Hancock County Elementary School

Parent Involvement Plan

2011 -2012

The Hancock County Elementary School Parent Involvement Plan was jointly developed by teachers, administration, and the Parent Advisory Council as a guide for parent involvement opportunities and will be updated annually during the summer.

Parent Advisory Council Members

Tammy Dalton Jennifer Wallen Tonya Baker

Jason Maxey Phil Blevins Nick Cantwell

Annual Meetings

Hancock County Elementary School holds annual meetings the week prior to school beginning in the fall called “Back to School Family Night”. All parent/caregivers are invited to attend with their child/children. During this meeting, parent/caregivers are informed of Hancock County Elementary School’s Parent Involvement Plan, Title I requirements, school handbook, school calendar for the current year, obtain a supply list from their child’s classroom teacher, as well as meet with their child’s new teacher. During this meeting parent/caregivers are also informed of their rights to be involved in all aspects of their child’s education. Kindergarten parent/caregivers also have a slotted time to be introduced to the administration and kindergarten teachers. The time is taken to address school rules and parent/caregiver questions or concerns. H.C.E.S. also follows the district calendar with offering two Parent/Teacher Conferences per school year one in the fall and the second in the spring.

Other Parental Involvement Activities

Throughout the school year Hancock County Elementary School also offers a number of flexible meetings for parent/caregivers to attend. We offer a flexible schedule to accommodate parental work schedules so meetings are held at different times during the school day and year. Parents may also meet with teachers during their planning time or at scheduled meetings as requested. Administrative staff is available during regular school hours to entertain questions or deal with parental concerns/issues. The principal has an open door policy to parents. Other parent/caregivers opportunities include but are not limited to:

v National Breakfast Week

v Holiday or Seasonal Programs

v Six Weeks Awards Programs

v National Walk To School Event

v 4-H Presentation Events

v Science Fair Competition

v Walking Field Trips and/or Bus Field Trips

v Monthly Nutritional Birthday Celebrations

v Read Across America Week

v PTO affiliated teams (Football/Cheerleading, Basketball, Soccer, T-Ball/Baseball/Softball)

v Field Day Events

v Book Fair

v Kindergarten Orientation Day

Parental Communication

Hancock County Elementary School communicates with parents in an organized, ongoing, timely manner. We work with the Parent Advisory Council members to plan, review and improve programs for student instruction and parental involvement. Communications include but are not limited to:

v Parental notes/letters from administration

v Parent Advisory Council Meetings

v Weekly Classroom Homework Sheets

v Classroom Newsletters

v School Planners

v Parent/Teacher Conferences (2 per year)

v Email

v School Web Page

v Flyers

v Quarterly District Newsletter (The Applecore)

v IEP or 504 Meetings

v School Handbook

v Awards/Certificates/Ribbons

v School Marquee

v Discipline Forms

v Handwritten notes

v Articles in Local Newspaper (Sneedville Shopper)

Curriculum

Hancock County Elementary School provides to parents an explanation of the curriculum, as follows:

§ Hancock County Elementary School encompasses grade levels K-5 in a self contained environment.

§ Basic subjects are taught by highly qualified teachers in a controlled, organized manner.

§ The instruction is tailored to focus on Reading/Language Arts, math, science and social studies with scheduled times for physical education, computer lab, guidance, and library.

§ All first grade students and selected students with reading difficulties are also exposed to Fast ForWord reading lab.

§ Selected students, in grades K-5, based upon benchmark testing are receiving a free remediation through the DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) program.

§ Students who possess learning disabilities are taught individually through an IEP (Individual Educational Plan) or 504 plan developed jointly by parent/caregivers, student, teachers, para-professionals and administration.

§ An after-school tutoring program offers individual students tutoring Monday - Thursday beginning after the first six weeks and ending during the fifth six weeks.

§ HEARTS after-school program incorporates homework helps on a daily basis and a one hour math tutoring program helping grade levels 2 - 5 on a rotating basis.

§ Curriculum information and resources are being updated annually on the school website.

§ Physical activities are offered during the after-school program on given schedule.

§ Sports such as football, cheerleading, dance, basketball, soccer and t-ball/baseball/softball are offered to interested students to increase their physical stamina.

Explanation of Assessment

· Hancock County Elementary provides a description and explanation to parents of the TCAP Assessment which demonstrates student proficiency level. An individual student profile report is sent home yearly with explanations on how to read the report.

· Different forms of formative and summative assessment are used to measure student achievement and growth throughout the school year.

· Progress reports are sent out after each three week period of instruction as a mid-report and at the end of the six week period of instruction as a report card. Parents are requested to sign the reports to verify they have been seen.

· Hancock County Elementary exposes all students in grades 3 – 5 to the “4Sight” assessment program which test students on standards and criteria similar to the state comprehensive assessment in reading and math. This test allows teacher’s to access student academic growth.

· Hancock County Elementary provides parent’s computer generated reports for DIBEL’s, Fast ForWord and Accelerated Reading for parents to see the progress throughout the school year and the benchmarks students are meeting.

Student/Parent/Teacher Compact

The student/parent/teacher compact was jointly developed by teachers, administration, and the Parent Advisory Council with input from Title I parent survey and group consensus. The entire school staff, parent/caregivers and students will share the responsibility for improved and sustained academic achievement. This compact is designed to form a partnership to help students achieve and meet Tennessee’s high academic standards. The agreement is signed by the student, parent, teacher, and principal.

Parent Conferences and Regular Meetings

Hancock County Elementary School has two yearly scheduled parent/teacher conference days each school-year. This allows parents advanced notice so they may pre-schedule a meeting with their child/children’s teacher. It is a time to inform parents of student progress or struggles, to seek advice for help in academic areas from teachers, and discuss the overall demeanor of the student in all settings (classroom, hallway, cafeteria, bus, etc.). These meetings are informal and held within the classroom environment which allows for parents to see student portfolios and projects. Questions and concerns may also be entertained or discussed during these meetings. See the school calendar each year for the pre-determined dates.

H.C.E.S. also provides parents with opportunities for regular meetings. These meetings may be held at flexible times to accommodate working parents so they may visit the school and participate in decision making processes. Teachers and administration freely schedule meetings with parents upon request. The principal has an open door policy in which all parents are welcome to visit and voice ideas, concerns, or suggestions.

Parent Involvement Plan Analysis

The parent involvement plan includes but is not limited to the following ideas:

ü H.C.E.S. sends frequent student reports to parents at the mid-six weeks and the end of the six weeks.

ü There are reasonable opportunities for parents to volunteer/participate and observe in their child’s classroom as well as talk with staff or administration.

ü The Parent Involvement Plan has been made available to parents/caregivers and stakeholders within the community using more than one avenue.

ü The Parent Involvement Plan is written in an understandable format.

ü The Parent Involvement Plan will be updated yearly during the summer in preparation for the new school year and to meet the need of the parents.

ü If the Parent Involvement Plan is not deemed satisfactory and does meet the needs of the parents, the school and Parent Advisory Council will reevaluate the plan and report concerns to the appropriate departments.

ü H.C.E.S. building has the capacity for parent involvement activities.

ü H.C.E.S. has provided assistance to parents in understanding student academic achievement covering topics related to Tennessee state standards, state and local assessments, and how to monitor student progress.

ü H.C.E.S. provides materials to help parents work with their children to improve academic achievement such as offering literacy training, using technology, and other community based organizations that may be able to help.

ü H.C.E.S. provides opportunities to strengthen relationships between teachers, administration, students and parents. The school has coordinated and integrated to the extent feasible and appropriate parent involvement programs and activities.

ü H.C.E.S. provides opportunities to strengthen relationships between preschool events and the transition into the elementary school setting through parent resource centers, Head Start, Hancock County Early Learning Center, homebound instruction and various other programs.

ü H.C.E.S. continuously sends parents information related to school and parent programs, meetings and other activities to the extent practicable in a parent friendly language.

ü H.C.E.S. has provided reasonable support for parent involvement activities when requested by parents.

ü Special effort is provided to give opportunities to parents with limited English proficiency, disabilities and migrant workers to the extent practicable.