Engagement Plans & Compacts

Students and Families
Engagement Plans and Compacts

Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring: (1) parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning; (2) parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school; and (3) 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.

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GOALS:

• Create partnerships through communication between school and parent
• Improve student attendance, academic performance and completion rate
• Increase parental/family engagement in student education
• Promote family literacy and parenting skills

LWISD will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents in all of its Title I, Part A schools, 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.

LWISD will work with its schools to ensure the required school level parental engagement plans meet requirements and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact jointly developed with parents that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and by what means the school and parents will build/develop a partnership to assist children in achieving the State’s high standards. The campus level parental engagement plan and school-parent compact will be reviewed annually and disseminated to all parents in English and in Spanish within the first 10 days of school. Elementary campuses are required to conduct annual parent/teacher conferences.

LWISD will incorporate this district-wide parental engagement plan into the District Improvement Plan and publish it on the district website.

LWISD uses Title I, Part A funds to provide school-wide services for all students enrolled on Title I campuses. These campuses will hold at least one meeting annually to review Title I guidelines and services offered at campus level within the first 6 weeks of school. The annual meeting will be held at a convenient time and location; notice of the meeting will be provided through public announcements and school-based information flyers. Translators will be available to help with non-English speaking parents/caregivers. The campuses will involve parents in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parental involvement is spent. The district ensures not less than 95 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools. 

LWISD will, with the assistance of its schools, provide help to parents in understanding topics such as:

• the State’s academic content standards,
• the State’s student academic achievement standards,
• the State and local academic assessments, including alternate assessments,
• how to monitor their child’s progress, and
• how to work with educators

LWISD will provide the following coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist its schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance: 

• Campus visitation/consultation from the district level to serve in an advisory capacity
• Customer Service training
• Parent representatives from each campus participate on the district wide educational improvement council (DEIC)
• Student Health and Coordinated Services Committee (SHAC)
• District phone call-out and text system set up in English and Spanish (with an attempt to give a 5 day notice and a reminder 1 day prior to the event)
• The district will encourage campuses to promote and advertise the creation and maintenance of parent organizations (PTO and Booster Clubs), especially by soliciting involvement from the beginning of each school year.
• Partner with The Parenting Center

LWISD will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its parental engagement plan, including an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this plan in improving the quality of its 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 of its parental engagement plan and activities to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, its parental engagement plan.

• Schedule meetings at convenient times and locations to allow participation in review of policy, budget and programs for parental involvement
• Provide Adult ESL classes

LWISD will, with the assistance of its schools, take the following actions to provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve the academic achievement of their child, such as literacy training, and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement: 

• Campuses will provide sign-up lists of specific volunteering opportunities.
• Campuses will encourage parent attendance at monthly Board of Trustee meetings.
• Campuses will conduct at least two parent workshops each year in the areas of reading/literacy, math, science, or social studies.
• Campuses may consider incentives to encourage participation.
• Campus should send home printed flyers when feasible with details concerning event
• Campuses will provide information to the public through the following media: district/campus call-out, texting, and website, campus marquees, and Skyward Family Access (includes student schedules, grades, attendance, discipline, and missing assignments)
• Campuses will document parent attendance at meetings and events.
• Campuses will document parent contacts, telephone calls and conferences.
• Facilitate communication between parents/caregivers and its campuses through campus Parent Resource Centers
• Parents will be surveyed throughout the year as they attend parent activities.

LWISD will, with the assistance of its schools, take the following actions to provide parents of children ages 0-4 years with early family literacy interventions/strategies to increase the number of parents reading at home with their children and to assist parents in learning how to help their children with reading and writing:

• Literacy nights include family workshops through which simplified literacy strategies are modeled, shared, and implemented with parents.
• Workshops will be presented in both English and Spanish and will include on-site practice and refinement.
• Workshops will advise parents about creating a reading space and building routines to equip families with the tools to enhance and extend learning in the home environment.

LWISD will, with the assistance of its schools and parents, take the following actions to educate its teachers, pupil service 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: 

• Campuses will involve parent(s) at a staff meeting encouraging their ideas about educating staff on how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners.
• Involve PTO with information provided and/or presentation(s) at staff meetings
• Communities in Schools Social Workers for each campus and a College Advisor at LWHS

LWISD will, to the extent practicable, 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 in an understandable and uniform format and, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.

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District-Wide Parent and Family Engagement Plan | Spanish

 Campus Engagement Plan and Parent Compacts