Parent Involvement Plan

Research has shown that family engagement in a child’s education significantly contributes to improved outcome.  Successful parent involvement nurtures relationships and partnerships.  It strengthens bonds between home and school, parent and teacher, and school and community.  Students are higher achieving, have better attendance, and complete homework more consistently.  Middleton Elementary School will encourage families to become full partners in the education of their children.

Middleton Elementary School will use the PTA’s National Standards for Family-School Partners framework to evaluate the school’s success in engaging families to support student success. 

Welcoming all families – Families and visitors feel welcome when they enter the school.  Our office staff is courteous and helpful.  Parents know their children are in a safe secure environment which includes locked classroom and outside doors, a camera at the front door, cameras in randomly outdoor location, and security walls in the lobby.

Communicating effectively - .  Parents feel informed through the use of notes in the planner, newsletters, fliers and reminders, web page, handbook, homework folders, parent/teacher conferences, ParentVue, Remind app, phone calls,  and the school messenger.

Supporting student success – Families and school staff work together to support student success through the use of progress reports, signed papers, parent/teacher conferences, and notes in the planner.  Each teacher contacts 10 parents each month to tell them something positive about their child.  The school counselor makes calls of concern about students who are absent.

Speaking up for every child – The district policies are posted on the board of education website.  The school provides a student handbook for the regular school day and another for tutoring.  All parents of 504 and special education students are given a parent’s rights booklet. Parents are also informed of their right to be involved in their children’s education at Title I meetings.

Sharing power – Parents of MES students are encouraged to be full partners in the school decision making.  We provide many opportunities for this partnership such as parent/teacher conferences, PTO, Meet the Teacher Night, Tutoring, Reading Night, and Math and Science Night.

Collaborating with community – The Middleton Library works one day a week with our students.  Lone Oaks Farm provides STEM activities for all grade levels.  We collaborate with local colleges by allowing student observers and student teachers to be in our classrooms.  The Civitan Club gives dictionaries to each third grade student.  They also host birthday parties for students in the 3-year-old class.  4-H, Relay for Life, Harvest Festival and DARE are some other areas in which our school works closely with community organization.

Middleton Elementary School agrees to implement the following requirements as outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act:

1. Each school served shall jointly develop with and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy.

Middleton Elementary’s parent and family engagement policy was developed jointly with input from parents and stakeholders.It establishes expectations for family engagement.The plan will be included in the student planner and posted on the school webpage.

2. Policy Involvement

An annual parent meeting will be held during the first nine weeks of school year. All parents are invited to attend.There will be other meetings throughout the year as well.The purpose of these meetings is to communicate and explain the Title I School-wide program, the requirements of Title I, and the right of the parents to be involved in the school.

Two formal parent teacher conferences are scheduled throughout the year – one each semester. Parents may request and meet with teachers any day during the teacher’s planning time, before school, or after school.

Parents may be involved in ongoing decision-making for continuous improvement by serving on committees and actively participating in PTO meetings and advisory teams.

Parents receive timely information about parent programs through written notices and reminders, newsletters, school messenger, school marquee, and web page.All students receive a planner which contains the student handbook, schedule, family engagement plan, medication policy, vaccine information, dress code and transportation plan.The school keeps parents informed of student progress through progress reports, report cards, phone calls, conferences, Remind App, ParentVue, and notes in planners.

Parents are encouraged to bring suggestions and concerns to teachers or the principal for discussion.The feasibility of these concerns will be reviewed by a committee of school staff and parents.

3. School-Parent Compact

The School-Parent Compact is designed by the Parent and Family Engagement Committee.It outlines the responsibilities of the student, parent, teacher, and the administration in improving student achievement.The compact will be reviewed and revised annually by this committee.

4. Building Capacity

In an effort to ensure effective involvement and engagement of parents and to support a partnership among the stakeholders for student achievement, Middleton Elementary will provide:

• continuous and timely communication to help parents understand the Tennessee Academic Standards by conducting parent-teacher conferences, parent workshops, surveys, Meet the Teacher Night, Reading Night, Family Fun Math and Science Night, Parent Days, Grandparent Days, PTO meetings, Young Readers Day, Book Fair, and Dr. Seuss Day.  All invitations will be sent in a timely manner with an additional follow-up reminder.  Every effort is made to communicate with parents in a manner that is easily understandable.  Teachers may also use ParentVue, the Remind app, phone calls, or notes in the planner in order to communicate with parents.

• Training for teachers regarding how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents through PTO, conferences, workshops, and staff development

An annual evaluation of the school-wide program, Parent and Family Engagement Plan, and School-Parent Compact will be conducted during the last PTO of the year. Parents will be given an opportunity to offer suggestions for program improvements.