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Parent Involvement Policy

Parent Info

The staff of Sundown Elementary School recognizes that parents/guardians are their children's first and most influential teachers and that continued parental involvement in the education of children contributes greatly to student achievement and a positive school environment. 

In order to engage parents/guardians positively in their children's education, the principal or designee shall:

  1. Ensure that teachers provide frequent reports to parents/guardians on their children's progress and hold parent-teacher conferences at least once per year with parents/guardians of elementary school students  (if necessary and/or requested by parent).
  2. Provide opportunities for parents/guardians to observe classroom activities and to volunteer in their child's classroom
  3. Provide information about parent involvement opportunities through school, class newsletters, school newsletter (posted on the district web’s site), the district's web site, and other written or electronic communications
  4. Develop mechanisms to encourage parent/guardian input on school issues and programs
  5. To the extent practicable, provide full opportunities for the participation of parents/guardians with limited English proficiency, parents/guardians with disabilities, and parents/guardians of migrant children, including providing information and school reports required under 20 USC 6311(h) in a format and language such parents/guardians can understand
  6. Encourage greater parent/guardian participation by offering a flexible number of meetings and adjusting meeting schedules when practicable to accommodate parent/guardian needs
  7. Build the capacity of the school and parents/guardians for strong parent involvement by:
    1. Assisting parents/guardians in understanding such topics as the state's academic content standards and academic achievement standards, state and local academic assessments, the requirements of Title I, and how to monitor a child's progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children
    2. Providing support to help parents/guardians work with their children to improve their children's achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parent involvement
    3. Educating teachers, student services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents/guardians, in the value and utility of parent/guardian contributions and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents/guardians as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent/guardian programs, and build ties between parents/guardians and the schools
    4. Informing parents/guardians and parent organizations of the existence and purpose of parent information and resource centers in the state that provide training, information, and support to parents/guardians of participating students
  8. Engage parents/guardians positively in their children's education by helping them develop skills to use at home that support their children's academic efforts at school and their children's development as responsible members of society (Education Code 11502, 11504) through such activities as:
    1. Providing parents/guardians with information regarding ways to create an effective study environment at home and to encourage good study habits
    2. Encouraging parents/guardians to monitor their children's school attendance, homework completion, and television viewing
    3.  Building consistent and effective communication between the home and school so that parents/guardians may know when and how to assist their children in support of classroom learning activities (Education Code 11502, 11504)
  9. Jointly develop with the parents/guardians of a school-parent compact that outlines how parents/guardians, the entire school staff, and students will share responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents/guardians will build a partnership to help students achieve state standards. This compact shall address:
    1. The school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables participating students to achieve the state’s student academic achievement standards
    2. Ways in which parents/guardians will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning, such as monitoring attendance, homework completion, and television viewing; volunteering in the classroom; and participating, as appropriate, in decisions related to their children’s education and the positive use of extracurricular time
    3. The importance of communication between teachers and parents/guardians on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum:
      1. Reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s classroom, and observation of classroom activities
      2. Frequent reports to parents/guardians on their children’s progress
      3. Parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, at least annually (as needed or requested), during which the compact shall be discussed as it relates to the student’s achievement
  10. Convene an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents/guardians of participating students shall be invited and encouraged to attend, in order to inform parents/guardians of their school’s participation in Title I and to explain Title I requirements and the right of parents/guardians to be involved.
  11. Involve parents/guardians in an organized, ongoing, and timely way in the planning; review; and improvement of school programs, including Title I programs; including the planning, review, and improvement of the school's parent involvement policy and the joint development of the school’s Single Plan for Student Achievement.
  12. If the school’s Single Plan for Student Achievement is not satisfactory to the parents/guardians of participating students, submit any parent/guardian comments when the school makes the plan available to the district.
  13. The principal or designee, jointly with parents/guardians, shall annually review and update the school's parent involvement policy to meet the changing needs of parents/guardians and the school.  (20 USC 6318)
  14. All school organizations will communicate with parents through ALL modes of communication.
  15. All volunteers must have a TB screening or test on file and be finger printed through the Westside Union School District.

For additional District information about volunteering, please click here.