Parent and Family Engagement Policy

 Family Engagement means the participation of parents and family members in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:

• That parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning, whether in-person or virtually.
• That parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education.
• 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.
• The carrying out of other activities, such as those described in Section1116 of the ESSA. 

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, the Wilson County School District (WCS) has developed this parent and family engagement policy that establishes the district’s expectations and objectives for meaningful family engagement and guides the strategies and resources that strengthen school and parent partnerships in the district’s Title I schools. This plan will describe WCS’s commitment to engage families in the education of their children and to build the capacity in its Title I schools to implement family engagement strategies and activities designed to achieve the district and student academic achievement goals. When schools, families, and communities work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer and enjoy school more. Title I, Part A provides for substantive family engagement at every level of the program, such as in the development and implemen-tation of the district and school plans, and in carrying out the district and school improvement provisions. Section 1116 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) contains the primary Title I, Part A requirements for schools and school systems to involve parents and family members in their children’s education. Consistent with Section 1116, WCS will work with its Title I schools to ensure that the required school-level parent and family engagement policies meet the requirements of Section 1116(b) and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with Section 1116(d) of the ESSA. The following six schools are Title I schools in WCS for 2025-2026: Carroll Oakland Elementary (K-8), Elzie Patton Elementary (K-5), Southside Elementary (K-8), Tuckers Crossroads (K-8), W.A Wright Elementary (K-5), Watertown Elementary (K-5)

Jointly Developed

This policy was drafted by the WCS Title I Supervisor and families were invited to participate and provide suggestions and ideas to improve this district parent and family engagement policy for the 2025-2026 school year. The district sent invites to families from Title I schools informing them about this meeting and posted an announcement on the school dis-trict website. During this meeting, families also reviewed and discussed the District Strategic Plan. Additionally, each Title I school will use its Family Advisory Council to review the district parent and family engagement policy.

Upon final revision, the district parent and family engagement policy will be incorporated into the District Improve-ment Plan. Families are welcome to submit comments and feedback regarding the policy at any time on the district website or by submitting written comments to your child’s school. All feedback received by July will be included with the policy for the following school year.

The district parent and family engagement policy is posted on district and Title I school websites, distributed during the annual Title I school meetings, and made available in the schools’ parent resource centers.

The district Title I Supervisor will provide assistance and support to all Title I schools to ensure family engagement requirements are being satisfied and that family engagement strategies and activities are being implemented. Title I schools will receive notifications and resources from the district to help them improve and strengthen family engagement. In addition to frequent communication and school visits, the district will hold meetings and trainings with its Title I schools’ principals to review family engagement plans and activities.

WCS will reserve one percent each year from the total amount of Title I funds it receives to carry out the parent and family engagement requirements listed in this policy and as described in Section 1116 of the ESSA. Furthermore, WCS will distribute 90 percent of the amount reserved to Title I schools to support their local-level family engagement programs and activities. The district will provide clear guidance and communication to assist each Title I school in developing an adequate family engagement budget that addresses their needs assessment and parent recommendations.

Each Title I school will host an annual Spring Planning Meeting for families to provide suggestions regarding how these family engage-ment funds will be used in the upcoming year at the district and school-level. Comment cards and minutes from these meetings will be reviewed by the district to determine areas of need for the upcoming school year and consider changes to the family engagement budget

Input and suggestions from parents and family members are an essential component of the district and school improvement plans that are developed each year. All parents of students eligible to receive Title I services are invited to attend two meeting opportunities described in this section to share their ideas and suggestions to help the district, schools, and students to reach our student academic achievement goals.

Annual Fall Title I Meetings - August Each Title I school will hold a Title I Informational Meeting where all families are invited to attend in-person or virtually. The purpose of this meeting is to inform families what Title I means and why their school qualifies for Title I funds. We also share academic data, information about curriculum and standards, a parent’s right-to-know, and opportunities for how parents can be involved in the school.

Annual School Surveys - March Family input on the Title I program and use of Title I funds to support family engagement programs may be provided through the annual school surveys. The surveys will contain questions related to the effectiveness of the Title I program at their particular school and family engagement budget. There will be a section for families to provide their comments. These surveys will be sent out in multiple ways: emailed, paper copies, and linked on school website in order to reach as many families as possible to gather feedback.

Spring Planning Meetings - April During this month, each Title I school will host a meeting for parents and family members to participate in roundtable discussions to review the school-wide plan, the school’s parent and family engagement policies as well as provide input on the family engagement budget and programs. Each Title I school will send invitations home and email and text parents notifying them about the date and time of the meeting.

WCS will build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong family engagement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and family members and to support a partnership among the Title I schools, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement. We strive to provide resources and guidance to support parents so they feel equipped to support their child at home.

We recognize that the parent is the first and most influential teacher in a child’s life.

Of Parents:

Wilson County Schools will work as a district and through its Title I schools to provide assistance to parents in understanding state and district academic information connected to their student’s learning and progress, as well as information regarding the Title I program. WCS will provide classes for parents to gain knowledge about the challenging state academic standards, local academic assessments, as well as the required assessments for Tennessee students including alternative forms of assessment. The dates and locations for these classes will be posted on the Title I school’s websites and shared through each Title I school’s newsletter.

WCS will also coordinate pages on the district and school websites that will contain resources and materials, including parent guides, study guides, and practice assessments, to help parents work with their children at home. Copies of these materials will be made available at all Title I schools for those families who may have limited internet access, including copies in Spanish.

WCS has established a districtwide Parent Advisory Council comprised of family representatives from each Title I school’s parent engagement team to provide advice on all matters related to family engagement in Title I, Part A programs. Community leaders and business partners will be invited to serve on this council.

Of School Staff:

WCS will conduct trainings during the school year for principals and instructional coaches to learn and discuss strategies to increase family engagement, improve school family communication, and build ties with parents and the community. These trainings will be redelivered to the faculty and staff of Title I schools. To ensure that information related to district, school, parent programs, and activities is available to all parents, each Title I school is required to send home and post online information for parents and family members in an understanda-ble language and uniform format. At the beginning of the year, school staff will be trained on parent notifications and resources to be sent home in parents’ native language, where applicable, and providing interpreters at parent events. Information posted on the district website will be translated to the extent practicable. The district will also utilize school virtual meetings, phone call systems, district and school websites, local news media, and other school message systems to post information for parents.

Each year, WCS will conduct an evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engage-ment policy and the family engagement activities to improve the academic quality of the Title I schools through an annual parent survey and the School Improvement Plans.

Beginning in April, each Title I school will send home a survey and email a link to the survey for parents to provide valuable feedback regarding the parent and family engagement activities and programs. These surveys will also be posted on the school websites for parents to complete. In addition to the annual survey, each Title I school will also use the spring meeting to facilitate group discussions to discuss the needs of families and to design strategies for more effective family engagement. WCS will use the findings from the school forums and the survey results to design strategies to improve effective family engagement, to remove possible barriers to parent participation, and to revise its parent and family engagement policies.

In carrying out the parent and family engagement requirements established by Section 1116 of the ESSA, the district Title I Supervisor and ESL Coordinator will help to ensure full opportunities for participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children including providing information and school reports in a language parents can understand.