P1230
ST. LOUIS BOARD
OF EDUCATION POLICY
COMMUNITY RELATIONS
PARTICIPATION BY THE PUBLIC
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
The board of education believes the education of students is a shared responsibility. This responsibility is shared by the school, parent/family, and the community. We are committed to making the parent/family and the community a part of the educational process of our students. Our mission is to cultivate activities that will encourage the home and the community to take an active role in the education of their children and our students.
To this end, the board recognizes and adopts the following (6) goals:
· Promote regular, two-way, meaningful communication between home and school.
· Promote and support responsible parenting.
· Recognize the fact that parents/families play an integral role in assisting their children to learn.
· Promote a safe and open atmosphere for parents/families to visit the school that their children attend and actively solicit parent/family support and assistance for school programs.
· Include parents as full partners in the decisions affecting their children and families.
· Use available community resources to strengthen and promote school programs, family practices, and the achievement of students.
The Plan to implement these goals is as follows:
1. Promote regular, two-way, meaningful communication between home and school.
· School staff at the direction of the principal will make reasonable efforts to contact the home of every student assigned to their school prior to the start of the school year
· Teachers will make reasonable efforts to contact the home of every student assigned to their class within the first two weeks of the school year.
· Principals, teachers, school social worker, family parent resources specialist or other school staff will attempt to visit the home of every student they are unable to contact by phone.
Parental Involvement (continued) P1230
2. Promote and support responsible parenting.
· To the extent possible each school will have one workshop per year that deals directly with parenting skills, and at least one workshop that will explain and help parents understand the district’s curriculum.
· Schools will offer resources to parents to help their children improve academically at home.
· To the extent possible, each school will have a parent resource room, which will have parenting materials as well as instructional materials for each grade level in the school.
· Each school in the district is encouraged to have an active Parent Teacher Organization (P.T.O.).
3. Recognize the fact that parents/families play an integral role in assisting their children to learn.
· Schools are encouraged to involve parents/families in the planning of school-wide programs and the development and implementation of any new school policies or procedures.
· In developing school calendars, schools will consider including nights and events to help bring parents/families into the school. (For example, curriculum night, reading night, family health care night, bingo night, parenting skills night, etc.) Collaborative effort will be used to create calendars that will serve the needs of each individual school.
4. Promote a safe and open atmosphere for parents/families to visit the school that their children attend and actively solicit parent/family support and assistance for school programs.
· Schools will provide parents/families with a copy of the district’s policy on student discipline and attendance, as well as any school specific policies (uniform policy, school code of conduct, etc.).
· Schools will be encouraged to provide parents/families with a copy of their child’s teacher schedule. Teacher schedules will list the best time for parents/families to call or visit the school to conference with parents during the school day.
5. Include parents as full partners in the decisions affecting their children and families.
· The district will inform parents/families and the community of any changes in the districts curriculum or discipline policy and give parents an opportunity to provide feedback.
Parental Involvement (continued) P1230
6. Use available community resources to strengthen and promote school programs, family practices, and the achievement of students.
· School staff and other district staff will be encouraged to actively recruit members of the community and businesses in the community to take an active role in the education of all students in the district.
· Schools may provide parents/families and the community with a list of volunteer opportunities in the school.
Each school will evaluate overall parental involvement for the school year. The board staff will use the school’s evaluation to make improvements in an effort to enhance the district’s parental involvement policy.
To further implement this policy, the schools will provide information in a format accessible to all members of the public, including individuals with disabilities. Further, all school and district information shall be provided for the parent in a timely manner and in a language parents can understand.
References:
Legal: Section 167.700 RSMo.
Policy adopted: February 14, 2006