Part 1: General Expectations

Title 1 requires schools to develop jointly, to agree with, and distribute to, parents of participating students. Parents shall also be involved in decisions concerning choice of programming, funding for parent involvement activities and evaluation of the effectiveness in improving student academic achievement and school performance.

Henry W. Grady Middle School has developed a parent involvement policy to detail how parents can be actively involved in their child's education. This policy was developed with the cooperation of Title 1 parents, faculty and administrative staff with Principal Gretchen Kasper-Hoffman and Title 1 Coordinator, Linda Riehl.

We believe if students are to be successful, their parents must be actively involved in their education. Grady Middle School developed this policy to describe how we involve parents and help them to help their children. Parent Involvement is a key part of our school’s mission statement: In partnership with parents and community, Henry Grady M S provides a quality education by empowering individuals to become caring, self-sufficient citizens, who value education as a life long process.

Part 2: Parent Involvement Policy Components

Notifications include but are not limited to students’ agenda, school’s website, family call out, and morning announcements to encourage attendance. Prior to the first day of school, families attend Gator Camp for school orientation. Within the first three weeks of school, parents receive notification of an annual Open House that is scheduled in the evening. At that time, the principal informs parents of the school’s participation in the Title 1 program and the right of parents to be involved. The Title 1 Coordinator explains and posts the purpose of the Title 1 program. In addition, the program standards and budget is displayed to help parents and faculty understand the purpose, requirements and benefits of a school wide Title 1 program.

Parents are advised of their right to be involved and contribute to the development of the Parent Involvement Policy and the School – Parent Compact. An annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent involvement policy toward improving the academic quality of the school will be conducted.

Parent University training classes are planned each year to provide parents with information on reading / social studies proficiency skills, math and science competencies, and high school / college readiness programs. These three evening events are held at

6 P M. In addition to these informative workshops, parents are invited to attend general PTO sessions (6 P M in the evening), 4 Parent Advisory Committee meetings (1 in the morning and 3 in the evening) and school programs (during school and evening) throughout the year. As a participant, parents assume responsibility as a part of the Title 1 decision making process and program implementation. Upon request, the school may provide or pay reasonable necessary expenses such as transportation and child care so that parents can participate in these sessions. Parents needing other forms of literacy training are to contact Linda Riehl, at the school number 713-625-1411, for available options.

Parents provide input and help plan these events. At each program, the Parent Involvement Policy is posted for review. Parents have time to read and make recommendations to improve the policy and give comments on programming. Grady Middle School coordinates the parental involvement school activities among the different local, state, and national service programs available on our campus. Title I, Title II and Title IV, as well as parental involvement activities in after school programming.

Training is also provided to teachers, faculty and staff. They are taught the importance of home and school connections and communications. . Examples of involving parents as partners include team meetings, parent conferences and family counseling.

Another role of the school is to provide information about education laws. Parents are provided information about the National Education Goals, No Child Left Behind, Title 1 requirements, Parent Notification and Right to Know, FERBA Notification of Rights, PPRA Notice and Texas performance standards such as TEKS and TAKS.

Part 3: Accessibility

Participation and involvement of all parents is important to promote family literacy and improve parenting skills. Information related to student achievement, school performance, programs and meetings are sent home in the home language whenever possible. Some of the standard information is sent home in Spanish including the School - Parent Compact, school wide call out and other announcements. Other adaptations such as interpreters, translators and handicapped access are provided as needed.

The Student-Teacher-Parent Compact outlines activities that the student, school and parents will undertake to build and develop a partnership to help students achieve high academic standards. Parents are encouraged to register to at www.houstonisd.org / VIPS login and volunteer/participate in school activities.

The school year begins with an explanation of the curriculum used by the school. Grady is an International Baccalaureate candidate school that follows the rigorous I B curriculum. The Texas Education Agency accredited standard is Recognized. Parents agree to be aware of what the child is learning and request to visit classrooms as needed. By consulting the student agenda, parents may assist in assignments, homework, projects and daily reading. Parents can review academic progress daily by checking P S Connect and officially every three weeks on progress reports and report cards Effective home/school communication including notification of absences and making myself available to my child and the school for concerns they may have.

The school strives to provide a safe, welcoming and caring environment for engaging in learning. Teachers will promote student learning and achievement by providing a rigorous I B curriculum aligned to promote literacy and encourage students to develop a sense of personal, academic and civic pride. Every student has an equitable educational opportunity to learn. If requested, by phone, email or in person a meeting with their child’s teaching team. Our grade level Professional Learning Community teachers may also call for a meeting to discuss the educational needs of their child.

Part 4: Adoption

The School Parent Involvement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in the Title 1, Part A programs. The policy was adopted by the Grady M S on 11/08/2010 and will be in effect for the 2011-12 school year. The policy will be made available on the school’s web site and updated as necessary to meet the needs of the students, parents and faculty. The school will distribute this policy to all parents on or before January 1, 2012.

Signature:

Linda Riehl,

Title 1 Coordinator