Let’s Renew our Title I Compact To reach our school improvement goals, everyone needs to be on board!

Compact: A written agreement of shared responsibility Articulates how families and teachers will work together this year to achieve the goals of the school improvement plan and make AYP!

Rejuvenate the Compact!

The New Compact Will : Link to the goals of our School Improvement Plan and our grade-level achievement data Describe strategies families can use at home to strengthen students’skills Explain what teachers will do to support family learning Describe what students will do to reach their achievement goals Be written in family-friendly language with meaningful input from families and students

Not Use General Statements Like: Teachers will hold high expectations for all children and offer high-quality instruction Parents will monitor attendance and TV watching, and make sure their children do their homework Students will be good citizens, read 30 minutes every day, and bring home notices from school.

Why do This? Section 1118 of the law says we must have a School-Parent Compact Research says that engaging families helps students do better in school Parents and families want to help We need all the help we can get to make AYP

Organizing Schools for Improvement Long-term study of Chicago schools: When schools have strong family and community ties, their students are: Four times more likely to make significant gains in reading Ten times more likely to make significant gains in math. Anthony S. Bryk et al, (2010) Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

What are Strong Family Ties? Title I students‘ reading and math scores (3-5 th grades) improved 40-50% faster when teachers: met with families face-to-face sent materials on ways to help their child at home telephoned routinely about progress (Westat and Policy Studies Associates, 2001) CONNECTICUT STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

First Two Steps to Success 1. Motivate and get buy-in from staff - Explain at a staff meeting what Compacts are and how they contribute to student success 2. Designate a leader - Pick a person with leadership skills. Math/literacy coach, AP, data team leader, home-school coordinator

Next Two Steps to Success 3. Align Compact with school improvement plan - Review and analyze school data and SIP goals to ID skills to focus on (video clip ) 4. Get grade-level input on skills that need to improve in each grade - Data teams ID three goals/grade level and draft home learning ideas to discuss with parents

Steps to Success #5 and #6 5. Reach out to Families - Meet by grade level to discuss how to work together (workshops, class meetings, math night). Two-way conversations! 6. Don’t forget the Students - How will they take responsibility for their learning? - What do they want teachers and parents to do to support them?

It’s All About the Conversations! Recruit parents to fun event -- then break into grade level groups with translators. Ask: How can the school help YOU support your children’s learning? \ Type up and circulate parents’ideas. Teachers meet at each grade level to respond, draft Compact plan. Parents approve.

Next Two Steps to Success 7. Pull it All Together - Create an attractive, family-friendly Compact with input from all - Design a roll-out plan 8. Align all Resources - ID professional development - Pull in volunteers and community partners, - Tap the Title I budget for materials, speakers

Aligning Resources Family Engagement Plan Budget Parent Workshops Staff Development Volunteers, Tutors and other Partners Title 1 Evaluation School-Parent Compact Grade Level Strategies School Action Team for Partnerships

Last Two Steps to Success 9. Market the Compact - Get the word out at every opportunity - Refer to the Compact at parent-teacher conferences and meetings 10. Review, Revise, Celebrate Progress - Discuss what worked, what needs to Improve, then develop new plan. - Celebrate success and ask students to show off!

Quality Indicators Link actions to goals in SCIP and to school data Connect activities for families to what students are learning and doing in class Include follow-up steps to support parents and students Consult with parents on communication strategies that work best for them Translate into families’ home languages

10 Sections – Must Have Definition – Family-School Compact Jointly Developed – Process Description Activities to Support Partnerships Communicating about Learning Cover Page District Goals School Goals Classroom Teacher Support to Parents Parent Support for Students at Home Student Activities to Support Their Learning

10 Sections – Must Have Definition of Family- School Compact A Family-School Compact for Achievement is an agreement that parents, students and teachers develop together. It explains how parents and teachers will work together to make sure all students get the individual support they need to reach and exceed grade level standards.

10 Sections – Must Have Process Description Jointly Developed with Parents In this section, describe how the compact was developed jointly with parents, students and teachers (see sample). Invite parents to contact the school, parent liaison, or others if they would like to contribute ideas or make comments at any time.

10 Sections – Must Have School Activities Activities to Support Partnerships List the activities you will hold at your school to support partnerships for parents and if possible the dates and times of those activities. Conferences Leadership opportunities Parent group meetings Learning opportunities for parents and children

10 Sections – Must Have Communicating Communicating about Learning This section explains to parents what they can expect in terms of communications from the school and ways they can also communicate with the school. Communication should be a two-way process.

10 Sections – Must Have Cover Page Include school name Contact information for principal and the school Grade level of the compact

10 Sections – Must Have District Goals Strong Schools Strong Communities Plan Achievement Equity *Copy this section as it is for your Compact.

10 Sections – Must Have School Goals School Goals (From the SCIP) Reading Goal Math Goal Equity Goal

10 Sections – Must Have Classroom Teacher Support to Parents This section describes what the classroom teachers at this grade level will do for families to support students’ success in reading and math.

10 Sections – Must Have Parent Support for Students at Home This section describes the ideas that parents offered as ways they could support students’ success in reading and in math.

10 Sections – Must Have Student Activities to Support Their Learning In this section students have identified things they can do to support and improve their own learning.

REMEMBER: It’s all about the Conversations!