Statement
of Purpose
DeSoto West Middle School (WMS) is dedicated to the success of all
students. The faculty and staff believe in the importance of having our
families as vital partners in the education of their children. At WMS, we
believe that family engagement is essential to the success of our children and
welcome the opportunity to work toward establishing a working relationship with
our families.
As a campus, we are
committed to:
·
Respecting families as
partners in the education of their children and honoring their role as first
and life-long teachers; increasing the capacity of our school personnel to work
in partnership with their families
·
Expecting high academic
achievement for all students
·
Promoting family engagement
through site-based leadership and partnered decision-making
·
Fostering a welcoming
and responsive environment for all family members
·
Establishing and
promoting open communication as a source of information and trust between the WMS
faculty and staff and the families we serve
·
Providing the means,
whenever possible, for the participation of families with barriers to
participation that include, but are not limited to, limited English
proficiency, disabilities, or migratory status
·
Informing families if their
children have been taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks by a teacher
who is not highly qualified within the meaning of the term in section 200.56 of
the Title I Final Regulations (67 Fed. Reg. 71710, December 2, 2002)
As a campus, we adopt the following definition
of “family involvement” when developing strategies and programs to promote
family engagement (adapted from the statutory definition of “parental
involvement”, where “parent” has been replaced by “family”.).
Family
involvement means the participation of family members in regular, two-way, and
meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school
activities, including ensuring:
(A) that families play an integral role in
assisting their child’s learning
(B) that families are encouraged to be actively
involved in their child’s education at school
(C) that families are full partners in their
child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on
advisory committees to assist in the education of their child
(D) the carrying out of other activities as
described in section 1118 of the ESEA (Elementary School Education Act).
DMS commitment to providing a means for this
meaningful two-way communication includes, but is not limited to: e-mail, school and individual teacher phone
extensions and voice mail boxes, school and individual teacher web sites, daily
conference periods available to schedule meeting times with teachers,
communication in a language understood by families whenever practicable,
faculty and staff training to enhance school-home partnerships, commitment to
responding to family inquiries within a 24 hour period whenever practicable,
etc.
Family
Involvement in Developing the Policy
The Campus Education Improvement Committee (CEIC) will review
and revise the Family Engagement Policy.
The CEIC will be comprised of families, teachers, staff members,
administrators, and community members.
The opportunity to serve on this committee will be publicized and
representative of the diversity among our families served.
In addition, if needed, all family members of existing students
will be invited to participate in a review and revision process at the end of
every academic year (April-May) in preparation for the following year. Options for input can include: day and
evening meeting times, take home feedback forms to submit, etc.
Family
Engagement Opportunities
DMS values the formal and informal partnership of families in
their children’s education. There are many ways families can make significant
contributions to student success at home, at school, and in general. We seek to
coordinate and integrate family engagement opportunities with other programs of
the school. In addition, DMS will seek
to increase both the school’s and families’ capacity to increase family
involvement. These include, but are not
limited to participation in the following activities:
Meet the Teacher Night Parent
Education Workshops PTA meetings/events Field Day
Parent math/science Nights Drama/choir
performances Volunteer Trainings Holiday
Parties
Open House Coffee
with the Counselors Watch D.O.G.S. Dads Field Trips
Reservation of Funds
DMS will set aside at least 1% of its Title I funds for the
purpose of supporting its family engagement program. The administration will
consult with the CEIC regarding the use of these funds designated for family
engagement.
Annual
Meetings
DMS will hold Meet the
Teacher/Curriculum Night during the first few weeks of the school year. Here:
1.
the Title I program
will be described and school performance information will be shared
2.
the Family Engagement
Policy will be distributed, discussed, and reviewed
3.
school curriculum and
forms of academic assessment used to measure children’s progress will be
discussed
4.
the proficiency levels
students are expected to achieve will be reviewed
5.
opportunities for
family engagement will be presented and explained. Family members will be encouraged to express
interest in serving in decision-making bodies of the school, including the
CEIC.
Additional Title I meetings will be held throughout the year at
varying times and all families are welcome and encouraged to attend; in
addition, the campus principal will hold a brown bag lunch to discuss topics
associated with being a Title I campus during the first nine weeks of school. Suggestions
made and input received during these meetings will be considered in
decision-making throughout the year and at practicable times based on the
nature of the suggestions/input. Families
will be informed about the meetings by email, school web site, school Facebook
page, school messenger, newsletters (including the weekly “Trail Mix” provided
by the campus principal), and/or notices sent home with students, etc.
School-Home
Compact
DMS will work with the
CEIC to annually develop, review, and revise the school-home compact. This
compact will identify the responsibilities of the school to provide high-level
curriculum and instruction, and the expectations of the parents to provide
support in their child’s learning. The compacts will be distributed on the
school website and/or sent home with students, and will be discussed at
parent-teacher (P-T) conferences (at the first P-T conference for 5th
grade students).
Evaluation
With the involvement of families,
DMS will conduct an annual evaluation of the content and success of the school
family engagement policy on the level of parent participation and perception.
This evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by
families. The school will use evaluation findings to design strategies for more
effective family engagement programming, and to revise, if necessary, its
family engagement policies. Evaluation procedures include the following:
·
input from the campus CEIC
and its members
·
annually survey families
to determine the level of participation and to identify barriers that have
prevented participation (Annual Family Satisfaction Survey with hard copy and
online formats being made available in a language understood by families whenever
practicable);
·
annually use survey
results, volunteer data base, and other resources as baseline data for the
upcoming year (Analysis used in making changes from year to year);
·
establish a family
engagement goal for the upcoming school year;
·
develop and implement
strategies to increase family engagement based on evaluation results.
Conclusion
DMS is committed to the
success of all students. We will work together with our families and community
to monitor the effectiveness of our Family Engagement and Title I programs with
the goal of providing excellence in education for each of our students.
Adoption
This Family Engagement
Policy has been developed jointly with, and greed upon with, families of CTIS (a
campus-wide Title I program provider), as evidenced by family invitations and
responses, suggestions for changes from
the Family Engagement Specialist based on state requirements, CEIC meeting
agenda and associated feedback, and signatures below.
This Family Engagement
Policy was adopted by DMS on August 28th_, 2018 and will be in effect
for the duration of the 2018-2019 school year.
The school will distribute this policy to all families on or before
September 9, 2013.
________________________________________ __________________
DMS Representative Date
________________________________________ __________________
DMS Family Representative Date