Parent and Family Engagement Policy and Compact
Access this information as a PDF file.
Learn more about Title I with the Title 1 Parent Information-English PDF and Title 1 Parent Information-Spanish PDF.
Purpose of this Policy and Compact
Efforts will be made to clearly articulate the school’s intentions to engage with and involve parents/caregivers in the educational process.
Braddock Elementary is a Fairfax County Public School (FCPS) that utilizes the Title I Grant funding 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.
Braddock Elementary jointly developed this policy and compact with members of the school community and adopted it for the 2022-2023 school year. Several of 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 outside the front office and family 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.
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Progress Report Distribution
Quarter 1: November 2022 Quarter 2: February 2023 Quarter 3: April 2023 Quarter 4: June 2023 |
Annual School 2022-2023 SY Events:
NOTE: PTA Events will be scheduled throughout the school year and families will be notified through a variety of communication methods.
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Interims Quarter 1: Parent-Teacher Conference Quarter 2: December 2022 Quarter 3: March 2023 Quarter 4: May 2023 |
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Other Monthly BES Town Hall Meetings Young Scholars K-2 Initiative Makers Club GEMS Robotics Chess Club Student Leadership Academy Student Ambassadors Coding Café Garden Club & Environmental Action TJ KAST SEVA Truck Family Literacy Classes (Spanish) Early Literacy Classes (Korean & Spanish) |
Building Capacity for Involvement
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:
- Providing parents/caregivers members a voice in decision-making on committees, such as the School Board’s Title I Parent Advisory Committee, School Innovation & Improvement Planning Team, and the PTA.
- Engaging parents/caregivers input when developing the School Innovation & Improvement Plan (SIIP), Title I Schoolwide Plan, the Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy and Compact and plans for use of Title I family engagement funding.
- Seeking feedback from families on programs within the Title I Schoolwide Plan, offer multiple methods for parents/caregivers to submit comments about programs they may not find satisfactory, and submit any such comments with the Title I Schoolwide Plan to FCPS central offices.
- Inviting family members to help in organizing and executing a variety of school events to build collective ownership, such as book fairs, content area/curriculum daytime/evening workshops, and PTA sponsored events.
- Providing opportunities for parents/caregivers to volunteer within the school in various ways, such as room parents, library helpers, health room and cafeteria helpers.
- Encouraging families to take part in annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the division-level Title I parent and family engagement policy 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:
- Using multiple methods of communication to parents/caregivers such as eNotify for emergencies, Talking Points, WhatsApp, News You Choose email messages, monthly parent newsletter, weekly Friday Communication folders, school memos, event flyers, Schoology, and the BES website which contain a variety of information for students and parents/caregivers.
- Encouraging all parents/caregivers to attend an annual meeting on Back-to-School Night to share information about Title I services, explain Title I grant requirements, and inform families of their rights to be involved in the school. Share school, and students’ performance data with parents/caregivers in ways to seek their ideas about how to improve performance toward Virginia’s challenging academic standards, during Parent-Teacher conferences and quarterly grade level newsletters sent home to parents/caregivers.
- Providing opportunities throughout the year for parents/caregivers to better understand the school’s goals for students and find ways to improve student learning by providing parents/caregivers a variety of workshops that focus on Tier I core instruction in the areas of reading, math, and science. Additionally, parents/caregivers can participate in BES daytime/evening workshops that provide them with information regarding their children’s progress report, interim, iReady Universal Screener, and other student data reports such as the NNAT, CoGAT, WIDA, and SOLs. Providing parents/caregivers with this information allows them to better understand where their children are performing academically, as well as understand the data points that schools/VA State use to assess their children. Additionally, ongoing feedback on students’ progress is provided through quarterly interims and quarterly progress reports that show specific areas of proficiency and areas for continued growth, as well as two annual Parent-Teacher conferences.
- Maintaining our Braddock website with an abundance of resources for parents/caregivers to include, but not limited to: Grade level academic quarterly overviews, grade level newsletters, student approved academic websites, student-teacher videos, etc.
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:
- Holding workshops connecting parents/caregivers to tools and resources such as grade level academic presentations, student-parent/caregivers networking, and informational meetings (i.e., Getting to Know Your Child, Positive Parenting, Understanding Interim Reports/Progress Reports), and other prevalent student data.
- Offering regular opportunities for parents/caregivers to learn directly from school staff about the school’s academic, behavioral, and social programming through Parent Coffees.
- Encouraging participation in family learning events where parents/caregivers learn strategies to support their children’s learning at home and have a chance to practice those strategies with their children, such as Grade Level Parent Literacy Workshops, Family Math Night and Family Science Night.
- Providing ongoing access to resources in the school, such as family center featuring books, and check-out materials, as well as information on parent classes, including adult ESOL classes.
- Providing mentors for students through partnerships with the local high school and local businesses.
- Providing opportunities to donate and access supplies donated by others, such as school supplies, winter coats, and weekend food resources.
- Leveraging partnerships with local businesses and organizations to enhance school programs and events through volunteers, donations of materials, sponsorship for food or guest speakers.
- Supporting parents/caregivers in accessing county and community resources, such as health care, counseling, and tutoring through the school social worker and parent liaison.
- Offering outreach and training for targeted families in ways to help their children improve literacy and math skills.
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:
- Creating a welcoming atmosphere at the school with courteous faculty and staff, parent-friendly signs, and availability of resources in multiple languages.
- Providing interpretation services for parent-teacher conferences, workshops, and meetings.
- Translating or providing interpretation of all school documents and communication to make them accessible in the parents/caregiver’s preferred correspondence language and for those with vision or hearing impairments.
- Supporting two-way communication between families and staff through assistance of a parent liaison for outreach, support during parent conferences, liaison between home and school when new families transition, communicating critical information to parents/caregivers about student progress and serving as a point of contact for questions for families.
- Expanding access for family participation in informational meetings such as Grade Level Parent Literacy Workshops, Math Nights, and other learning sessions throughout the year for students and families.
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:
Learning environment for students through the following actions:
- Providing and communicating clear expectations for student behavior (Students Rights and Responsibilities) and academic learning.
- Offering ongoing opportunities and a variety of resources to help students with meaningful learning experiences.
- Offering opportunities and resources for support and enrichment.
- Providing regular training to teachers to understand students’ needs.
Aid parents/caregivers in understanding the school’s program through the following actions:
- Holding 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.
- Providing multiple opportunities for parents/caregivers to ask questions and give input into the Title I program.
- Providing parents/caregivers with the school’s Title I Family Engagement Policy and Compact (BES website).
- Publishing information regarding the school’s accreditation and federal accountability results (BES website).
- Adopting and implementing a model or approach for family engagement.
- Encouraging parents to participate in scheduled Family Literacy, International, and STEAM nights.
- Providing materials and training for parents in strategies for supporting their children’s learning.
- Providing majority of school correspondences in English and Spanish.
- Publishing dates for parent-teacher conferences and distribution of student progress reports.
- Providing access to school calendars, supply lists, contact information, class work, daily practice at home, and school events.
- Publishing or presenting information regarding state and local assessments administered during the school year.
Build caregivers’ involvement in the school’s Title I program through the following actions:
- Including parents/caregivers as members of the School Innovation & Improvement Planning (SIIP) Committee and as collaborators in developing the Title I Schoolwide Plan and plans for the use of Title I family engagement funds.
- Providing multiple opportunities for parents/caregivers to receive an overview of the school’s Title I Program (i.e., meeting agendas and minutes), and providing parents/caregivers the opportunity to ask questions and provide input.
The parents/caregivers will:
Demonstrate understanding that participation in my child’s education will help his or her achievement through the following actions:
- Sending your child to school on time, well rested and prepared for learning.
- Encouraging and supporting your child’s learning at home and at school.
- Devoting 30-minutes a day, at least 5 days a week, making sure that your children practices reading, writing, and math.
- Staying informed about your children’s education by checking your children’s backpack regularly for school communication, such as the weekly folder, and respond to teachers’ notes, school forms, and other communication.
- Participating in decisions related to school programs and your children’s education and share my questions or comments about the programs in your children’s school.
- Volunteering in your children’s classrooms or in school activities, as my schedule allows.
- Being involved in school activities and events to build community and support academic achievement.
The student will:
Share the responsibility to improve my academic learning to achieve the state’s challenging standards through the following actions:
- Trying to get enough rest each night.
- Coming to school/class on time unless I am sick.
- Putting forth good effort during class/instructional time, completing learning tasks and practicing reading, writing, and math at home.
- Discussing with my parents/caregivers what I learned in school and giving them, all notes and information sent home.