Burgess Peterson Elementary School

Burgess Peterson Academy Parental Involvement Policy Robin C. Robbins, Principal Revised September 9, 2013

 General Requirements

o Burgess Peterson Academy will develop jointly with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written policy describing the implementation of the requirements. The school’s parental involvement policy will be updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and children.

 Written Policy

o Burgess Peterson Academy will hold an annual meeting for all parents of participating children to inform them of their school’s participation and to explain its requirements and their right to be involved.

All parents of participating students will be invited to an annual meeting at a convenient time for them at the school to explain the program and activities provided through Title I, federal guidelines, and the role of all parents in the education of their children. During the month of August, parents will have the opportunity to attend flexibly scheduled meetings to receive information about the Title I program. Meetings will be offered during the day, in the evening, as well as on Saturday.

Parental input will also be solicited concerning the means by which the school and parents can form a partnership to achieve the program’s objectives. Parents will complete surveys/questionnaires as well as attend and participate in round-table discussions.

o Burgess Peterson shall offer a flexible schedule for meetings (a.m. and p.m.) and may provide transportation, childcare, home visits, etc.

Meetings for the parents will be offered as early as 7:30 a.m. and as late as 6:00 p.m. to afford parents the opportunity to attend, according to their home and work schedules. Every effort will be made to inform parents. Burgess Peterson promotes these meetings through personal letters, telephone calls, weekly flyers, E-Mail, Facebook, text messaging, marquee announcements, etc. Refreshments, door prizes, and attendance awards may be used as incentives.

o Burgess Peterson shall involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in planning, review, and improvement of the parental involvement program.

480 Clifton Street, S.E.,  Atlanta, GA 30316  (404) 802-3400 Office  (404) 371-4853 Fax Parents and caregivers are encouraged to participate in setting school goals, developing and evaluating programs. Three parent representatives serve on the Local School Council, as well as two parent representatives serve as Grade Level Parent Volunteer Representatives. Members of the PTA Executive Board and the Local School Council helped to draft the Student Achievement Plan. The principal and other school members meet regularly with the PTA and School Council to represent parents and as a means of including them in decision-making and providing information regarding school policies, practices and student/school performance data. o Parents are given information about various programs in a timely manner. Adequate time is allowed for school staff to respond to parent recommendations. Burgess Peterson provides program information to parents by way of: . Printed notice . Calendar of events . Telephone calls . Brochures . Flyers . Burgess Peterson Newsletters . Grade Level Newsletters . Grade Level Parent Meetings & Workshops . PTA Meetings . Coffee and Cocoa with the Principal Parent recommendations shall be processed in a timely manner. o Burgess Peterson shall provide school performance profiles that show school progress toward meeting the state’s challenging performance standards and provide individual students results and interpretation of results to parents. Assessment data will be disseminated in the following ways: . PTA meetings . Send home results by students . Individual parent-teacher conferences . Mail results to homes . Small group meetings . Grade-level meetings o Burgess Peterson shall hold grade level meetings to explain and acquaint parents with curriculum, forms of assessment, and proficiency levels that students are expected to meet. Copies of the 1st and 2nd semester syllabi are sent home to all parent/guardians. The syllabi outline the requirements for each semester. It also includes important dates, grading scales, tutorial schedule, conference schedule and other general information. Parents shall be provided with a mid-year evaluation that will indicate the child’s need, in order to be promoted to the next grade. o Burgess Peterson will provide opportunities for regular meetings to recommend suggestions, share experiences with other parents, and participate in decisions relating to the education of their children. Time will be allotted for parent interaction as well as a question/answer period.

Burgess-Peterson’s parent-teacher conferences provide opportunities for parents and teachers to

480 Clifton Street, S.E.,  Atlanta, GA 30316  (404) 802-3400 Office  (404) 371-4853 Fax interact and discuss student achievement, daily assignments, homework, attendance, and assessment results. Parents of targeted assistance students will have additional opportunities throughout the year to meet with their child’s teacher in an effort to improve academic performance.

 Shared Responsibilities for High Student Performance

o Compact- Burgess Peterson shall develop a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and the students will share in the responsibility for improved student achievement, and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high standards.

The compact shall include Burgess Peterson’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children served to meet the state’s student performance standards, and the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning.

o School’s Role- Burgess Peterson has the responsibility to teach all children and to include parents in reinforcing and enhancing the high quality of curriculum and instruction to meet the state’s student performance standards in the following ways: . Train parents to assist/monitor homework. . Provide information/training/materials and accountability of both home and school. . Provide information about how the State and System standards support and are aligned to the National Education Goals.

Burgess Peterson shall provide training for parent volunteers and match parent skills to identify and work to eliminate barriers to parental involvement and provide an inviting school environment.

Each grade level will identify two grade level parent volunteers.

Parents are encouraged to volunteer 1 hour each month in their child’s classroom. Provisions are made to collaborate with parents who are unable to physically visit the school but want to volunteer. Many websites contain ideas for encouraging parental involvement. The websites also contain useful information about parenting skills, how to develop student reading literacy, science literacy and math literacy. The sites also contain useful information about assessments and tips about how to improve student test preparedness and performance. PTA and Parental Involvement Committee members provide volunteer orientation and training. Parent surveys are utilized to determine their interests, talents, and availability to volunteer. The surveys also solicit input about workshop topics, preferred PTA times, and ways to help with homework. A Parent Center is located at the school in room B02. The parent center is equipped with computers with Internet access and a printer. A variety of printed materials, including the School Achievement Plan, testing calendar, school calendar, useful websites, dictionaries, children’s books, brochures and parent magazines are also located in the parent center. There is a consistent place and process for parent volunteers to sign-in and list the hours they volunteer. The center also functions as an informal gathering place for parents and volunteers to meet to share information.

480 Clifton Street, S.E.,  Atlanta, GA 30316  (404) 802-3400 Office  (404) 371-4853 Fax Parents are also encouraged to each lunch with their child whenever it is convenient. Invitations to attend/chaperone school field trips are extended as well.

Possible Barriers to Parental Involvement: . Economic Adversity . Past negative experiences with school . Educational level of parents

Teachers at Burgess Peterson shall send progress reports bi-quarterly to parents. Teachers should give happy grams, certificates, and make telephone calls for adequate student progress and encouragement. o Home’s Role- Each parent will be responsible for supporting their child’s learning by reading and being accountable for system and school procedures and rules found in school handbooks, bulletins, newsletters, compacts/contracts and by adapting similar rules at home.

Parents are encouraged to provide input for planning student instruction, serve on committees, become volunteers, observe classroom activities, be active in PTA, and participate in decision- making opportunities.

Parents are responsible for providing pertinent information to teachers that will affect the child’s learning such as: . Resources in the home . Change in family status . Health of child/family members . Child’s learning style

Parents are responsible for making the home an extension of school by: . Modeling reading . Providing a place, materials, and supplies for homework . Providing opportunities for two-way conversations . Becoming good listeners

Parents will provide information to the teacher concerning their child’s community home activities, home responsibilities, personal interests and hobbies, goals, culture and life styles.

Parents will return the following information to the school regarding their ability to volunteer/participate in school activities: . Barriers which prevent involvement (need of literacy training, work schedule, transportation, child care) . Availability and amount of time . Skills to offer

480 Clifton Street, S.E.,  Atlanta, GA 30316  (404) 802-3400 Office  (404) 371-4853 Fax