What does it mean to be a Title I school?
Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the largest federally funded education program that provides extra support to school systems and schools where there are children living in high concentrations of poverty in public schools. The purpose of Title I is to provide supplemental resources to participating Title I schools in order to support the academic achievement and success of its students.
In Kent County Public Schools (KCPS), the elementary and middle schools are Title I schools as a result of each school having 40% or more of their total enrollment being students from low-income families. The four schools are identified and ranked in order to receive additional funds. These funds are used to provide additional staffing, extended time for learning, family engagement, and professional development activities for teachers, as well as for supplemental materials, resources, and equipment. Administrators, teachers, families, and other stakeholders share in the development of each school’s Title I program which is tailored to meet the needs of their students.
What is our vision?
KCPS recognizes that family engagement is essential in order to prepare our students for academic achievement and life-long learning. Schools, families, and the community must all be actively involved in developing strong programs and policies that support the academic success of every student. The purpose of this plan is to provide a written scope of work on how KCPS will support and promote school-family partnerships. The KCPS Title I Office will plan and support programs, procedures, and activities for the involvement of all families during the 2024-2025 school year. To ensure meaningful family engagement and opportunities to build strong partnerships at each Title I school that promotes the academic goals necessary to support high expectations and achievement for all students, the KCPS Title I Office developed the Title I/ESSA Family Engagement Plan in consultation with family members from each Title I school.
How will we communicate and partner with families?
KCPS will use the following methods to communicate with our families. These resources create the foundation to support our children and the community by informing and engaging all stakeholders.
• The KCPS Title I Office meets (at minimum) annually with KCPS District families to review and get input on the district’s Title I Family Engagement Plan, the Title I application, and the family engagement budget.
• Communicate with families and the community on a regular basis regarding school wide events and activities through our KCPS Website, local school websites, and social media platforms, newsletters, and flyers, in both English and Spanish translation.
• Partner with the community to increase opportunities for engagement and share information about family engagement activities that will help prepare families and their children for Pre-K/K and improve school transition.
• Provide childcare during family nights, and if needed, cover the necessary expenses associated with local family involvement activities for training, meetings, and other activities that help families support their child’s achievement.
• Listen and respond to families’ requests for additional support for family engagement activities by surveying families throughout the calendar year.
• Work together with families, staff, and students by consistently revisiting the School / Family Compact.
How will we accomplish a school / family partnership?
KCPS provides training to educate the teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with parent input, on how to reach out to, communicate, and work with families as equal partners, and will capitalize on the talents of families and local community businesses to coordinate programs and share their expertise in order to build family-student-teacher partnerships.
KCPS builds capacity for family involvement by:
• Invite and encourage families to become members of our Citizen Advisory Committee, which helps to educate the school personnel of community needs and wants.
• Involve parents jointly in providing input and revising the Title I Family Engagement Plan which is part of the KCPS Local ESSA Consolidated Strategic Plan, also known as the KCPS Master Plan.
• Provide assistance to all KCPS schools in establishing a foundation of planning tools for effective parent engagement activities.
• Collaborate local educational facilities and non-profit organizations (such as Washington College, Sultana Education Foundation, and Kent Cultural Alliance) to provide academic support and fun educational events for families that support educational improvement for students and family members.
• Collaborate local educational facilities and non-profit organizations (such as Washington College, Sultana Education Foundation, and Kent Cultural Alliance) to provide professional development for school staff on student and family engagement strategies.
• Provide workshops based on social and emotional well-being using community leaders and non-profit organizations to provide expertise.
• Assist families in understanding requirements mentioned in the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), the Maryland state and local standards and assessments, Maryland Common Core curriculum updates, along with associated Title I requirements in order to support student progress designed to improve student achievement by providing local schools the data and updates in time to present it during the annual Title I meeting, as well as on the KCPS and local school websites.
• Work jointly with community service programs and resources to increase parent involvement activities through programs such as Horizons and the Judy Center to increase student achievement and provide community resources for parents.
• Provide assistance to Title I staff for Staff Professional Development on how to increase communication and outreach to parents as partners.
• Conduct an annual Title I Family Engagement Survey to evaluate the effectiveness of this plan and to identify any barriers that prohibit families from participating in activities. Information from the survey will be shared by Title I staff members during meetings and with members of the Title I District Family Advisory Council. This information will also help us design and implement effective family engagement strategies to better assist schools in providing support, outreach, and workshops for families.
• Using the feedback from Family Engagement Surveys, the Title I Office personnel and school-based personnel will work closely with family members to strengthen knowledge and skills when working with their children to increase students’ achievements and needs by following up with standards and assessment data, curriculum materials, tutoring assistance, and workshops.
• Provide written communication to parents in translated languages and formats that they can understand.
• Provide professional training and technical materials through a variety of venues, may include, but not limited to Maryland State Department of Education, Washington College, and Local Behavioral Agencies on literacy and academic information and data, as well as social-emotional well-being to parents through family engagement sessions.
• Discuss and develop with the assistance of the Title I staff the ability to submit subgrants and donation requests for/to schools that will successfully work with community leaders, other organizations and employers to improve family engagement opportunities, along with academic initiatives.
• Use Title I staff meetings to jointly collaborate and direct matters related to family engagement opportunities through the Title I school leadership teams, which are then shared and supported with the assistance of family volunteers of participating schools.
• Effectively discuss family engagement expectations related to Title I requirements at Title I staff meetings.
Would you like to join the District Family Advisory Committee?
Meaningful family engagement occurs when educators and family members work in partnership. In order to be successful in involving families and family perspectives, KCPS needs your support. With your support, we will offer more opportunities for mutual learning and understanding which not only provides positive benefits to our children but allows families and teachers to feel connected and involved in academics, as well as the social-emotional health of families. These outreach opportunities, activities, and resources will be a part of the KCPS District Family Engagement Plan,and are programs that matter in the lives of children and their families. Help KCPS establish a District Family Advisory Committee (DFAC), which is open to all families, teachers, administrators, and community partners within our Title I school communities. We will continue to extend this invitation to ensure an equitable voice from all stakeholders. If you would like to become a member of the DFAC, please contact Michelle Cerino, KCPS Title I coordinator, at
[email protected].
.