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Parent & Family Engagement Policy

1. McDonald Elementary will reach out to all parents and family members and implement programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents and family members in progams consistent with the requirements of ESSA Section 1116. Such programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.

  • ParentSquare, Campus social media and website postings, and Skyward Family Access will be used to keep parents abreast of the latest information concerning their children's progress.
  • Teachers will engage in and document positive parent communication on a regular basis.
  • At least once a year, face-to-face parent-teacher conferences will be scheduled for parents of elementary students (PK-5). If the face-to-face format is not possible for the parent, the parent may choose to communicate by phone or email.
  • The campus may utilize a virtual format such as Google Meet to conduct parent-teacher conferences when in-person meetings aren't doable. 
  • At transition points such as kindergarten to elementary and elementary to junior high, McDonald Elementary will invite parents to transition activities (Meet the Teacher, PTO Meetings) to help familiarize students and parents with expectations at the next level. 
  • McDonald Elementary will host a back-to-school activity prior to school opening, at which families can meet their children's teachers, tour the school building, and receive information on activities at the school.

2. McDonald Elementary receives Title 1, Part A funds. Our goal is to plan and implement effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance. Therefore, McDonald Elementary will develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy. 

  • A parent survey requesting input from parents on meaningful parent and family involvement activities will be conducted each year.
  • McDonald Elementary's Family Engagement (PFE) Policy for the upcoming school year will be evaluated by the Campus Site Based Decision Making Committee (SBDM) each spring.
  • At a SBDM meeting in the fall semester, the committee (consisting of parents, community members, and staff) will use the findings from the spring evaluation, the spring parent survey, and current committee input to develop the PFE policy for the year. All parents of enrolled students will be invited to this meeting to allow for additional input.
  • Afterwards, the newly developed PFE policy will be posted on the Campus website. A social media posting will be made advising parents that the PFE policy has been posted on the website and that a written copy of the policy is available upon request. Additionally, copies of the policy will be available on campus.

3. McDonald Elementary will involve parents and family members in jointly developing the Campus Improvement Plan (CIP) under section 1112 and the development of support and improvement plans under paragraphs (1) and (2) or section 1111 (d). Section 1116 (a)(2)(A).

  • McDonald Elementary will include parents on all decision-making and advisory committees, properly training them for the areas in which they will serve (e.g., school safety planning, family/community involvement, etc.).
  • This enlistment of parents for membership on McDonald Elementary committees will include membership to develop the CIP. The committee will meet at least two times per year, wherein it will assist in developing the Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA), developing the Campus Improvement Plan (CIP), monitoring formative assessments of the CIP strategies/activities, and eventually conduct a summative assessment/evaluation of the CIP. The committee will hold at least one public meeting after receipt of the Texas Academic Performance Report, and additional parental input for the plan will be sought at that time.

4. McDonald Elementary will provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build capacity in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance, which may include meaningful consultation with employers, business leaders, and philanthropic organizations, or individuals with expertise in effectively engaging parents and family members in education.

  • McDonald Elementary will maintain campus-business partnerships to provide students experiential learning opportunities.
  • McDonald Elementary will connect students and families to service-learning projects in the community.
  • Campus staff will provide a brief overview for parents of the required state assessments including information related to the state's academic content standards, the state's student academic achievement standards, the state and local academic assessments, including alternate assessments, the requirements of Title 1, how to monitor their child's progress, and how to work with educators.
  • Family nights for reading and mathematics will be held at campuses to provide materials, resources, and training regarding how parents can help students with reading and/or math content.
  • Special Population parent and family nights and workships will be offered and will provide parents with materials and resources to increase student achievement.
  • The district will provide information for teachers regarding best practices for reaching out and effectively communicating with parents, as well as how to work with parents as partners to strengthen the home/school connection.

5. McDonald Elementary will coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies under Title 1, Part A, to the extent feasible and appropriate, with other relevant Federal, State, and local laws and programs, including public preschool 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. 

  • Through campus-community partnerships, McDonald Elementary will facilitate famlies' access to community-based programs (e.g. health care and human services) to ensure that families have resources to be involved in their children's education.
  • McDonald Elementary will invite community partners to share resources at student/parent events.
  • When possible, parent involvement meetings will be coordinated, so that parents don't have to choose which meeting to attend. 

6. McDonald Elementary will conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all schools served under this part, Section 1116 (a)(2)(D). This includes identifying:

  • barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by this section (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 needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and 
  • strategies to support successful school and family interactions.
  • McDonald Elementary's Parent and Family Engagement policy for the 25-26 school year shall be evaluated at a SBDM meeting in Spring 2026. All parents of enrolled students will be invited to this meeting in provide input. Barriers to greater participation by parents in activites (as indicated above), needs of parents to assist with the learning of their children, and strategies to support succesfsful school/family interactions will be discussed. 

7. McDonald Elementary will involve parents in the activities of the schools served under this part, which may include establishing a parent advisory board comprised of a sufficient number and representative group of parents or family members served by the local educatinoal agency to adequately represent the needs of the population for the purposes of developing, revising, and reviewing the parent and family engagement policy and provide such other reasonable support for parent involvement activites under this section as parents may request.

  • McDonald Elementary has a campus PTO that is led by parents. Title 1, Part A information is disseminated at the campuses through their Annual Title 1 meetings. To solicit parent participation at the Annual Title 1 Meeting, publicity concerning the annual meetings will be distributed to all parent-led organizations. Parent invitations for the annual Title 1 meetings will also be sent to parents via ParentSquare, Smore Newsletter, and posted on social media accounts and offered at two different, yet convenient times for parents.
  • McDonald Elementary shall provide other reasonable support for parental involvement activities. Parents can make such requests by contacting the campus principal's office by email, in person, or by phone. Support can be translation services, physical access, printed materials, childcare, etc.

8. To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership with the school, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, McDonald Elementary shall:

  • provide assistance to parents of children served by the local education agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the challenging State academic standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of the parent and family engagement program, and how to monitor a child's progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children; Section 1116 (e)(1)
    • McDonald Elementary will offer family nights to inform families of the State academic standards of children are expected to meet in each grade level. These workshops will include how the campuses assist students in meeting these challengeing standards. 
    • Parents will be advised of how to monitor their child's progress through weekly grades, progress reports, and nine-week grades.
    • Parents will be asked to provide suggestions for educators on how educators might improve instruction to raise achievement levels for their children.
    • The requirements of the parent and family engagement program will be discussed at the annual Title 1 meetings at the campuses.
  • provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children's achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright piracy), as appropriate, to foster parental involvement. 
    • McDonald Elementary will provide workshops and materials for parents on specific subject matter/curriculum at the appropriate grade level for their children and information as to what parents can be doing to support their child's learning.
    • McDonald Elementary will post on social media and/or print suggestions for parents on home conditions (such as plenty of rest) that support learning at each grade level and provide information for parents on homework policies and on monitoring and supporting student work at home. 
    • McDonald Elementary will provide information for parents on technology usage/abuse by students including copyright piracy.
  • Educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school.
    • McDonald Elementary will solicit parent input on teacher training inlcuding the value of parent involvement through a spring survey. 
    • The campus will provide staff training on the "value and utility of the contributions of parents as equal partners with the teacher in the education of their child" during the fall semester.
    • Campus personnel may attend parent and family engagement training at Region X ESC when provided and/or other providers when available and practicable.
  • Ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. 
    • McDonald Elementary will utilize translation serves and ParentSquare to ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to parents in their home language.

9. The McDonald Elementary Parent and Family Engagement Policy has bee developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title 1, Part A programs, as evidenced by attendance sign-in sheets or other documentation of virtual meetings.

This policy will be in effect from September 1, 2025 through August 30, 2026. The campus will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title 1, Part A children by posting it on the district and campus websites on or before October 1, 2025, and making hard copies available upon request.