English Learner Parent Newsletter

ANDALUSIA CITY SCHOOLS

PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT PLAN

2025-2026

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The Andalusia City Schools System does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boys Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discriminatory policies: Lindsey Cross, Title IX and 504 Coordinator, 1201 C.C. Baker Ave., Andalusia, AL 36421, 334-222-3186, crossl@andalusia.k12.al.us and Jenifer Earnest, Title II Coordinator, 1201 C.C. Baker Ave., Andalusia, AL 36421, 334-222-3186, earnestj@andalusia.k12.al.us

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Parent and Family Engagement

The Andalusia City Board of Education believes that in order to achieve the maximum educational growth for students, there must be a conscious, collaborative partnership between the parents of students and the schools. The active engagement of parents in their child’s education significantly increases the effectiveness of the programs offered by the Andalusia City Board of Education and therefore significantly contributes to the success of the child.

Parents of students in Andalusia City Schools are encouraged to learn as much as possible about the educational programs, goals, objectives and activities at their child’s school. The Board encourages parents to actively participate in all the activities designed by the schools to involve and inform parents.

The Andalusia City School System further encourages parents to work with both the local schools and the school system in assuring that the programs presented meet or exceed the parents’ expectations for their students.

In order to effectuate these beliefs and desires the Superintendent and his staff shall work with schools in developing a Parent and Family Engagement Plan for each school. The Parent and Family Engagement Plan
must incorporate, at a minimum, how the local school will (a) involve parents in the joint development of and updates of the Parental Involvement Policy; (b) involve parents in the process of the school review and improvement; (c) provide for the coordination, technical assistance and other support necessary to assist in planning and implementing the Parent and

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Family Engagement Policy; (d) conduct with the involvement of the parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the Parent and Family Engagement Policy; (e) periodically provide information to parents on the opportunity for involvement at the school; (f) offer flexible, unique opportunities for parental involvement; and (g) offer effective and timely notifications to parents of their child’s progress.

The Andalusia City School System acknowledges that further and additional requirements for parental involvement and/or parental notification may exist by state and/or federal law, such as with Title I schools. The Superintendent shall prepare such written directives as may be necessary to meet state and federal mandates, and such directives shall be considered policy of the Board.

General Expectations

Andalusia City Schools System agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

The school district will put into operation programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents in all of its schools with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Those programs, activities and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.

Consistent with section 1118, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level parental involvement policies meet the requirements of ESSA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with sections of ESSA.

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The school district will incorporate this district-wide parental involvement policy into its LEA plan developed under ESSA.
In carrying out the Title I, Part A parental involvement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools 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, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.

If the LEA plan for Title I, Part A. developed under ESSA, the LEA/School Parent and Family Engagement Plan and/or each school’s ACIP are not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the parents may submit concerns to the school principal. The school principal will submit the dissatisfaction to the Director of Federal Programs who then (if not resolved) will submit any parent comments with the plan(s) to the State Department of Education.

The school district will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the one percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parental involvement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools.

The school district will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental involvement, and expects that its Title Schools will carry out programs, activities and procedures in accordance with this definition:

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

1. (A) that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;

2. (B) that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;

3. (C) 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;

4. (D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in ESSA.

Andalusia City Schools will reserve at least 1% of its entitlement to carry out Title I, Part A parent and family engagement activities, including promoting family literacy and parenting skills. Parents of children who receive Title I, Part A services will be involved in the decisions regarding how funds are allotted for Parent and Family Engagement activities. Not less than 95% (of the 1% reservation) of the Title I, Part A funds for parent involvement will be distributed to Title I, Part A Schools.

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Description of How the School System Will Implement Required District wide Parent and Family Engagement Plan/Policy Components

Andalusia City Schools will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district wide Parent and Family Engagement Plan under ESSA.

Andalusia City Schools will use effective strategies to implement effective parental and family involvement in the Title I Program. It is the belief that there is a shared responsibility in educating children. There must be a web of lateral responsibility and accountability from the school and the home. To this end, there will be a unified effort to build partnerships with the parents and families of our students. This partnership will be accomplished through parental notification of the Title I Program and parental involvement activities.

Each Title I school with the involvement of parents will develop a Continuous Improvement Plan that will include input from all stakeholders: teachers, administrators, community members and students. This input will help to guide the program format. Decisions regarding how parent involvement funds will be used will be guided by the Federal Programs Advisory Committee. The Parent Advisory Committee and all Title I parents will have the opportunity for input into the Parental involvement Policy and Plan of Andalusia City Schools.

A School-Parent Compact will be developed with the involvement and input from parents. This compact will be customized for each school and updated annually. It will be distributed to each Title I parent as an agreement to work

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cooperatively for each child’s school success. The goal is to help accomplish the desired learning and to establish open communication between parents, and school staff. Each school’s compact will consist of an agreement by the teacher, parent, and principal. In the lower and upper grades, the student also signs the agreement. Each agrees to carry out his/ her responsibility.

The school compact which will be retained in each school for use by teachers in working with Title I participating students and parents will further outline how parents, school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high standards. The compact shall be discussed as it relates to an individual child’s achievement:

The compact shall-

• ❖ describe the school’s responsibility to provide high-quality curriculum

  and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children served under Title I, Part A to meet the state’s student academic achievement standards, and the ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting their children’s learning, such as monitoring attendance, homework completion, participating in school activities, and when appropriate, participating in decisions relating to the education of their children;

• ❖ address the importance of communication between home and school on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum-

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• - parent / teacher conference at least annually during which the compact will be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievement;

• - frequent reports to parents on their child’s progress

• - notification of their child’s progress on state assessments

• - reasonable access to staff;

• - opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class,

  and observation of classroom activities.

  Parent responsibilities include supporting their child(ren) by: monitoring attendance, making sure homework is completed, monitoring amount of television watched, volunteering in the classroom/school, participating in decisions relating to child’s education (when appropriate), and promoting the positive use of child’s extracurricular time.

  Student responsibilities include sharing the responsibility to improve the academic achievement and meet the State’s high standards by 1) completing homework assignments, reading 30 minutes every day outside of school time, and giving parents all notices and information received from the school. Additionally, Andalusia City Schools shall develop jointly, and agree on with, and distribute to parents a written Parent Involvement Policy.

  The policy is distributed to all parents on the first day of school in the Parent and Family Engagement Plan School Calendar. Students enrolled during the school year will receive this policy in addition to registration materials.

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In the

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policy, our school system describes how it will- involve parents in the joint development of the plan;

provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance;

build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement;

coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies with other programs;

conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the effectiveness of the Parent and Family Engagement Plan and Policy, plan, and activities in improving the academic quality of the school served under Title I, Part A, including identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, are the parents of migratory children, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background), and use the findings of such evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement and to revise, if necessary, the Parent and Family Engagement Plan; and,

involve parents in the activities of the schools served under Title I, Part A.

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In addition to Title I activities, parents will be also invited to participate in the school system or school activities which may include:

Family Literacy Nights
Parent Advisory Boards
Technology Training for Parents
Parent / Teacher Conferences
Feasting Around the World
AES Fall Festival
Family Reading Night
Band Concert Performances
Band Competitions and Trips Grandparents Day
Parents’ Lunch Day(s)
Holiday Programs & Performances AES Art Shows
Music Class Performances
Chorus and Drama Performances Kindergarten Open House
Parent Orientation and Open House Kindergarten Transition Meeting
PTO Meetings
Community Involvement
Red Ribbon Week Involvement Bullying and CyberBullying Prevention PowerSchool Parent Portal

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How the LEA will provide for the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist Title I participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance.

The Andalusia City School System will work with schools in providing technical assistance and other support in planning, implementing effective parental involvement activities. The Parental Involvement Specialist will meet with school teams and parents to coordinate parent activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance.

Andalusia City Schools will build the schools’ and parent’s capacity for strong parental involvement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the schools involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below:

The school district will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools,

provide assistance to parents of children served by the school district or

school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by

undertaking the actions described in this paragraph - -

The State’s academic content standards,
The State’s student academic achievement standards, The State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,
The requirements of Part A
How to monitor their child’s progress, and
How to work with educators

Each Title I, Part A school or through the efforts of the school system shall build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parent and family engagement through by implementing the following measures:

- convene an annual meeting (virtual and/or face-to-face), at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of their school’s participation in Title I, Part A and to explain the Title I Part A requirements and the right of the parents to be involved;

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• - offer flexibility in meeting dates and times, such as meetings at lunch or during the morning, evening, or during the school day.

• - include parents in the planning process in the development, revision, and evaluation of the Continuous Improvement Plan and other school initiatives;

• - involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I, Part A programs, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parental involvement policy and the joint development of the school plan;

• - coordinate and integrate parent involvement program with HeadStart and other programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children;

• - adopt and implement model approaches to improving parental involvement;

• - provide parents of participating children-

  • ▪ timely information about Title I, Part A programs;

  • ▪ a description and explanation of the curriculum used at the

    school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure 13

students’ progress, and the proficiency levels students are

expected to meet;

• ▪ if requested by parents, opportunities to formulate suggestions

  and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as practicable;

• ▪ assistance to parents of children served by the school or LEA, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the state’s academic content standards and state student academic achievement standards, state and local academic assessment, the Title I, Part A requirements, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their child;

• ▪ materials and training to help parents to work with their child to improve their child’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology to foster parental involvement;

• ▪ assistance in communicating with teachers;

• ▪ information related to school and parent programs, meetings, or

  other activities in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a

  language the parents can understand;

• ▪ parental involvement activities as requested;

• ▪ literacy training if all other reasonably available sources are

  exhausted

  An Annual Meeting for the parents of Title I schools is held during each school year with flexible offerings. During the year other meetings are conducted where parents are given opportunities to offer input, make

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suggestions, share experiences, and participate in the decision making process. Parents will be informed at the annual meeting of their right to express their disagreement with any aspect or component of the LEA Consolidated Application for funds by contacting the Andalusia City Schools Federal Programs Director.

Parents will be informed at the Annual meeting of their right to submit to the Andalusia City Schools Federal Programs Director their comments of dissatisfaction with each school’s School Parent and Family Engagement Policy and Plan when it is submitted.

The Andalusia City School System will take the following actions to involve parents in the process of school review and improvement.

The Federal Programs Advisory Committee meets periodically to evaluate and revise, if necessary, the Title I LEA Plan, the Title I budget, the Parent and Family Engagement Policy, the Parent and Family Engagement Plan, Home - School Compact, the method of allocating funds to the schools (i.e. Set Asides) and other federal programs’ policies and program components.

Andalusia City Schools will provide all parents of participating Title I schools with the same opportunities. When students are enrolled, parents and custodians are asked about the primary language spoken in the home. If a student is found to be eligible to receive services, the LEP/EL Plan will be followed.

The school district will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent-programs, 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:

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Parent surveys have been distributed in both English and Spanish as needed in local schools
Information may be translated as needed by central office Interpreters are provided for meetings as needed for parents that do not speak English.

Materials will be provided in an understandable format. ACS holds an annual ESL parent information session. Information is given to parents on various topics, and parents are given an opportunity to ask questions.

The LEA plan for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness will be followed.

A. Andalusia City Schools will also provide opportunities to educate teachers, central office staff, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school.

PARENTS RIGHT-TO-KNOW

In accordance with Title I parents through the Right-To-Know provision, may request information regarding the professional qualifications of their child’s teacher(s) or the qualifications of paraprofessionals providing services to their child. Additionally, parents may request information about their child’s level of achievement on any state academic assessments.

This notice is printed in the parent-student calendar for each school and distributed on the first day of school or upon enrollment of a new student. When requesting this information, a written request to each school’s

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principal is required. A prompt response with requested information is forwarded to the parent(s). See appendix – Teacher / Paraprofessional Qualifications.

The ESSA requirements has greatly strengthened parents’ right-to-know and to be informed on several topics, including the following-

• ✓ professional qualifications of their child’s teachers; (at the beginning of each school year, a school receiving Title I, Part A. funds must notify the parents of each student attending any Title I, Part A school that Andalusia City Schools will provide the parents in a timely manner upon request by the parent), at a minimum the following qualifications of the teachers must be provided:

  1. whether the teacher has met state qualifications and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction;

  2. whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which state qualifications or licensing criteria have been waived; and,

  3. the baccalaureate degree major of the teacher and any other graduate certification or degree held by the teacher, and the field of discipline of the certification or degree.

• ✓ qualifications of their child’s paraprofessional;

• ✓ achievement level of their child in each of the state’s academic

  assessments

  Andalusia City Schools is committed to providing quality academic instruction in a positive learning environment. The goal of this instruction is

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to increase each student’s opportunity for school success. The School-wide Program is designed to encourage a close partnership and compact with parents or guardians.

Andalusia City School System recognizes the value of parental involvement and acknowledges the powerful influence of parents in their child’s school success. Parental participation is encouraged and supported in the learning process and educational experience of all students. Studies demonstrate that when parents are involved in their children’s education, the attitudes, behaviors, and achievement of students are positively enhanced.

Although parents and families are diverse in culture, language and needs, they share the school’s commitment to the educational success of their children. Andalusia City Schools, in collaboration with parents, will work towards establishing programs and practices that enhance parental and family involvement and reflect specific needs of students and their families.

Professional development opportunities for teachers, administrators, and other school employees shall be offered to enhance the ability of schools to effectively serve all students, parents, and families. Administrative leadership is recognized as important in setting expectations and creating a climate conducive to parental participation.

To this end, the Andalusia City School System supports working towards the development, implementation and regular evaluation of parental involvement programs, which will involve parents and families in the

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decisions and practices for all grade levels in a variety of roles. The parental involvement programs to be developed will be comprehensive and coordinated.

The Andalusia City School System Parental Involvement Policy embodies the beliefs that...

• ❖ Communication between home and school is regular, two-way, varied, and meaningful.

• ❖ Parents are partners in the decisions that affect children and families.

• ❖ Schools are inviting to parents and actively seek support and

  assistance for school programs.

• ❖ Responsible parenting is promoted, supported, and provided through opportunities to strengthen parenting skills.

• ❖ Parents are linked to programs and resources within the community that provide support services to families.

• ❖ Students’ classroom performance and level of achievement on state assessments are shared with parents.

  Andalusia City Schools shall foster mutually beneficial parent and family partnerships that are essential to improved student achievement and quality schools.

  A portion of Title I funds will be allocated for parental involvement.

  The Andalusia City Schools System does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boys Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discriminatory policies: Lindsey Cross, Title IX and 504 Coordinator, 1201 C.C. Baker Ave., Andalusia, AL 36421, 334-222-3186, crossl@andalusia.k12.al.us and Jenifer Earnest, Title II Coordinator, 1201 C.C. Baker Ave., Andalusia, AL 36421, 334-222-3186,earnestj@andalusia.k12.al.us

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