JH Handbooks & Policies
Title I Parent Involvement Policy
Title 1 Law
The purpose of Title I is to improve the basic programs of Clarendon High School and to provide opportunities for students to acquire the knowledge and skills contained in the state content standards (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills—TEKS) and to meet the state performance standards (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness- STAAR). Districts receiving Title I, Part A funds must implement programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents in the Title I program. A written parental involvement policy must be developed and agreed upon jointly with parents and distributed to parents. Parental involvement is required as one of the ten components of the school-wide Title I program.
Goal of Title 1 Parental Involvement
The goal of Title I parental involvement is to provide opportunities and information for parents that will help them assume a more meaningful role in improving student achievement and increase their effectiveness when participating in the planning, design, implementation and evaluation of Title I programs.
“Effective parental involvement is built on mutual trust, respect, communication and commitment between the parents, the school and the community. The partners are equals working together to set goals, find solutions and carry out and evaluate these solutions.” --Rutherford, 1987
Parent Involvement Opportunities
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A meeting will be held each fall and each spring to share mutual expectations for students so all parents are an integral part of facilitating achievement.
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The Clarendon CISD District Improvement Committee will meet two to three times per year. They will meet to discuss district-wide issues that affect student performance. The ultimate goal of this committee is to promote improved student performance.
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Parents are invited to attend special programs or activities presented by students.
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Information is sought from parents of students receiving special programs services regarding campus planning and decision making.
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Opportunities are available to participate as parent and community representatives on campus and district improvement committees.
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A School-Parent Compact meeting affords the opportunity for input into school policies and practices.
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Parents are sent a survey to have input into the future of the school and its vision.
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The web page information site is www.clarendonisd.net
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Parents are invited to be sponsors of extracurricular activities.
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Seventh and eighth grade Achieve Texas program- parent meeting in early spring semester to begin the process of developing high school course of study/graduation plan.
Conference Schedule
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Parents are invited to conference with teachers during their normal conference hours.
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Parents are invited to pick up progress reports from 7:30-11:30 a.m. every six weeks and report cards at the end of each six weeks. They are invited to conference with the teachers during this time.
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Parents of students that are failing at the end of any 3 weeks are invited to conference with the students’ teachers.
Assessment
FORMAL ASSESSMENTS –Norm-referenced tests tell parents how their child compares with other students, often in terms of a percentile rank. Criterion-referenced assessments, such as the TAKS, Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, tell parents whether their child has mastered a body of knowledge and skills that the state has established as important.
INFORMAL ASSESSMENTS –This type of assessment is closest to actual learning and to children; and is therefore most likely to influence daily instructional decisions and to engage children in evaluation of their own work. When assessment and instruction are melded, both teachers and students become learners. From the information obtained, the teacher can determine the child’s strengths and weaknesses.
Three week progress reports are sent home for students who are failing in any subject. Six weeks report cards indicate the degree of mastery of a student’s performance in the content standards, or curriculum frameworks, of Clarendon CISD.
Curriculum Framework and Content Standards
The state of Texas has developed a required curriculum that must be taught in Texas schools. This curriculum is the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). It is foundational in nature, and instructional materials companies strive to develop curriculum that meets those standards within the covers of their books. Mastery of the curriculum, apart from informal assessments within the classroom, is to be evidenced in by the required STAAR testing each spring.
Reading is the essential skill and the foundation for all other subjects—60-70% of math, 70-80 % of science, and 80-90% of social studies, writing, and language arts achievement is attributable to reading. Reading is also a foundational skill for critical-thinking, problem-solving, and other higher-order skills. Improve reading and everything improves. However, knowing how to read is just the beginning. Students must know how to read well and be well-read to achieve true literacy. This requires a fluent sight vocabulary of 50,000-100,000 words by the twelfth grade. Building a vocabulary of that size can only be accomplished through abundant reading practice with real books, some which requires parental involvement at home.