Parent and Family Engagement Policy

This Parent and Family Engagement Policy (Policy) describes the means for carrying out designated Title I, Part A, parent and family engagement requirements pursuant to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Section 1116(a).

The purpose of this Policy is to provide all students at Granada Hills Charter (GHC) significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps through a systematic inclusion of families in activities and programs that promote student development, learning, and wellness, including in the planning, development, and evaluation of such activities, programs and systems.

• GHC will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Those programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
• Consistent with section 1118, GHC will ensure that the policy includes a school-parent compact consistent with section 1118(d) of the ESEA.
• GHC will incorporate the parental involvement policy into its LEA plan developed under section 1112 of the ESEA.
• In carrying out the Title I, Part A parent involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, GHC will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under section 1111 of the ESEA in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
• GHC will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parental involvement is spent.
• GHC will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition:

Parental involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:

• That parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning.
• That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school.
• That parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child.
• The carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA.

GHC will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its Parent Involvement Plan under section 1112 of the ESEA:

• Involve parents in the selection of programs, activities and procedures through regular communication and at parent meetings.
• Insure the Parent Involvement Policy is incorporated into the Parent-Student Handbook.
• Provide opportunities for parents in the governance of the school through standing committees, ad hoc committees and the Governing Board.

GHC will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement under section 1116 of the ESEA:

• Provide opportunities through parent organizations and groups for parents to participate and provide input in the review and improvement of the school;
• Provide an annual written survey to parents through the mail and the internet in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
• Involve parents in the improvement of the school through the accreditation process as defined by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

GHC will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance:

• Parent communication through home mailings, report cards, school and student assessment results, student communication, parent-teacher-counselor communication, email, school website, eSchool Home Access Center, the School Accountability Report Card, parent groups such as PTA and ELAC, SSC, GHC Application for notifications, “pushed” communications and announcements to students through the Chromebooks and other means possible.

GHC will coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies in Part A with parental involvement strategies under the following: English Learners Advisory Council (ELAC) and the SSC:

• Parent communication regarding courses and classes available for parent education.
• Opportunities for parents to take part in policy creation and implementation at the school site.
• Parent feedback around intervention strategies based on identified needs for student groups through Dashboard data as well as local and department data.

GHC implements an aligned approach to informing the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA), the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) and the Federal Addendum with a clear focus on creating one single plan for the school. AB 716, approved by the CA Governor in September of 2018, allows for charter schools to incorporate the structured integration of all stakeholder feedback (parents, students and staff) in creating one single school plan which details which addresses local and state priorities with accountable data, intervention strategies and plans for improvement/enrichment. Incorporating the structure of the School Site Council, and School Site Committees as well as ELAC and Parent Outreach group, feedback and suggestions made by parent representatives and participants will be incorporated into the plan.

GHC will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parental involvement policy in improving the quality of its Title I, Part A schools. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parental involvement activities (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background). GHC will use the findings of the evaluation about its parental involvement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents) its parental involvement policies.

• The Title I Supervisor and administrative staff will conduct the annual evaluation (including barriers to parent participation) of the parental involvement policy and use the input from the evaluation in the design and implementation of future parent involvement policies.
• The evaluation will be conducted through the Office of Instruction by a third party (Columbia College) with input from parent organizations and groups including parents participating in ELAC and SSC as possible and from the annual parent survey.
• Parents will provide input on student achievement, school governance practices and procedures, student services such as school safety, health and wellness, counseling and discipline, curriculum and instruction, facilities and operations, and human resources.

GHC, with greater participation by parents in activities authorized by ESSA Section 1116 and particular attention to parents and family members who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background, will provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement, such as literacy training, and using technology as appropriate, to foster parental involvement, by:

• Providing classes as identified through survey and parent committees, Home Access Center training during day and evening hours including Open House and Back to School Night; Monthly Parent Meetings and Workshops, Los Angeles Public Library information and library cards; and other means to the extent practicable.

GHC will, with the assistance of parents, educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, administration, and other staff, in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and GHC, by:

• Providing professional development on Professional Learning Days to school staff using school and community resources, professional resources, and parent speakers.
• Encouraging and fiscally supporting school staff in the attendance of workshops and conferences that focus on effectively utilizing parents and community members as resources and equal partners.

GHC will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement programs and activities with public and private literacy programs, and conduct other activities that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children’ academic achievement and engaging with the school personnel and teachers, by:

• Communicating about school and community programs, meetings and workshops that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children.
• Inviting parents to workshops based on identified student needs which will encourage as well as provide skills for parents to help support students at home.
• Continuing to reference Parent-School Compact to allow for transparency with communication and the direct offices to provide and engage around requested information and conferences with families.

GHC is a single-school LEA, and thereby the school allocates all funds reserved for parent and family engagement for related Title I activities performed by the Parent and Alumni Coordinator and Intervention Coordinator positions, including but not necessarily limited to, salary and benefit costs for these positions.

GHC will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent programs, academic requirements for students, understanding the state academic standards, state and local academic assessments and how to monitor their child’s progress and work with educators to help all students succeed, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand:

• Use of staff translators in the major languages spoken by the families of GHC students to communicate school policies and procedures; parent program information; information related to academic achievement; and other information, to the extent practicable.
• Provision of a translation tool on the school website and GHC Application for mobile device so that parents may translate the website into the language of their choice.
• Provision of a translation tool on Google, the student email provided by GHC to all GHC students.
• School communication and trainings regarding academic achievement including SBAC, ELPAC, NWEA and Common Core standardized testing information; parent meeting and workshop notices; and report cards.

GHC will provide assistance to parents of children served by GHC in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described in this paragraph:

• California academic content standards and the Common Core.
• GHC local school assessments.
• The requirements of Title I, Part A of the ESEA.
• How to monitor their child’s progress and
• How to work with educators; through the School – Parent Compact.

School communication to parents, students and the community; parent classes such as parent education classes, meetings, and presentations (Open House and Back to School Night); PTA, ELAC and other school parents organizations and groups; SBAC, ELPAC, Common Core and other standardized and local test data; parent conferences; progress reports and report cards.