Metter Middle School
Parent and Family Engagement Plan
2024 - 2025
In support of strengthening student academic achievement, each school that receives Title I, Part A funds must develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to parents of participating children a written parent and family engagement plan, agreed on by such parents, that contains information required by section 1116 (b) and (c) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The plan establishes the school’s expectations for parent and family engagement and describes how the school will implement a number of specific parent and family engagement activities, and it is incorporated into the school’s plan submitted to the local educational agency (LEA).
The school agrees to implement the following requirements as outlined by Section 1116:
•Involve parents, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of programs under Title I, Part A, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement plan and the joint development of the school wide program plan under Section 1114 (b) of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
•Update the school parent and family engagement plan periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school, distribute it to the parents of participating children, and make the parental engagement plan available to the local community.
•Provide full opportunities, to the extent practicable, for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under Section 1111 of the ESSA in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
•If the school-wide program plan under Section 1114 (b) of the ESSA is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency.
• Be governed by the following statutory definition of parental engagement and will carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this definition:
Parent and family engagement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring:
(A) Parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning.
(B)Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school.
(C)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.
(D)The carrying out of other activities, such as those described in Section 1116 of the ESSA.
PART II. DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE SCHOOL WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED SCHOOLWIDE PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT PLAN COMPONENTS
1. Metter Middle School will take the following actions to involve parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely manner in the planning, review, and improvement of Title I programs, including involvement in the decisions regarding how the 1% of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and family engagement will be used.
• Annual Title I Meeting
• Local SGT Meetings
• Parent Surveys
2. Metter Middle School will take the following actions to conduct an annual meeting, at a convenient time, and encourage and invite all parents of participating children to attend to inform them about the school’s Title I program, the nature of the Title I program, the parents’ requirements, the school parent and family engagement plan.
• SGT Meetings
• Parent Conferences
• Parent Involvement Nights
• School Webpage
• Other forms of communication inclusive of social media and flyers
3. Metter Middle School will take the following actions to offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide with Title I funds, transportation, child care or home visits, as such services relate to parental engagement.
• Parent Surveys
• Parent Conferences
• Group Conference with Translator
• Phone Conferences
• Home visits by Social Worker & Teachers
• County Transit Transportation
• Child Care
4. Metter Middle School will take the following actions to provide parents of participating children the following:
• Timely information about the Title I programs.
• Description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.
• Opportunities for regular meetings, if requested by parents, to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their child and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.
Parent Academic Nights
School Facebook Page
School Website
5. Metter Middle School will take the following actions to jointly develop with parents of participating children a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the state’s high standards.
• Local School Governance Team ( LSGT)
• Parent Surveys
• Parent Conferences
• Leadership Team
6. Metter Middle School will build the parents’ capacity for strong parent and family engagement to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school and the community to improve student academic achievement through the following activities specifically described below.
A. Metter Middle School will provide assistance to parents of participating children, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described as follows:
• The State’s academic content standards.
• The State’s student academic achievement standards.
• The State and local academic assessments
• The requirements of Part A.
• How to monitor their child’s progress.
• How to work with educators.
• Parent Academic Nights
• ESOL Parent Nights
• Parent Action Council (PAC) Meetings
B. Metter Middle School will provide materials and training to help parents to work with their child to improve their child’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental engagement through the following:
• Parent Academic Nights
• Parent-School Computer & Resource Center
• Parent Portal
• Parent/Teacher Conferences
C. Metter Middle School will provide training to educate the teachers, pupil services personnel, principal, and other staff in how to reach out to, communicate, and work with parents as equal partners, in the value and utility of contributions of parents and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and the school through:
• Professional Development
•District Support via Professional Development
D. Metter Middle School will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement programs and activities with Head Start, Even Start, Home Instruction Programs for Preschool Youngsters, the Parents as Teachers Program, and public preschool and other programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children through:
• Birth to 5 literacy nights
E. Metter Middle School will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities, is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand:
• System translator
• Bilingual Staff
• Electronic Translation Devices
F. Metter Middle School will provide other reasonable support for parental and family engagement activities under Section 1116 as parents may request by:
• Contacting the principal or designee by phone 912-685-5050 or by email wthigpen@metter.org
PART III. DISCRETIONARY SCHOOL PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT PLAN COMPONENTS
Indicate which of the following discretionary school parental engagement plan components the school will implement to improve parent engagement.
✓Involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of that training.
✓Provide necessary literacy training for parents from Title I, Part A funds if the school has exhausted all other reasonably available sources of funding for that training.
✓Pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with parent and family engagement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions.
✓Train parents to enhance the involvement of other parents.
✓To maximize parent engagement and participation in their child’s education, arrange school meetings at a variety of times or conduct in-home conferences with teachers or other educators who work directly with participating children and parents who are unable to attend conferences at school.
✓Adopt and implement model approaches to improving parent engagement;
✓Establish a school-wide Parent Advisory Council to provide advice on all matters related to parent engagement in Title I, Part A programs.
✓Develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses, including faith-based organizations, in parental engagement activities.
• Academic Night
• Provide transportation for parent meetings
• Provide childcare
• Phone conferences
• Home Visit Conferences
• Group Conferences w/ Translator
• Before & After School Conferences
Revised July 18, 2024