Happy ISD
Parent and Family Engagement Policy ESSA Section 1116
2020-2021

1. Happy ISD will reach out to all parents and family members and implement programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents and family members in programs 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. Section 1116 (a)(1)
   
   Happy ISD is committed to the education of the children in our community.  We feel parent involvement is an essential piece in ensuring that our students are successful in school.  We believe that when parents are more involved in the academic process, school becomes more of a priority for their children.  Happy ISD’s motto is Happy Schools, Where Excellence is Expected, Respected and Rewarded.  This expression is not only intended to be utilized within our school, but is something we hope resonates in our community.  It is our mission to produce a community of life-long learners.  It is our pledge to maintain a good line of communication from school to homes and our goal to provide ample opportunities for parental involvement throughout each school year.

Parents are invited to participate in a variety of meetings and activities over the course of the school year.  An Open House in August to provide parents the opportunity to formally visit their child’s classroom to become better informed about grade level expectation and their student’s academic progress.  Training on the use Parent Portal is provided by the campus secretary so parents can track student progress.

Due to the hectic and varying schedules of our school family, effort is made to provide training opportunities to parents via links on the Region 16 Education Service Center and Statewide Parent and Family Engagement Initiative websites making information accessible twenty-four hours a day.  Parents will be invited to participate in a parent-teacher conference at least twice a year to discuss their child’s progress.  Teachers may receive parents in the morning, during the school day and/or afterschool to accommodate as many reciprocating parents as possible.

2. Happy ISD receives Title I, 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, Happy ISD will develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy. Section 1116 (a)(2)

• The policy shall be incorporated into the local educational agency’s plan developed under section 1112 (District Improvement Plan, DIP),
• The policy will establish the LEA’s expectations and objectives for meaningful parent and family involvement.

Happy ISD annually invites parents to participate in review and revision meetings to examine and discuss our Distract Improvement Plan and Parent and Family Engagement Policy.  The district’s parent council consistently reviews school policy in an organized, ongoing, and timely way.  The district holds Title I meetings by the end of September each school year to review with parents Title I school requirements and the Parent and Family Engagement Policies.  In addition, the principal gives parents updates on school test data, adequate yearly progress status, and also facilitate a review of the school’s improvement plan.

3. Happy ISD will: involve parents and family members in jointly developing the local educational agency plan (DIP) under section 1112, and the development of support and improvement plans under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 1111(d). Section 1116 (a)(2)(A)
   
   Happy ISD Improvement Plans are updated regularly but addressed specifically at beginning, middle, and end of year. Parents, community members, and business partners are key stakeholders in the development. 

4. Happy ISD will provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of all participating schools within the local educational agency, 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. Section 1116 (a)(2)(B)

5. Happy ISD will coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies under Title I, 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; Examples of parent engagement strategies include, but are not limited to: Meet the Teacher, Open House, Literacy Night, Math Night, Parent/Teacher conferences. Section 1116 (a)(2)(C) and Section 1116 (e)(4)

6. Happy ISD 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, including identifying— Section 1116 (a)(2)(D)

• 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;

Such evaluation will take place through online survey at the end of the year and will be accessible through the district website.

7. Happy ISD will use the findings of such evaluation to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parent and family engagement policies; and Section 1116 (a)(2)(E)
   
   Faculty and staff members will be cognizant of educational research on parental involvement.  Parent input will be solicited throughout the year in meetings, through surveys and during one-on-one conferences.  Information derived will be utilized by the school’s Administrative Team to strengthen the tie between school and home for the purpose of increasing student achievement.  Happy ISD will provide a multitude of opportunities for parents to become involved in our school over the course of the year in order to take full advantage of the benefits that come with active parent involvement.

8. Happy ISD 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 educational 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 parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request.  Section 1116 (a)(2)(F) and Section 1116 (e)(14)
   
   Some parent groups include All School Booster Club and PTO. Information about upcoming meetings will be shared through the campus’ Remind. 

9. To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, Happy ISD shall: Section 1116 (e)

1. providing assistance to parents of children served by the local educational 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)
   
   Happy ISD communicates with parents often the state’s curricular and assessment expectations, school wide requirements in relation to the delivery of instruction, the techniques utilized to evaluate student work, and individual classroom rituals and routines pertinent to the academic success of our students.  We use a variety of communicative techniques such as our School Handbook, School Website, Weekly Updates, Communication Folders, Parent Portal, Parent/Teacher Conferences, SST Meeting, IEP Meetings, individual notes/calls home, Family Events, Surveys (paper and phone), Open House, Back to School Night, Mid-Term Progress Reports, Report Cards, benchmark results, fluency scores, NWEA MAP reports, school sign, Happy ISD Calendar, etc. to solicit parent participation and deliver important information in hopes of creating productive dialogue between home and school concerning improved student achievement.
   
   The education of a student is not only the responsibility of the teacher, but also of the parent and the child.  For this reason, a Parent-Teacher-Student Compact has been developed and is utilized at the campuses.  This document serves as an agreement between all parties that they will adhere to certain duties and responsibilities to ensure the success of the student.  It is reviewed and signed by all at the beginning of each school year.  The signed compact is kept by the campus and used in student and parent conferences to remind each participant of their responsibilities.  These compacts are also used to motivate students and parents to become more involved in the educational process and to let parents know that they are equal partners in their child’s learning.

2. providing 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; Section 1116 (e)(2)
   
   Parents of all students, regardless of English proficiency, mobility, or disability, are considered to be an important part of our learning community.  All parents are afforded the opportunity to be involved in their child’s school environment and achievement.  For this reason, if a special need is identified that would help a parent to more fully understand the education process and the academic progress of his/her child, assistance will be provided to the parent.  This type of support often comes in the form of interpreted school documents in a parent’s primary language, having an interpreter on hand to translate important information at school wide meetings and events, working with an interpreter to provide translation in parent/teacher conferences, making available parent resources in English and Spanish, participating in faculty and staff training to better understand the culture of the students served, providing easier accessibility to parents and/or students with disabilities, etc.

3. educating teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and 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; Section 1116 (e)(3)
   
   Teachers are well trained through professional development regarding the value and contributions of parents during inservice on the upcoming school year. 

4. ensuring 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; Section 1116 (e)(5)
   
   Due to the volume of paper that is sent home each year from school to home, written information is purposefully as compact and concise as possible.  Happy ISD has made it a practice to send home school correspondences in English with the option of Spanish to ensure all information related to our district is understandable.  A system translator assists our school with oral communication when necessary.  Documents that are provided to parents and families in both English and Spanish are the Parent and Family Engagement Policies, School-Parent Compact, the Parent’s Right to Know letter and Parent and Family Engagement newsletters.

Signed by Authorized Official:

Ray Keith