OLDHAM COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION POLICY 7016
The Oldham County Board of Education recognizes that parent/family involvement is essential as we partner to educate our district’s students and to prepare them for life-long learning. Schools, families, and community must all be actively involved in developing strong programs and policies that support the academic success of every student in the district.
Definitions
“Parent” means:
(a) a natural or adoptive parent of a child;
(b) a legal guardian, but not the state if the child is a ward of the state;
(c) a foster parent if the natural parents’ authority to make educational decisions on the child’s behalf has been extinguished and the foster parent has an ongoing, long-term parental relationship with the child, is willing to make the educational decisions required of parents under 707 KAR Chapter 1 (special education regulations), and has no interest that would conflict with the interests of the child.
District and School Responsibilities
- District and school administrators will create and maintain a responsive and welcoming atmosphere for parents and families.
- District and school administrators will support parents and families as advocates and partners for lifelong learning and as decision-makers and active participants in school issues and programs.
- District and school administrators will assist parents, families and guardians in acquiring skills to support their students’ learning and will help identify areas where support is needed.
- The District will undertake meaningful initiatives to involve parents and family members, when appropriate, in a variety of instructional and support roles both within as well as outside of the schools. District and school administrators will work to remove cultural barriers and negative perceptions that hinder recognition of education as a vital part of each child’s development into full and productive citizens of the community.
- District and school administrators will work closely with all Family Resource/Youth Service Centers in coordinating access to support services for children and their families, with the goal of improving academic achievement.
- The District will work closely with parent groups (e.g. PTSA) in all schools in supporting parent and family initiatives that support academic achievement.
School Responsibilities
This policy requires coordinated efforts of Superintendent, Board, and all school staff, as well as parents/families, students, and community. The issues of parent and family involvement are critical to the academic success of each student in the district; it is also fundamental to a healthy system of public education that expects all students to achieve at high levels. Therefore, the following expectations exist for each school in the district, in order to ensure that students have every opportunity to achieve the mission established by the Board of Education.
1. Each school will write, as a part of its School Improvement Planning process, a purposeful parent/family involvement component; this may include, but shall not be limited to, the following information:
- methods that will be used to promote purposeful school-to-home communication that are sensitive to variances in comprehensive opportunities/abilities, including access to online communications, such as e-mail.
- identification of professional development needs for teachers, administrators, and staff to address working effectively with all families, especially those of culturally diverse backgrounds and special educational needs.
- demographics of all students; awareness of, and follow up with, those families requiring home visits or off-site conferences.
- determination of types of learning at home that should take place to support learning at school.
- Information and/or training for parents about School Based Decision Making (SBDM) practices and SBDM committee involvement.
- efforts and measures used to involve minority and special needs parent representation in the educational process at each school.
2. Each school will make efforts to reach families that are underrepresented in school settings, have transportation or childcare problems, or have limited literacy or limited English language skills.
3. Each school will schedule an annual meeting for families that is convenient and offered at times that are as flexible as possible to all constituents (AM and PM, possibly); these meetings will provide:
- a description and explanation of the school’s curriculum;
- a description and explanation of the forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress;
- an explanation of the proficiency level students are expected to meet;
- a description and explanation of all school programs, family involvement initiatives; and the parents’ rights to be involved in decisions related to the education of their children.
4. Each school shall provide flexible opportunities for organized, on-going, and timely participation in planning, review, and improvement of school programs (to include, but not be limited to, the Title I program).