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HCE Title 1 Parent and Family Engagement Policy-effective January 17, 2020

Hunters Creek Elementary School

School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY

2019-2020

Title I Schoolwide School

Hunters Creek Elementary is North Carolina public school that services PreK-5th in its instructional program.  Hunters Creek Elementary is also a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) themed school in the Onslow County School System.  Recognizing that educating the whole child is a collaborative process, the staff at Hunters Creek Elementary School believes educating our children should be a continuous collaboration between the home, school, and the community.  To ensure parent and family engagement in the planning and implementation of the Title I program, the following activities will be implemented at Hunters Creek Elementary School.

 In regard to the Hunters Creek Elementary Parent and Family Engagement Policy, the activities listed are a minimum and additional activities can take place that are not mentioned in the policy. 

Written Policy

Hunters Creek Elementary staff members, parents and families will jointly develop a written Parent and Family Engagement Policy to be distributed annually to parents and families of all children.  As this is a new document created for the 2019-20 school year, this document will be distributed to parents and families by being sent home with students this year and being part of the school handbook and beginning of school paperwork in subsequent years.  It will be shared at intake meetings for new students and provided to parents as needed during their time at Hunters Creek Elementary School.    Review of the policy will occur annually at a designated Hunters Creek Elementary Strategic Planning team meeting and consider all district, state, and federal mandates as well as the school theme, demographic, and community needs.

 

Opportunities for Regular Public Meetings at Hunters Creek Elementary School

An Annual Fall Meeting will be held in conjunction with “Open House” to

  • Provide parents and families with an overview of the Title I Program
  • Inform parents and families about the school’s Title I Schoolwide designation
  • Encourage parent participation on the Hunters Creek Elementary Strategic Planning Team
  • Provide parents with information concerning grade level expectations
  • Share opportunities that are available for students to engage in STEM learning
  • Provide parents and families with information concerning parent and family engagement opportunities, assessment data, school performance profiles, and forms or methods of measuring students’ progress (if information is available at the day of the Annual Meeting)
  • To evaluate and/or make improvements on current program or upcoming activities.
  • To determine interest areas for parent education and family engagement activities.
  • To solicit input from parents and families in the design and implementation of the School Improvement Plan and Parent and Family Engagement policy for the upcoming year.

HCE Strategic Planning Team and Parent Advisory County Meetings Regular Title I Parenting Meetings and PreK Parent Committee Meetings

Family Engagement activities will be during the school year to provide continued information, support and resources for all parents and families.  Activities focused on the HCE school theme and academic programs will occur throughout the year.  Examples may include Global Holiday Celebration, Math/STEM Night, Read Across America Celebration, Global Passport Festival, and open house events.  Parents and families will be strongly encouraged to attend other school events and conferences, volunteer in classroom activities, and engage in family activities focused on academic learning at home.  For the HCE PreK program, parent committee meetings/classroom activities are held at the end of each unit throughout the school year.

Parents are recruited and encouraged to attend and participate in the Onslow County Schools District Parent Advisory Council as well as the Hunters Creek Elementary School Strategic Planning Team.

Training Opportunities

Training topics are determined by our needs assessment data and parent and family suggestions.  Surveys will be conducted to gage parent and family interests and needs.  Review of survey data will be done annually and specific training opportunities will be scheduled as appropriate.

  • Events such as Back to School Night, Step Up to Success Nights, and parent/student conferences will be scheduled so staff can explain state standards in curriculum and recent assessments, provide strategies to improve student achievement, and explain ways to monitor student progress, such as weekly folders, progress reports, report cards, phone communication, and conferences.
  • Parents and families will be notified in advance of the scheduled activities.
  • Parents and families may request additional meetings with staff members to address questions or comments.
  • Instructional plans and assessment information will also be communicated to parents and families through social media applications, weekly planners, and teacher websites.

Coordination with Other Programs

We will meet our goals of establishing liaisons and maintaining communication with other school programs and other related external agencies and organizations through collaboration and coordination with individuals in those groups and through the following actions:

  • Notifying parents and families of assistance from outside agencies, such as food banks, community organizations, recreation/sports/arts opportunities, Boy and Girl Scouts, Toys for Tots, the public library and summer programs.
  • Inviting participation by adults from the community into school assemblies and programs with notification via flyers and social media as appropriate.
  • Enabling distribution of food donated by local organization that fill backpacks.
  • Hosting Clinical Teacher Interns and Clinical Nursing students from East Carolina University, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and the University of Mount Olive, as available, in our classrooms and school to help prepare them as highly qualified teachers and nurses.
  • Supporting the work of the Military Student Liaison.

Opportunities for LEP and SWD Parents

Once a need is identified, we will attempt to assist parents and families with limited English proficiency and parents and families with disabilities in the opportunity to participate in their children’s educational curriculum and environment.

  • Spanish version of district forms, as well as “Math and Science Connection” will be provided to assist with school access.
  • HCE developed forms/documents to be translated into Spanish as needed/appropriate.
  • The EC Department provides Spanish versions of all forms and documents.
  • All parents will be invited to participate on the HCE Strategic Planning Team and are welcome at school at all times.

Coordination and Integrating Parent Involvement

At Hunters Creek Elementary School, we coordinate our programs and activities with the following staff and programs to support parent and family participation in the education of their children:

  • Head Start
  • English Language Learners/EL District leaders
  • School nurse, counselor, military liaison, social worker
  • Parent Teacher Association or organization
  • Public preschool
  • Onslow County Schools/Preschool Information Transition Fair