Family Engagement Policy
Title I Family Engagement Policy
Santa Fe Trail teachers and staff are committed to providing a quality educational program that will challenge all children to reach their potential. When school and parents work together, children succeed in school and throughout life. Neither home nor school can do the job alone. Parents play an extremely important role as a child’s first teachers. Their support for their child and for the school is critical to their child’s success at every step along the way.
To ensure that basic skills and knowledge are taught, we will hold educators accountable for effective teaching, hold students accountable for learning, and encourage parental involvement in their child’s education. We will continually assess student growth in order to provide timely interventions and evaluate our instruction. Additionally, Santa Fe Trail teachers and staff will work collaboratively with parents and our community in the development, evaluation and refinement of our Title I program.
Welcoming all Families into the School Community
- Santa Fe Trail invites parents and families to be involved in their student’s education by visiting the school building, attending school meetings, volunteering in the classroom for/during school activities, and/or assisting their student with assigned work.
- Santa Fe Trail will sponsor/provide events to enrich the partnership between home and school.
Communicating Effectively
- All school and district policies are available to families upon request, including on the district website.
- Santa Fe Trail staff welcomes frequent communication between home and school.
Supporting Student Success
- Santa Fe Trail will build the school’s and parent’s capacity for strong parental involvement, through family nights, and other resources.
- The school will, with the assistance of the district, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school in understanding how to monitor their child’s progress and how to work with educators.
- Schools will provide parents/guardians with opportunities to participate in setting student goals, monitoring progress and making instructional decisions.
Speaking Up for Every Child
- Support for students will be demonstrated by regular parent/teacher conferences, Title I activities and family nights throughout the year and individual assistance to students provided through differentiated support systems in both reading and math.
Sharing Responsibility
- Santa Fe Trail and parents will jointly develop and distribute a Family Engagement Policy upon which the school and parents agree.
- Santa Fe Trail will hold an annual meeting to inform parents that the school participates Title I, the requirements of Title I, and of their parental rights.
- Meetings will be held at various times to encourage parents to attend. Parents will be notified about meetings through school newsletters and the web page.
- The school will incorporate the School-Parent Compact as a part of its Family Engagement Policy. It will be included on the school’s web page. It will also be signed by the teacher, parent(s), and student when the student enters the program.
- The school will, with the assistance of the district, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school in understanding the state’s academic content and achievement standards, the state and local academic assessments, the requirements of Title I and how to monitor their child’s progress and work with educators.
- As appropriate, the school will, with the assistance of the district, provide materials to help parents work with their child to improve their child’s academic achievement and to foster parental involvement.
- Within reason, the school will ensure all information regarding the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities will be communicated. Alternative language is available upon request.
Collaborating with Community
- Santa Fe Trail will make copies of the Family Engagement Policy available to parents at Title I parent activities/meetings, post the policy on the school website, and provide copies to parents of new students upon enrollment. Copies will also be provided to families upon request.
Note: Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education act provides financial assistance to state and local educational agencies to meet the needs of educationally deprived, at-risk children. The goal of Title I is to provide instructional services and activities to meet the needs of disadvantaged children identified as failing or most at-risk of failing the state’s challenging performance standards.