their children.

• Approving 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.

• Encouraging meetings at a variety of times, such as mornings and evenings, in order to maximize the opportunities for parents to participate in school-related activities. These are to include: an annual parent back-to-school night, a minimum of two parent/teacher conferences, and focus groups for parents of English Language Learners, students with disabilities and other special interest groups as needed.

• Providing any reasonable support for parental involvement activities at the request of participating Title I parent.

• Providing opportunities for parent feedback and respond to parent feedback in a timely manner.

Community Resources

Coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies with programs (when applicable) such as: Head Start, after school program, Children Mental Health, Parents as Teachers, AmeriCorps volunteers, Madison Community Council, community parenting classes, etc.

Program Evaluation

Ensure schools conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parental involvement plan as it relates to:

• Increased academic quality

• Strategies for increasing participation

•  Identifying barriers to greater parent participation

• Making recommendations for parent involvement plan revisions.