Title I School

Title I is a federal education program under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. It is the largest federal program supporting elementary and secondary education, and targets these resources to the districts and schools where the needs are geatest.

Title I includes four majors parts. Merit College Preparatory Academy is receiving Title I, Part A: Improving the Academic Achivement of the Disadvantaged.

The parents of Merit Academy students have the right to request teacher qualification information for any teacher instructing their student. If you would like this information provided to you, please contact our school counselor Lisa Nielson via email ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), and she will be happy to provide it for you. Thank you.

Merit Parent Involvmemt Policy

PARENT INVOLVEMENT POLICY (click to download it)

MERIT ACADEMY TITLE I 2011-2012 DISTRICT PARENT INVOLVEMENT POLICY

GOALS OF TITLE I PARENT INVOLVEMENT

The goal of Title I Parent Involvement is to build effective partnerships with the school community to support student academic achievement and standards implementation. The Title I Parent Involvement Policy shall establish the expectation for parent involvement and describe how MCPA will accomplish the following goals:

1. Involve parents in the joint development of the Title I Program, consolidated application, and the process of school review and improvement.

1.1 The will be involved in the joint development of the consolidated application by their participation in the creation process of their individual school’s Title I School Proposal/EPSS with particular focus on required Parent Involvement sections. Upon completion of the consolidated application, parents have the opportunity to review and comment on the MCPA consolidated application at the Title I office. Information is sent to all of the Title I schools regarding the opportunity to review the consolidated application, and the schools then make this information available to all parents through newsletters, websites, or separate notices, and in a language they can understand, as much as is possible.

Once per year, after the release of the NCLB school designations, notices are sent to parents letting them know of the opportunity to be involved in the creation of their own school’s Title I proposal and/or to view it. School will notify parents, through newsletters, emails, the school billboard and/or the school's website, of the meeting during which the programs of instruction will be reviewed and revised. Parents will be involved in the process of school review during the individual school’s revision of these planned programs of instruction, which are based on “State academic assessments and other indicators described in the State plan…,” including parental involvement activities.

The district will provide parent notification letters addressing the school’s Adequate Yearly Progress status. The school will hold a Title I Annual Parent Involvement meeting. In this meeting, the school will provide:

An explanation of the AYP status

Rational of the AYP status identification

Expenditure of Title I dollars to address the students in greatest academic need

Ways to involve parents in an ongoing and timely way in the planning, review and improvement of Title I programs

Information about the parents’ opportunity to be involved in decisions about how the Title I funds reserved for parent involvement are spent.

2. Provide the coordination, technical assistance and other support necessary to assist participating schools in planning and implementing effective parent involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance.

2.1 The MCPA Title I Department will provide regular Parent Involvement meetings, Parent Involvement electronic resources, such as videos, PowerPoint presentations, and Best Practices on CDs and DVDs, and ongoing school site monitoring and consultation with Title I Resource Teachers/Coordinators. The Department will collaborate with the MCPA Early Childhood Office, MCPA School and Community Partnerships, Parents Reaching Out and other community organizations to provide workshops throughout the district on parent involvement.

3. Build the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement.

3.1 Assist parents of the children being served in understanding state standards, district and school assessments, and how to monitor a child’s progress. The MCPA Title I Department, through partnerships with MCPA Research Development and Accountability (RDA), MCPA Curriculum and Assessment, as well as each school’s Title I staff, will address Title I Parent involvement school responsibilities at annual Title I principal in-service trainings. Additional assistance is provided at the school level through parent workshops, newsletters, school websites, fliers, parent/teacher conferences and PTA/PTO/CAT/PFC school-based parent groups. Information is presented in non-educational, parent-friendly vocabulary and parents are notified that translation services are available at the meetings.

3.2 Provide materials and training to help parents work with their children. Title I Director work together with School and Community Partnerships to provide materials and training to support parent involvement at each school and to help parents work with their children to improve achievement in all core academic areas. The Title I Department will support school in developing materials to include in registration packets that will inform parents of community resources to assist them in working with their child(ren), i.e., information about specific cultural differences as they pertain to academic achievement provided by the MCPA Language and Cultural Equity Department. Regular Professional Development, including the National PTA Standards, Goals and Indicators, Best Practices, and Title I requirements, are provided for parents, Title I school reps, Parent Liaisons, school staff and principals. MCPA provide training for parent leaders, PTA officers, and other interested parents, and provides each Title I school with a PRO/NMPIRC notebook of NCLB facts. *Schools will include information about the location and availability of the notebook at their site. This is monitored bi-annually by the Resource Teachers using the Parent Involvement checklist.

3.3 Educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff if appropriate, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, in how to implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the schools. With the assistance of parents, the Title I Department will provide classes on how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners.

The district Title I Department will model and provide examples of Best Practices.

The MCPA District Title I Department will provide training and support staff and parent liaisons to assure a welcoming environment for all parents. Parents will be encouraged to access school resources to increase participation in activities at MCPA school.

3.4 Ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. The Title I Department collaborates with the MCPA Language and Cultural Equity Department to provide interpreters for parent meetings and translation of materials. Department training and materials for schools will include information about seeking parent input about the correctness of the translation, the appropriateness to the dialect and the level of literacy, and about how to provide a translated version on the school web site.

3.5 Provide reasonable support for parental involvement activities. Title I Parent Involvement funds are allocated based on the number of students who qualify for free and reduced priced meals.

4. Coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under Title I with parental involvement strategies under other programs, such as the Head Start Program, Even Start Family Literacy Program, State-run preschools, etc. The Title I Department encourages each school-based program to coordinate with other programs in an effort to maximize resources. Members of the team include Resource Teachers and Coordinators who work directly with many of the other programs.

5. Conduct with parents an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent involvement policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served under this part. The MCPA Title I Department will annually involve parents in jointly developing and revising the Title I District Parent Involvement Policy. Resource Teachers will support schools in the process of having parents and staff at each site design a School Parent Involvement Policy matching the goals of their school community. The MCPA Title I Department will invite parents to provide input into the development of an evaluation tool by the Research Development and Accountability Department to assess the content and effectiveness of their school’s Parent Involvement Policy and of the District School Parent Involvement Policy in improving the academic quality of the schools served.

5.1 Identify barriers to greater participation by parents in activities with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background. The MCPA District Title I Parent Involvement Policy writing process includes gathering input from parents regarding the identification of and resolutions for barriers to greater participation. Solutions include, but are not limited to:

working around family schedules

being sensitive to how parents might view the school environment

creative ways to provide background checks for parents who could not afford one

empower parents to communicate the value of their experiences, skills, and talents

provide cultural awareness information to staff members

volunteer activities will include those which do not involve direct contact with children

encourage the use of interpreters at parent meetings and events

5.2 Use the findings of the evaluation to design strategies for more effective parental involvement. Encourage schools to evaluate all parent activities with a district provided tool, or a school generated assessment. This information is shared with Parent Goal Teams and Instructional Councils. The information will be used to make changes and/or modifications in each school’s Parent Involvement Plan.

5.3 The MCPA District Title I Parent Involvement Policy will be revisited each year. Parents will be notified through their school newsletter, website, flyer and/or Parent Link of the opportunity to review and revise the Policy at one of four meetings held by the District. After revisions have been made, the revised Policy will be posted on the MCPA website for review and comment by parents who could not attend any of the meetings.

6. The MCPA District Title I Department will involve parents in the activities of the schools served under this part. Resource Teachers and Coordinators will monitor parent involvement/ participation at each school site bi-annually using a Department-developed Parent Involvement Checklist. The District will provide initial and ongoing training to school staffs regarding ways to get parents involved and the importance of doing so.

FILING A COMPLAINT: The Title I department will accept and investigate complaints from organizations or individuals with respect to applicable or covered programs. The complaint must:

1) be written;
2) be signed by the complaining party or his or her designated representative;
3) contain a statement that the department has violated a requirement of a federal statute or regulation that applies to the program;
4) contain a statement of the facts on which the complaint is based and the specific requirement alleged to have been violated.

IMPARTIAL REVIEW AND DECISION:

A. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Title I department will acknowledge receipt of the complaint in writing and will:

1) conduct an impartial investigation which shall include a review of all relevant documentation presented and may include an independent on-site investigation; and
2) give the complainant the opportunity to submit additional information, either orally or in writing, about the allegations in the complaint; and
3) review all relevant information and make an independent determination as to whether the Title I department is violating a requirement of an applicable federal statute or regulation.

B. A written decision, which includes findings of fact, conclusions and the reasons for the decision, and which addresses each allegation in the complaint, shall be issued by the Title I Department and mailed to the parties within sixty (60) calendar days of receipt of the written complaint.

Merit Parent-School Learning Compact