Family Engagement Policy and School-Home Compact

Purpose of this Policy and Compact

Providence Elementary is a Title I school within Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) and utilizes the Title I grant to improve student achievement and help all students meet the objectives of the FCPS Program of Studies and the Virginia Standards of Learning. A partnership with families is essential to meeting this goal.

Under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, schools that receive Title I funds are expected to collaborate with families to develop and maintain a parent and family engagement policy that describes the school’s approach to involve families in students’ learning and includes a compact expressing the partnerships among staff, caregivers, and students to reach high academic goals for every student.

Providence Elementary jointly developed this policy and compact with members of the school community and adopted it for the 2024-2025 school year. Several the provisions specifically address state or federal expectations for the policy and compact.

This policy and compact is distributed to all caregivers in a language that families can understand. Caregivers have opportunities to provide comments and feedback on the policy and compact through comment boxes housed in the main office and parent resource center. Comments are submitted with the school’s policy and compact to FCPS central offices and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). This policy and compact are made available to the broader school community through the school website.

Important Dates

Parent-Teacher Conferences

November 4-5, 2024

Progress Report Distribution

November 19, 2024

February 11, 2025

April 22, 2025

June 11, 2025

School Events

Back to School Night: September 19, 2024

AAP Parent Meeting: October 9-10, 2024

Book Fair: October 21-25, 2024

Family Math Night: November 7, 2024

Family STEAM Night: March 13, 2025

PTA Dance: April 2025

PTA BINGO Night: TBA

 

Building Capacity for Engagement

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers are actively involved in the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the school’s Title I program, including the following:

  • Provide family members a voice in decision-making on committees, such as the school board's Title I Parent Advisory Committee, School Improvement Planning Team, PTA, etc.
  • Engage caregiver input when developing the School Improvement and Innovation Plan (SIIP), Comprehensive Needs Assessment, the Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy and Compact and plans for use of Title I family engagement funding.
  • Seek feedback from families on programs within the SIIP, offer multiple methods for caregivers to submit comments about programs they may not find satisfactory, and submit any such comments with SIIP to FCPS central offices.
  • Invite family members to help in organizing and executing a variety of school events to build collective ownership, such as Family Open House, Back to School Night, Family Movie Night, Math, Night, Family Earth Day Dance and picnic, Book Fair, and others.
  • Provide opportunities for caregivers to volunteer within the school in various ways, such as organizing classrooms, Tuesday Folders, Thanksgiving Luncheon deliveries, Vision and Hearing Screening assistance.
  • Encourage families to take part in the annual evaluation of the division-level Title I parent and family engagement policy in order to identify:
    • barriers to greater family participation,
    • ways to help family members be better able to assist in student learning, and
    • strategies to support successful school and family interactions.

Effective Communication with Parents

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers receive meaningful communication in a timely manner, including the following:

  • Use multiple methods of communication to families such as eNotify, News You Choose, TalkingPoints, Facebook, weekly New You Choose, Parent Schoology Course (electronic Tuesday Folders; electronic Tuesday folders for forms, notes, and event fliers), and regular web page updates of school news, calendars, and parent resource links.
  • Encourage all caregivers to virtually attend an annual meeting, to share information about Title I services, explain Title I grant requirements, and inform families of their right to be involved in the school.
  • Share school and student performance data with families in ways that seek their ideas about how to improve performance toward Virginia’s challenging academic standards, such as such as PTA Meetings and Principal Coffees.
  • Provide opportunities throughout the year for families to better understand the school’s goals for students and find ways to improve student learning by holding meetings.
  • Maintain resources for caregivers to review student assignments and ongoing communication about student work, such as personal emails and weekly teacher messages.
  • Provide ongoing feedback on student progress through quarterly progress reports that show specific areas of proficiency and areas for continued growth.
  • Hold parent-teacher conferences for all students at least annually in the fall and more often, as needed.

Shared Responsibilities for High Academic Achievement

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers receive materials, training, and benefits from school partnerships with social and academic services, community-based organizations, and businesses, including the following:

  • Hold workshops connecting caregivers to tools and resources, such as Practicing Mindfulness and Managing social media etc.
  • Offer regular opportunities for families to learn directly from school staff about the school’s academic, behavioral, and social programming through Parent Coffees, literacy/math evening and day events.
  • Encourage participation in family learning events where caregivers learn strategies to support their child’s learning at home and have a chance to practice those strategies with their child, such as STEAM Night and Family Math Night.
  • Provide ongoing access to resources in the school, such as meeting with our counselors and assistance from our parent liaison.
  • Provide mentors for students through community-based partnerships.
  • Provide opportunities to donate and access supplies donated by others, such as school supplies, food and clothing.
  • Leverage partnerships with local businesses and organizations to enhance school programs and events, such as mentoring, Family Math night, and STEAM night.
  • Support parents in accessing county and community resources, such as health care, counseling, and tutoring.
  • Offer outreach and training for targeted families, such as HIPPY-Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters and the Parent Nutrition Program.

Welcoming All Families

Efforts will be made to ensure that all parents/caregivers are welcomed and provided opportunities to actively engage within the school, including the following:

  • Create a welcoming atmosphere at the school with courteous faculty and staff, parent-friendly signs, availability of resources in multiple languages, etc.
  • Provide interpretation services for parent-teacher conferences, workshops, and meetings.
  • Translate or provide interpretation of all school documents and communication to make them accessible in the caregiver’s preferred correspondence language and for those with vision or hearing impairments.
  • Support two-way communication between families and staff through assistance of a parent liaison for outreach and a point of contact questions for families.
  • Expand access for family participation in informational meetings and learning sessions by offering a variety of meeting times and translated sessions for school event.

Compact Provisions

School staff, parents/caregivers, and students must work together to ensure a student success.

 

The staff will:

Provide a high-quality curriculum and instruction that enables students to meet challenging academic standard through the following actions:

  • Teach all students according to the state’s challenging standards, using approved curriculum resources.
  • Provide ongoing professional development and support to all teachers to ensure effective instructional practices are used in all classrooms.
  • Monitor students’ progress in an ongoing way through regular assessments and data reviews.

Provide a supportive and effective learning environment for students through the following actions:

  • Provide clear expectations for student behavior and academic learning.
  • Offer a variety of resources to help students with their learning.
  • Allow multiple ways for students to demonstrate what they have learned.
  • Involve students in choices about their learning.

Provide assistance to caregivers in understanding the school’s program through the following actions:

  • Hold an annual meeting to present information on the school’s Title I programs, state and division curriculum and assessments, and the school’s state and federal accountability status.
  • Provide multiple opportunities for caregivers to ask questions and give input into the Title I programs.
  • Hold a principal coffee for caregivers to learn more deeply about specific school programs.

Build caregivers’ involvement in the school’s Title I program through the following actions:

  • Include caregivers as members of the School Improvement and Innovation Planning (SIIP) Committee and as collaborators in developing the SIIP and plans for the use of Title I family engagement funds.
  • Hold curriculum night events where caregivers and their children practice academic strategies that they can use to support literacy and mathematics learning at home.

 

The parents/caregivers will:

Demonstrate understanding that participation in my child’s education will help his or her achievement through the following actions:

  • Participate in decisions related to school programs and my child’s education and share my questions or comments about the programs in my child’s school.
  • Volunteer in my child’s classroom or in school activities, as my schedule allows.
  • Encourage and support my child’s learning at home and at school.
  • Read each night with my child.
  • Review all school communications and return the weekly Tuesday Communicator.
  • Maintain continued communication with the school, send my child to school daily, on time, well rested and pre-pared with assignments.



The student will:

Share the responsibility to improve my academic learning to achieve the state’s challenging standards through the following’s actions:

  • Get enough sleep every night.
  • Come to school on time unless I am sick.
  • Try my hardest and work with my classmates to complete learning tasks.
  • Give my parents all notes and papers from my teacher.
  • Read either independently or with a parent every night.
  • Talk about my school day with a parent.
  • Pay attention to the teacher in class. Come to school on time every day, prepared, and ready to learn.