In support of strengthening student academic achievement, the Achievement House Cyber Charter School receives Title I, Part A funds. Title I is a federally funded program designed to improve educational opportunities by providing aid to elementary and secondary education. The intent of Title I is to expand learning opportunities while supplementing basic skills instruction in reading and math. This program serves students who have need of improving their reading and/or math skills. As part of this program, we must develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parental involvement policy that contains information required by section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (school wide parental involvement policy). The policy establishes the LEA’s (Local Educational Agency) expectations for parental involvement and describes how the LEA will implement a number of specific parental involvement activities, and is incorporated into the LEA’s plan submitted to the State educational agency (SEA).
The goals of the Title I program are to:
- Develop positive attitudes towards reading/language arts and math;
- Individualize reading/language arts and math instruction according to student needs;
- Increase reading/language arts and math achievement;
- Increase student self-esteem;
- Involve children with parent(s) in reading/language arts and math activities at school and at home; and
- Provide opportunities for parent engagement in their child’s education.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
The Achievement House Cyber Charter School is committed to the goal of providing quality education for every student within the district and recognizes that some students may need the extra assistance available through the Title I Program. It also recognizes the extremely important role a parent plays in the educational success of a student. As such, this School Parent Involvement Policy has been established to promote parental involvement within the school.
PARENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE (PAC)
The Achievement House Cyber Charter School recognizes that one of the best methods to maintain positive communication with parents, and to establish sound public relations, is through temporary Parent Advisory Committees. These committees will be appointed when needed for specific time and purpose, and will be under the supervisory control of the CEO or designee. The PAC will help with the planning, reviewing, and improvement of the Title I program.TYPES OF PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
Parents can become involved with their child’s education in many ways. The Achievement House Cyber Charter School values the at-home contributions of families, and those that take place at in the cyber school environment. Reading to students at home, helping with homework, and discussing the day’s activities over the dinner table are as important as volunteering at school. We believe that educating children is a team effort, so the Achievement House Cyber Charter School will work to assist parents in understanding the academic standards and assessments, help parents work with their child(ren) to raise achievement, and plan activities throughout the year for families.TITLE I PARENT INVOLVEMENT GUIDELINES
The Board of Trustees believes that activities to increase involvement are a vital part of the Title I Program. Parents will have an opportunity to design, implement, evaluate, and suggest changes to improve the program. They will be provided with a description of current curriculum used at the school, the Content Standards adopted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, an explanation of what assessment will be used to measure student progress and what goals and expectations have been set in relation to those assessments. Other major components of the Title I Program include parental notification, parental in-service, student program reports, parent/teacher conferences, parent visitation, parent advisory committees, meetings, In-Service for teachers, announcements, and policy dissemination.
Achievement House and the parents/guardians of all students participating in activities, services and programs funded by Title I, part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) agree that this compact outlines how parents/guardians, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved academic achievement and the means by which AHCCS and parents/guardians will build and develop a partnership that will help children achieve the State’s highest standards.
School Responsibilities
Achievement House will:
- provide high-quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables students to meet the State’s standards;
- hold parent/teacher conferences during which the compact will be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievement;
- provide parents/guardians with reasonable access to staff; and
- provide parents with reports on their child’s progress by way of quarterly progress reports, parent/teacher conferences, and e-mails/phone calls.
Parent/Guardian Responsibilities
Parents/Guardians will support their child’s learning in the following ways:
- monitor attendance in school as well as in help sessions and coursework assigned by teachers;
- monitor homework completion;
- participate, where appropriate, in decisions relating to the child’s education;
- read all school-issued notices received by mail, e-mail, or phone and respond to AHCCS as needed; and
- serve, to the extent possible, on policy advisory groups, such as Title I.