Nature Coast Middle School

Parent Involvement Policy

2009-2010 School Year

Goal: 

Positively and effectively involve parents in order to maximize every child’s learning potential at Nature Coast Middle School.

Needs Assessment:

For the 09-10 school year, NCMS used several methods to assess parental involvement needs:

Parent Survey:

All parents were a parent survey to complete at the end of the 08-09 school year, which provided opportunities for them to rate the school in many areas pertaining to the quality of their child’s education and the response of the school staff to parent concerns and needs. Parent responses were reviewed prior to the school year by the staff of NCMS and used in creating our parental involvement plan.

Teacher Input:

Teachers were asked to rate the parent involvement needs which they felt were most important to maximizing student achievement. 

FCAT Student Performance:

2008 FCAT results were reviewed.   Based on student performance, continuing to improve achievement in mathematics, science, and language arts is essential.  Providing parents with opportunities to assist their child with home learning activities has been made a primary goal.

FLDOE Requirement:

Each school shall provide assistance to parents of children served by the school, as appropriate, in understanding critical topics related to student achievement.

Obective 1:

Nature Coast Middle School will provide assistance to parents in understanding the Sunshine State Standards and other critical topics related to student achievement as evidenced by 85% positive responses pertaining to student achievement on the end of the year parent survey. 

Strategies:

·   The school website will provide information for parents regarding our curriculum & methods of instruction.  The site will also include links to information about how parents can assist their child in meeting the standards.

·   A list of essential standards at each level will be provided to parents,  The standards will be rewritten when necessary in clear and understandable terms, with examples of the types of problem for each standard.

·   A minimum of two parent meetings per year  (open houses) will be offered with information about how parents can help their child to achieve academically.

·   No later than October, parents will be provided with information about the FCAT Explorer program, including weekly reports of their child’s progress in each area, along with information about how to log-in and practice at home.

·   Prior to the FCAT, booklets will be sent home with information about the test, the types of questions, and how parents can help their child prepare for the test.

·   Each student will be provided with a daily planner, and each class will include opportunities for students to record daily classwork and homework in their planner.  Parents will be asked to sign the planner on a daily basis after they have reviewed it with their child.

Evaluation:

Evidence of accomplishment of this objective will include:

·   Printouts of  the school website pages

·   Copies of information that was sent home, including Essential Standards Booklets,  FCAT Explorer letters, and FCAT information booklets

·   Agendas from Open House detailing information provided to parents

FLDOE Requirement:

Each school shall provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their child’s achievement.

Objective 2:

Nature Coast Middle School will provide materials and training to assist parents in working with their children to improve achievement as evidenced by an average increase in matched scaled scores from the previous year on the FCAT.

Strategies:

·   Materials and resources pertaining to literacy, curriculum benchmarks (essential standards) and grade level expectations will be distributed to all parents.

·   Parents will be provided opportunities to work with their child at home on the FCAT Explorer, and the school staff will provide training in this program as requested.

·   Parents will be provided with individualized educational activities for their child to work on during the summer at home.

·   A parent meeting will be conducted prior to the end of the school year to discuss summer learning activities and resources.

Evaluation:

·   Copies of handouts including information about literacy, benchmarks, and grade level expectations.

·   Copies of information provided to parents about the FCAT Explorer program

·   Copies of summer handouts and learning activities

·   Agenda from end-of-school parent meeting detailing summer activities

FLDOE Requirement:

Each school shall educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners.

Objective 3:

Nature Coast Middle School will educate all staff members in the value of parental contributions, and provide training in ways to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, as evidenced by teacher and parent surveys in which 90% of participants rate parental involvement as being of high importance.

Strategies:

·   Prior to school, at least one staff meeting will be dedicated to providing staff members with training and resources for communicating with parents; and discussing the essential role that parents play in the educational process.

·   Throughout the school year, frequent staff meetings will address ongoing communication in the form of progress reports, phone calls, and face to face meetings.

·   Articles citing the importance of parent involvement will be included in each student’s enrollment packet.

·   Parents will receive a handout detailing ways that they can be involved with the school, including contact information for school staff, in each student’s enrollment packet.

Evaluation:

·   Staff meeting agendas and handouts

·   Copies of articles and handouts from enrollment packet

·   Copy of communication log for random students

·   Parent/staff survey results

FLDOE Requirement:

Each school shall, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs and activities with various preschool and early learning programs, and conduct other activities such as parent resource centers, to encourage parents to more fully participate in their children’s education.

Objective 4:

Nature Coast Middle School will coordinate efforts with appropriate organizations in order to encourage parents to more fully participate in their children’s education, as evidenced by 90% parent participation in fifth grade transition meetings.

Strategies:

·   Parents of fifth grade students will be provided an opportunity to visit the school during the spring prior to their child’s sixth grade year.  NCMS will coordinate this effort with Whispering Winds Charter School and any other elementary schools that request services in order to ensure a smooth transition for students and parents.

·   Parents of fifth grade students will be provided with materials and resources to help their child prepare for middle school during the summer.

Evaluation:

·   List of parent participants in fifth grade transition meetings

·   Copies of information provided through a partnership between Whispering Winds Charter School and Nature Coast Middle School to fifth grade students and parents.

·   Copies of summer packets for upcoming sixth grade students

FLDOE Requirement:

Each school shall ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to parents in a format and, to the extent practical, in a language that the parents understand.

Objective 5:

Nature Coast Middle School will provide clear information to parents in a language that parents understand, as evidenced by 95% of our school information being provided in the language indicated on the home language survey for each family, and by 85% positive responses to questions about the clarity of information on the parent survey at the end of the year.

Strategies:

·   All report cards, progress reports, parent conference notices, and other student achievement reports will be reviewed for clarity and presented in a language that parents can understand.

·   Informational materials that are sent in each student’s enrollment packet will be translated into Spanish and kept on file for use with Spanish-speaking families.

Evaluation:

·   Examples of report cards, progress reports, parent conferences, and other communications will be kept as records of clear and understandable communication.

·   Parent survey results pertaining to how well our school does in communicating with non-English speaking parents will be evaluated as well, with an overall positive response of 85%.

FLDOE Requirement:

Each school shall provide other such reasonable support as parents may request.

Objective 6:

Nature Coast Middle School will provide timely, reasonable support services at the request of parents to maximize student achievement and ensure full participation by parents in their child’s education, as evidenced by 90% positive responses to questions about the provision of support by the school on the parent survey at the end of the year.

Strategies:

·   At the beginning of the year, parents will be notified of a variety of ways to contact the school to request support, including phone calls, appointments for meetings, and e-mailing.

·   At the beginning of the year, parents will be given examples of types of additional support they may request from the school, such as additional assistance after school for their child, support materials for understanding and mastering the standards, and parenting support materials.

Evaluation:

·      Copies of notification letters.

·      Records of additional support provided at parent request.

·      Copies of sample support materials given to parents at the beginning of the school year.

Revised & reviewed by parent representatives,

August 14, 2009