Parent and Family Engagement Plan

Finley Middle School is dedicated to ensuring that every child has access to a fair, equitable, and high-quality education. To achieve this, we aim to build strong partnerships with parents and the community. Collaboration between Finley Middle School and families enriches activities and programs that foster students' development, learning, and well-being. Parents are essential as their children's first teachers, and their support is crucial for success at every stage.Recognizing that some students may benefit from the additional resources offered by the Title I program to meet state academic standards, Finley Middle School is committed to involving parents in every aspect of this program. Our goal is to cultivate a strong school-home partnership that promotes the success of all students.

Annual Title I Meeting

Finley Middle School hosts its annual Title I meeting for all parents at the start of the school year. Parents are notified through various channels, including: email, text message and the ParentSquare app.

To encourage maximum participation, the annual meeting coincides with fall conferences, which are scheduled at convenient times for parents and typically see high attendance. Parents are welcome to bring their children to the classrooms.

During the meeting, we will cover important topics such as:

• Academic assessments used to track student progress
• Expected proficiency levels
• Title I participation in a schoolwide program, its services, and parents’ rights

Flexible Meeting Schedule

At Finley Middle School, we recognize the vital role of parental involvement in education. To support this, we offer a flexible meeting schedule for parents. In collaboration with Gear Up, Communities in Schools, and Americorp, we provide parenting classes and family engagement activities at various times—before, during, and after school.

Our offerings include:

• Teacher Availability: Teachers are accessible before and after school each day for meetings with families.
• Flexible Parent-Teacher Conferences: We schedule conferences to accommodate parents' work hours.
• Family Engagement Events: Activities like Family Learning Nights and Open House are held in the evenings to encourage family participation.

We are committed to creating opportunities for parents to engage meaningfully with our school community.

Engaging Parents in the Planning, Review, and Enhancement of the Title I SIP and PFE Plans

Finley Middle School strives to involve parents in its Title I program. Our widely attended fall conferences and Open House are used as vehicles to work with parents on developing the focus for school improvement planning and how families/parents can support the school’s academic initiatives.

During our annual Title I meeting in the fall, we invite parents and families to review our school improvement and parent engagement plans, and to provide their valuable feedback. We will notify parents about this meeting through email, text, and the Parent Square app. At the meeting, parents can share their thoughts and suggestions using feedback forms, which will also be available online. Additionally, parents are encouraged to submit written comments to the school principal at any time.

All feedback received will be carefully considered for revisions to our plans. The school and PTG will work together to develop and implement enriching programs, with the PTG reviewing and approving these initiatives by the end of the school year.

For transparency, our schoolwide plan, parent and family engagement plan, and Title I compact will be available for review on the school website, with hard copies provided upon request. Each year, we conduct a thorough review and evaluation of these plans with input from staff, parents, and families to ensure continuous improvement.

Timely Information about the Title I Program, Academic Assessments, and State Standards

At the start of the year, our classroom teachers will host a meeting for parents during fall conferences to discuss the Title I program and our efforts to address students' academic needs, highlighting our SBA results. Parents will receive an overview of the schoolwide program and learn about the various programs and interventions designed to enhance student learning.

We encourage parents to schedule both informal and formal conferences with teachers and to actively participate in decisions regarding their child’s education. The schoolwide school improvement plan and parent and family engagement plan will be accessible on the school website, and hard copies can be requested.

Submitting Parent Concerns on the School Improvement and Parent and Family Engagement Plans

The school leadership team conducts an annual review, evaluation, and revision of the school improvement and parent and family engagement plans. All parents and families are invited to provide input during the annual Title I meeting in the fall, where they can review the plans and submit suggestions for improvement using feedback forms or online submissions. Meeting notifications will be communicated through email, text messages, and the Parent Square app.

The plans will be accessible for review on the school website, and hard copies can be requested. They will also be presented to the school board each year. Parents are encouraged to voice their concerns in writing to the school principal. All feedback will be considered for revisions to the plans. The Parent-Teacher Group (PTG) will review the school improvement plan and parent and family engagement plan before the end of the academic year.

School-Parent Compacts

The school-parent compact serves as a goal-setting tool during fall conferences, featuring a section for personalized objectives. It emphasizes the importance of meaningful, two-way communication between families and staff, ensuring that information is conveyed in a language families can understand whenever possible. This ongoing communication includes:
• Attending parent-teacher conferences
• Reviewing quarterly progress reports on their child’s performance
• Regularly accessing staff for support
• Volunteering and participating in school and classroom activities

Each year, the compact is collaboratively developed by school staff, the educational leadership team, the Parent-Teacher Group, and community partners. Parents and students will receive a copy of the compact at the fall goal-setting conferences, where they will be asked to sign it, signifying their commitment to working together for the success of their child.

Building Capacity for Strong Parental Involvement

To foster effective parental involvement and strengthen the partnership among Finley Middle School, parents, and the community to enhance student academic achievement, we will:

1. Support for Parents in Understanding Academic Standards:
We will offer training to parents of participating children including how to interpret district and state assessment information, monitor their child’s progress, and collaborate with teachers to improve student achievement. Much of this will take place during our annual parent meeting at the beginning of the school year, where parents will receive an overview of state achievement standards, assessments, and Title I services, along with information on how they can be involved in their children’s education.

2. Providing Resources and Training for Parents:
We will supply materials and training to empower parents to support their children’s learning. This includes literacy training and appropriate technology use to enhance parental involvement. Throughout the year, we will offer parenting classes on various topics, such as creating a home learning environment, partnering with teachers, and health and safety tips. Resources will also be available in multiple formats, including online.

3. Professional Development for Staff:
We will educate teachers, office personnel, and other school staff about the value of parental contributions and how to engage effectively with parents as equal partners. This training will include implementing and coordinating parent programs and building connections between parents and the school. Ongoing professional development will occur through in-services, faculty meetings, and grade-level discussions to emphasize the importance of parental involvement. All staff will be encouraged to welcome parents into the school and collaborate with our Communities in Schools partners to support parents' needs.

4. Coordination of Parent Engagement Programs:
We will strive to coordinate and integrate parent involvement programs with other federal initiatives. This includes establishing parent resource centers and conducting activities that encourage parents to engage more fully in their children’s education.

5. Accessible Communication for Parents:
We will ensure that information related to school programs, meetings, and activities is communicated to parents in formats and languages they can understand. Finley Middle School is committed to providing opportunities for participation for parents with limited English proficiency, disabilities, and migratory backgrounds. We have bilingual staff and translators available to assist families who may face language barriers, ensuring they are invited to school functions and family activities. Additionally, we make every effort to accommodate parents with disabilities. We offer various communication options, including in-person meetings, email, Zoom, and phone calls. Our website is ADA compliant to assist visually impaired parents, and we provide closed captioning for Zoom meetings.

Finley Middle School is dedicated to working with parents to address their needs regarding their involvement in their children’s education and will provide any reasonable support requested for parental involvement activities.

Parenting, Communicating, Volunteering, and Learning at Home

Based on feedback from parents, the community, and staff, we are excited to implement several home-school connection initiatives this year. Our efforts are focused on four key areas, grounded in the Johns Hopkins research-based model of school, family, and community partnerships:

Parenting:
We aim to assist families in developing effective parenting skills and creating home environments that support student success. Our Bilingual Communities in Schools staff members are available to help families connect with community resources and set up conditions at home that enhance student learning.

Communicating:
We prioritize effective communication between the school and home regarding school programs and student progress. We will utilize various communication methods, including newsletters, our school website, our Facebook page, and Parent Square. All essential documents will be translated into Spanish to ensure accessibility for all families.

Volunteering:
We will organize volunteer opportunities and encourage community involvement to support the school and its students. We actively reach out to parents and community members to volunteer, partnering with Communities in Schools to engage them in a more active role within the school community.

Learning at Home:
We aim to involve families in their children’s homework and other curriculum-related activities. We will explore technology options to support learning at home, fostering a collaborative environment for academic success.