The Alhambra Unified School District agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:
1. The school district will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents in all of its schools with Title I, Part A 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.
2. Consistent with section 1118, the school district 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.
3. The school district will incorporate this districtwide parental involvement policy into its LEA plan developed under section 1112 of the ESEA.
4. In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district 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.
5. If the LEA plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1112 of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school district will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school district submits the plan to the State Department of Education.
6. The school district will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A 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.
7. The school district 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 child's learning;
b. That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child's education at school;
c. 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;
d. The carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.
Part II: Description of How District Will Implement Required Districtwide Parental Involvement Policy Components
1. The Alhambra Unified School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its districtwide parental involvement plan under section 1112 of the ESEA:
a. Annual Title I District Advisory Council (DAC) meeting
b. Parent input and Governing Board hearing related to the development of parent involvement in the LEA Plan
2. The Alhambra Unified School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:
Annual Title I District Advisory Council (DAC) meeting addressing:
a. Annual Accountability Review results
b. Academic Performance Index (API) and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results
c. Standards
d. Annually updated School Accountability Report Card (SARC) made available on district website
3. The Alhambra Unified School District will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance:
a. Require parent involvement standards regarding meetings and trainings through annual School Effectiveness Criteria
b. Annually survey DAC members on topics of interest
* Facilitate implementation of suggested topics
c. Facilitate implementation of parent involvement trainings
* Parent Institute
* Preliminary SAT (PSAT)
* Kindergarten Through College
* College is a Family Experience
* AVID Parent Conference
* Partners in Print
4. The Alhambra Unified School District will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following other programs: State-operated preschool programs, Options Preschool Programs, Options Surround Care by
a. Meeting periodically at sites to discuss coordination and integration of strategies
b. Facilitating on-going communication between principal and Options lead teacher
5. The Alhambra Unified School District 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 I, Part A 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). 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.
a. Administer parent involvement questionnaire every two years and analyze data
b. Based on data with DAC develop appropriate strategies for districtwide implementation
6. The Alhambra Unified School District will build the schools' and parent's capacity for strong 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 student academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below:
a. The school district will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described below:
(1) The State's academic content standards,
(2) The State's student academic achievement standards,
(3) The State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,
(4) The requirements of Part A,
(5) How to monitor their child's progress, and
(6) How to work with educators:
i. Meetings, including DAC and Title Annual Parent meetings at school sites
ii. Conferences-Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) Parent Conference, Title I Academic Achievement Award Conference, California Association for Bilingual Education (CABE), Hispanic Women's Leadership Conference, Consortium Parent Conference with Garvey School District
iii. Provide translations orally or through technology so all parents can understand training information
b. The school district will, with the assistance of its schools, provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children's academic achievement, such as literacy training, and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement, by:
(1) Distributing brochures and relevant handouts that address content standards, reading strategies, PSAT results, college planning and other information to help children succeed in school
(2) Providing training such as:
i. Partners in Print, CBET, Kindergarten Through College
ii. Parent Institute
c. The school district 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, by:
(1) Utilize training offered through Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) on equal participation of parent or partners
(2) Facilitate site use of video series on communicating effectively with parents
(3) Facilitate staff participation in Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice
(4) Participate in parent themed conferences
(5) Participate in parent/teacher conferences
d. The school district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with Head Start, Reading First, Early Reading First, 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, by:
(1) Support implementation of parent centers
(2) Facilitate coordination of district preschool programs and kindergarten programs
(3) Facilitate implementation of parent and community volunteer programs
e. The school district 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:
(1) Information is sent to parent in multiple languages as appropriate
(2) Oral translations are provided at parent meetings
(3) Use technology, as appropriate, for oral translation purposes
Part III: Discretionary Districtwide Parental Involvement Policy Components
The Alhambra Unified School District agrees to the following discretionary activities listed under Section 1118(e) of the ESEA:
1. Facilitate paying 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;
2. Train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents;
3. Arrange school meetings at a variety of times in order to maximize parental involvement and participation in their children's education, or conducting in-home conferences between teachers or other educators
4. Adopt and implement model approaches to improving parental involvement;
5. Maintain districtwide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in Title I, Part A programs;
6. Developing appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses, in parental involvement activities; and
7. Providing other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under section 1118 of the ESEA as parents may request
Part IV: Adoption
This District Wide Title I Parental Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by agendas of DAC meetings.
Regulation ALHAMBRA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
approved: September 9, 1997 Alhambra, California
revised: July 18, 2006
revised: June 24, 2008