Title I Annual Meeting Family Engagement in Prince William County Schools

What Is Title I? Government money: Federal Grant in operation since 1965 Schools with a high percentage of children who get free and reduced lunch Extra help for reading, writing, and math

What is a Schoolwide Program? Title 1 resources are combined with schoolwide programs to improve instruction. Title 1 teachers may work with –Students –Teachers –Parents –After school programs

What is a Schoolwide Program? A Schoolwide plan is developed with –Administrators –Teachers –Parents to decide how the Title 1 resour resources are used.

What Are Annual Measurable Objectives (AMO)? Under Federal Law –Schools are expected to have a certain % of students pass the Reading and Math SOLs. –Gap Groups –Sub Groups

What is a Gap Group? Gap Groups are students in Virginia who are at risk for underachieving. Gap Group 1 – Students With Disabilities, English Language Learners, and Economically Disadvantaged Gap Group 2 – Black Students Gap Group 3 – Hispanic Students

What is a Sub Group? There are six sub groups in Virginia: All students White students Asian students English Language Learners Students with Disabilities Economically Disadvantaged

What is a School Report Card? The School Report Card explains how the school is performing. Every school in PWCS has a School Report Card. A School Report Card is listed on the Title 1 school fusion page under VDOE Report Cards:

How will VDOE report on low performing schools? Priority Schools – lowest performing schools in Virginia (5% of all schools). Focus Schools – schools in Virginia with large gaps in performance (10% of all schools). Safeguard School - All schools in Virginia that do not meet all of the AMOs in reading and math.

What are the school’s responsibilities? Provide a safe and friendly learning environment. Meet state goals in reading, writing and math using this curricula: -Virginia Standards of Learning -PWCS’ Language Arts curriculum ml?sessionid=16cdce977136a0b3519ce63293d21a13 -PWCS’ Mathematics curriculum

What are the school’s responsibilities? Communicate with and involve parents. Title I Family Engagement Policy Family – School Compact Progress Reports Assess and meet your child’s needs.

What reading assessments are used? Grades K-3 Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) Letter identification Sight word tests Sentence dictation Grades 3-5 DRA Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI)

What do we assess in math? Grades K-2 Numeral recognition Counting and sequencing Addition/subtraction Concept of `ten’ Addition and subtraction Grades 3-5 Grouping Partitioning numbers Fractions Multiplication Division

How do we help parents? Send monthly newsletters. Meet with parents: –Parent Meetings –Family Nights –Parent/Teacher Conferences

Why should parents be involved? Parents are equal partners. Parents’ ideas are valued. Parents learn how to help their children at workshops. Parents will be better informed about their child’s progress and school activities.

How do parents get involved? Help create Family - School Compact. Communicate your ideas through surveys. Come to school events and activities: –Family Nights –Annual Meetings –Conferences –Classrooms –PTO/PTA –Advisory Council –PEP Meetings

What is a Family Engagement Policy? A Family Engagement Policy is made by the school, the community, and parents to describe how parents and teachers help children with learning. You can find the Family Engagement Policy in the Title I rooms, the office, and on school and county websites. If you want to make changes to the policy, contact the Title 1 teacher at your school.

How can parents help at home? Send your child to school every day. Check backpacks, agenda, or folder. Talk to your child. Be sure homework is completed. Read and write every day. Practice math every day.

How do we help students at school? Individual lessons Small group lessons Whole class lessons Reading and Math Recovery

What are students learning? Reading for meaning Writing to communicate thinking Math for problem-solving

How is student progress shared? Communication between Title I and classroom teachers Progress Reports Conversations with parents: –Phone calls –Notes sent home –Conferences – s –Home visits

What happens when parents are involved? Research says children of involved parents: have better grades come to school more are good school citizens get along better with others graduate go to college and/or get more training after high school