Ramage Elementary

TITLE 1 PROGRAM

Ramage Elementary School

2009-10

The local operations of the Title I Program in Boone County shall be to implement programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents at both the county and school levels consistent with the requirement for the Title I programs.  Therefore, the Schoolwide Program at Ramage Elementary will consist of workshops, parent meetings, and speakers, along with various take-home opportunities and learning experiences.

            Activities which we will implement will consist of:

            *Parents will have the opportunity to become familiar with our Schoolwide Title I  Program and  work with the Student Assistance Team ensuring the success of their children. 

           *Parents will have the opportunity to meet monthly and at various times during the year.  One time specifically will be the PTO Open House held each fall at the beginning of the school year.  During the Open House, parents are invited to meet with all teachers and talk with them about what new and exciting things are happening in the classrooms and the school.  At this time the school’s curriculum, forms of assessment, and methods of instruction are explained.  These things are also explained to the parents at the fall Title I meeting,

            Parents are invited to schedule an appointment with their child’s teachers during their planning period or prior to PTO meetings.  Parents can expect a timely response to any questions or suggestions which may come from these conferences or meetings.

The Parental Involvement Policy and the School - Student - Parent Compacts are given to students at the beginning of the  school year.  These will outline responsibilities of all people involved helping build and develop a partnership for the achievement of the children of Ramage Elementary School aimed at the state’s high standards for education.

            As a parent of a student in a Title I school you have the right to know:

¨  If your child’s teacher has licensing for the grade level and subject he or she is teaching

¨  If your child’s teacher is teaching under emergency or provisional status (which may mean teaching a subject he or she is not fully qualified to teach)

¨  What subject(s) the teacher received a degree in, and what level of education he or she has

¨  If the teacher is using teacher aides and the qualifications of those aides

¨  If the teacher your child has been assigned to or taught by for 4 or more weeks is not highly qualified.

If you have any questions  about this policy, please contact the principal, one of the Title I teachers, or the Director of Federal Programs at the county office.

Ramage Elementary provides various methods of assisting parents in helping their children learn.  We use the Student Assistance Team, Parent Club meetings, computer training, school web-page, Accelerated Reader, monthly activity calendars, weekly classroom newsletters, monthly Home/School connection newsletters, regular PTO meetings, parent / teacher conferences, and Family Fun Night to keep communications open between the home and the school in addition to giving parents ways to help their children.

            Our Student Assistance Team works with parents in ensuring the success of their children, focusing on parent education, parent involvement, attendance of students, and student behavior.  The parent volunteer program gives volunteers an opportunity to see how rewarding and important it is to work with all children.  The family support component gives the school proven strategies that implement parental involvement in helping children meet with success.  All parents are urged to come to school on a regular basis to help with tutoring students, listening to them read, helping them with math, assisting students in writing activities, and ensuring school safety.

            Part of our reading program is designed so that students read for twenty minutes each night.   We encourage parents to read and share books with their children by letting children check out books from the library on a weekly basis.   As the children participate in the Accelerated Reader program, the child achieves levels by reading and passing tests on the stories they read.  As they complete levels, they receive recognition and are treated to a “reward”.   This will be coordinated by parents and overseen by parent volunteers.  This is intended to stimulate and motivate reading and language development in our students.

             Parents are kept informed of school activities and program information through newsletters, Edline calendar, telephone calls, written messages, parent-teacher conferences,  parent training sessions, School Messenger, and monthly activities calendars.  We give parents various resources to use with their children. Parents may find ideas and sites located on our web-page, brochures, and newspaper articles. 

This Parental Involvement Policy will be sent home at the beginning of school for the parents to keep.   There is also a compact which has been designed to build a foundation to meet the needs of our students.  These compacts outline responsibilities of all people involved to help build and develop a partnership for the achievement of the children aimed at the state’s high standards for learning.  The students and their parents read over the compact and discuss how beneficial it will be to the child’s education. 

Through our Student Assistance Team (SAT) component of our Title I program, parents are encouraged to participate in various parental involvement opportunities.  One such opportunity is quarterly “Parent Club Meetings”.  The Parent Club Meetings are held at a time when parents will come together in an informal manner and discuss matters pertaining to ways to benefit all the children and the school. Questions and concerns regarding school matters may be asked and answered by those attending.  Parents feel at ease asking questions and discussing matters of interest to them concerning school in general and their child in particular.  While the parents have refreshments, they become comfortable and more informed; therefore, they become more involved in the total school experience of their child. 

School-Parent Compact

            Ramage Elementary, and the parents of the students participating in activities, services, and programs funded by Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) agree that this compact outlines how the parents, the entire school staff, and the students will share the responsibility of improved student achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership that will help children achieve the State’s high standard.

This school-parent compact is in effect during the 2009-10 school year.

School Responsibilities

Ramage Elementary will:

1.      Provide high-quality curriculum and instruction by:

Ø      Efficient scheduling to ensure maximum time for instruction

Ø      Utilizing current teaching strategies for instruction

Ø      Employing co-teaching models to capitalize on effective instruction

Ø      Making use of small group instruction

Ø      Departmental scheduling for grades 3, 4, and 5

Ø      Conducting Reading Benchmark Assessments to monitor progress

Ø      Providing a supportive and effective learning environment

Ø      Making necessary changes which will enable the participating children to meet the State’s student academic achievement standards

2.      Provide time for parent-teacher conferences:

Ø      After each progress report period

Ø      After school

Ø      Before PTO meetings

Ø      Upon parents’ or teachers’ request

3.      Provide parents with frequent reports on their children’s progress by sharing:

Ø      Progress reports for each nine week grading period

Ø      Benchmark Assessments in Reading

Ø      WESTEST results

Ø      Accelerated Reader reports

Ø      Report cards at the end of each nine weeks

Ø      Weekly graded papers with Sign and Return on work which does not meet standards

Ø      Edline reports via computer

4.      Allow parents the opportunity to meet with staff during:

Ø      Planning periods  

Ø      Family Support Meetings, weekly

Ø      PTO Meetings, bi-monthly

Ø      Parent-Teacher Conferences, as requested or needed

5.      Provide parents opportunities to volunteer as:

Parent Responsibilities

We, as parents, will support our child’s learning in the following ways:

       Make certain my child maintains good school attendance

       Send our children to school willing and eager to learn with necessary tools

       Check over homework before and after grading

       Provide leisure reading time at home

       Volunteer time in my child’s classroom

       Become an active participant in decisions dealing with my children’s education

       Monitor positive use of extracurricular time

       Stay informed about my child’s education and communicate with the school by reading notices

       Be willing to serve on committees for improvement of my child’s education and educational environment

       Make myself aware of the State’s high standard which are relevant to my child

PARENT SIGNATURE ________________________   DATE ____________

Student Responsibilities

We, as students, will share the responsibility to improve our academic achievement and achieve the State’s high standards.

I will:

            Do my homework every day and ask for assistance when I need it

           Read at least thirty minutes every day outside of school time.

           Give my parent or guardian all notices and information received by me.

           Attend school regularly

           Come to school ready to learn and with the necessary tools

           Be a responsible student

           Work to meet State standards.

STUDENT SIGNATURE ______________________    DATE ____________

 School - Parent Compact

2009-2010

 As a parent I will.........

       See that my child is punctual and attends school regularly.                         

       Support the school in efforts to educate responsible students.

       Provide a quiet, well-lighted place for study.

       Encourage efforts of my child in learning and be available for parent / teacher conferences.

       Read with my child 20 minutes nightly, let my child see me read and make library books available.

       Be aware of what is happening at school; attend school functions whenever possible, and volunteer when possible.

       Balance time for learning and play.

       Ask questions to stay informed.

PARENT SIGNATURE:______________________________  DATE ______________

As a student I will.........                                                                 

       Attend school regularly.                                                                         

       Come to school wanting to learn and having necessary tools for learning.

       Observe regular study time.

       Complete homework assignments

       Read nightly.

       Conform to rules of conduct for responsible students.

       Work to meet state student performance standards.

 STUDENT SIGNATURE:______________________________  DATE  ____________

 As a teacher I will.........

       Provide meaningful homework assignment for students.                               

       Commend and reward students for hard work and good effort.

       Use special activities in the classroom to make learning enjoyable; incorporate educational, motivational, enjoyable, and challenging activities into my lesson plans.

       Provide an environment for positive communications

       Help students strive to achieve state performance standards.

       Provide necessary assistance to parents so that they can help with homework assignments.

       Provide both students and parents with information about school progress.

       Provide newsletters and information concerning curriculum, assignments, projects, activities, and other information necessary to the student’s education.

TEACHER SIGNATURE:______________________________  DATE _________________