Title 1

Title I is designed to help academically non-proficient children meet challenging content and student performance standards. Title I provides financial assistance through state educational agencies to local school districts. Funds are provided from the federal government to schools based on the school’s percentage of economically disadvantaged families. All students are eligible to participate in the Title I program after the district/school is identified and funded. In the Jim Thorpe Area School District, the purpose is to provide reading and math intervention to prevent our students from failing and to prepare them to meet the Language Arts and Mathematics Standards adopted by the State of Pennsylvania. The school district must use the Title I funds to supplement, not supplant, available funds in the identified schools and grade level programs.

The Jim Thorpe Area School District uses the Title I funds it receives to provide services to children in Reading and Mathematics. The funds received are used to employ certified reading and mathematics specialists. Our program provides supplemental education to students in reading and mathematics using research-based reading programs. A portion of the Jim Thorpe Area School District’s Title I funds are allocated to children attending non-public schools, parent involvement, and professional development.

District Wide Parent & Family Engagement Policy 2023-2024

PART I. GENERAL GUIDELINES

All Local Education Agencies (LEA) receiving Title I funds are required under Section 1116 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to develop a written Parent and Family Engagement Policy for the LEA. The ESSA states that the LEA Parent and Family Engagement Policy must be jointly developed with parents and family members, incorporated into the LEA plan, and distributed to parents of the participating children in a format and language that parent can understand. Such programs, activities and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents and family members of participating children.

PART II. DESCRIPTION OF HOW DISTRICT WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED DISTRICT WIDE PARENT & FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

1. The _Jim Thorpe Area School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district wide parent and family engagement plan under section 1116(a)(2)(A) of ESSA:

Annual Title I Parent Meetings in the fall with discussion on Pa Core Standards, current curricula and assessments
Title I Parent Conferences in the fall and winter—in person, by phone, email or virtually
District Title I Parent Council Meetings/Policy Review
On-going written or electronic notices and Annual End-of-Year Survey and Summary Report
Conferences at any time upon parent request
Title I input at Tiers 2 and 3 intervention meetings
Meetings available through Google Meets, Zoom, etc.

2. The _Jim Thorpe Area School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116(a)(2)(A) of ESSA:

Press releases stating the status of School Performance Profile (SPP)/Future Ready PA Index
District Report Card posted online by Pennsylvania Department of Education
District website provides information in a clear manner and provides links to state and federal sites
District and/or Building Parent Meetings (either live, virtual or hybrid) in which SPP and other matters are discussed—Meet the Teacher Night, Board Meetings/Notices, PTA Communications, Principal’s Newsletter

3. The _Jim Thorpe Area School District will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family engagement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance (ESSA 1116(a)(2)(B)):

Allocation of funds in Title I Grant application for parent involvement
Scholarship may be awarded for a parent representative to attend the annual State Parent Advisory Council Conference, if held
Provide Reading and Math/STEAM Family Nights (either live, virtual or hybrid)
Posting of policies, activities and suggestions for successful home-based strategies on district website
Information and provision for annual order from the PA Title I Parental Information and Resource Center
District sponsored Summer School
Reading and Math after school programs

4. The _Jim Thorpe Area School District will coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies with other federal, state and local laws and programs (ESSA 1116(a)(2)(C)):

Midwestern IU Parent Resource Center
PA Title I State Parent Advisory Council (SPAC)
S.H.I.N.E.
Carbon County Right From the Start (CCRFTS)/Parents As Teachers
Head Start
Jim Thorpe Pre-K Counts
PTA
Alert Now
School Wide Positive Behavior Support
Elementary Student Assistance Program
Summer Program sponsored by the Rotary held at Memorial Park
Carbon County Environmental Education Center
Dimmick Memorial Library

5. The _Jim Thorpe Area School District will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all schools. The evaluation will include identifying (1)barriers to greater participation by parents and family members (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); (2) the needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; (3) strategies to support successful school and family interactions (ESSA 1116 (a)(2)(D)(i-iii)).

Annual Title I Parent Survey sent in Title I Envelopes
Summary report of Parent Survey sent to parents
Ongoing email, phone, written and virtual/digital correspondences kept on file by Title I staff
Parent meetings offered at varying times and dates with record of attendance filed
Translate policies and documents into languages other than English, as needed

6. The Jim Thorpe Area School District will use the findings of the annual evaluation to design evidence based strategies from more effective parent and family engagement by:

Reviewing/revising the district and school Parent and Family Engagement
policies annually
Parent survey sent out to parents annually
Summary report from the survey results sent home in final report card and/or
posted on district website

7. The Jim Thorpe Area School District will involve parents and family members in the activities of the school which may include:

A parent/family advisory board committee
Reviewing/revising the district and school Parent and Family Engagement
policies annually
Family Math/STEAM and Reading nights

PART III. USE OF FUNDS

If the Jim Thorpe Area School District reserves $500,000 or more and are required to set aside 1%, funds shall be used to carry out activities and strategies consistent with our Parent and Family Engagement Policy, including not less than one of the following:

Supporting schools and nonprofit organizations in providing professional development for Jim Thorpe Area School District and school personnel regarding parent and family engagement strategies, which may be provided jointly to teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, early childhood educators, and parents and family members (ESSA, 1116(3)(D)(I)(i)).
Supporting programs that reach parents and family members at home, in the community, and at school (ESSA, 1116(3)(D)(I)(ii)).
Disseminating information on best practices focused on parent and family engagement, especially best practices for increasing the engagement of economically disadvantaged parents and family members (ESSA, 1116(3)(D)(I)(iii)).
Collaborating, or providing subgrants to schools to enable such schools to collaborate with, community-based or other organizations or employers with a record of success in improving and increasing parent and family engagement (ESSA, 1116(3)(D)(I)(iv)).
Engaging in any other activities and strategies that the Jim Thorpe Area School District determines are appropriate and consistent with its Parent and Family Engagement Policy (ESSA, 1116(3)(D)(v)).

PART IV. ADOPTION

This District wide Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents/family members of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by the Parent Policy Council Meeting Records.

The _Jim Thorpe Area School District adopted the initial policy. The school district will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children.

Revised and updated 5/10/2023