Paradise Intermediate School

Paradise Intermediate Parent Involvement Policy

Mission Statement

Our primary mission at Paradise ISD is to find ways of enhancing each child's learning opportunities. The development of intrinsic motivation and the mastery of basic skills in each subject area is a primary consideration for the administration and teachers. We also strive to create a well rounded child that will grow up to be a responsible citizen. We believe that all children can learn and be successful academically given appropriate instruction and sufficient time.

Statement of Purpose

Paradise Intermediate believes that every student shall be afforded every opportunity available to reach his/her full potential. In order to accomplish this, Paradise Intermediate will utilize its time, energy, and resources as efficiently as possible. Resources include administrators, teachers, school staff, parents, and other community members. We will partner with each other to develop deep and meaningful working relationships. We will also maintain open, two-way communication to create mutual understanding and foster student success. Teachers will provide grade level and class goals and expectations annually as well as explaining how students will master these expectations. Paradise Intermediate will also distribute the TAKS testing schedule and school wide goals. Students needing extra assistance in reaching said goals will be afforded the luxury of tutorials through our Title I and other programs. Paradise Intermediate will also offer parents and members of the community assistance in issues that affect their students socially, academically, and emotionally. We will provide guidance and instruction in areas that our parents see as beneficial, including but not limited to drug use, cell phone abuse, and other age appropriate issues. Paradise Intermediate will strive to include parents in the development, evaluation, and revision of our Title I program and the Parent Involvement Policy. The school-parent compact will describe the responsibilities of key stakeholders and useful channels of communication. The goal of our parent involvement program is student success.

Developing the Policy

Paradise Intermediate will:

  • Involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the school's parental involvement policy, in an organized, ongoing, and timely manner. Parents and campus personnel will meet to develop the campus Parental Involvement Policy. Special attention will be given to recruiting parents of children participating in the Title I program.

  • Provide support and training to principals, counselors, and teachers to promote parent involvement activities.

  • Provide information to parents of participating students in an understandable and uniform format and to the extent practical, the parents' native language.

  • Provide to parents of participating children information in a timely manner about Title I, Part A programs that includes a description and explanation of the school's curriculum, the forms of academic assessment used to measure children's progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.

  • Provide a convenient format that allows parents to provide suggestions and to participate in decisions about the education of their child. The school will respond in a timely manner to suggestions and ideas.

  • Provide to each parent an individual student report about the performance of their child on TAKS test in Reading, Math, Science and Writing.

  • Provide each parent timely notice when their child has been taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified according to section 200.56 of the Title I Final Regulations (67 Fed. Reg. 717170, Dec. 2, 2002)

    • Involve Parents in Schoolwide Plan

    1. Advisory Committee/Site-Based Decision Making Team:

    Paradise Intermediate conducts site-based decision committee meetings at least twice annually. The site-based committee consists of parents, community members, teachers, staff, and administrators. As part of their responsibilities, they will help develop and revise the Parent Involvement Policy. The school will publicize the policy adoption and revision annually through multiple sources. Advertisement will include but not be limited to the school newsletter, school web site, Facebook, and phone calls to parents.

    2. Review of the Campus Improvement Plan

    Paradise Intermediate's Campus Improvement Plan, which clearly defines our plans to improve the entire educational program, is available from the school web site or through a request through the office. Suggestions for improvement should be made in writing and submitted to the school office.

    3. Special Program Night

    Each year, Paradise Intermediate staff members will host a meeting to discuss the school's participation as a Title I, Part A schoolwide program. Translators will be available as needed and accommodations will be made for the needs of disabled parents. We will discuss the following topics:

  • An explanation of the school's curricula and assessments used, including the level of proficiency students are expected to meet

  • An explanation of the Title I services offered at Paradise Intermediate

  • A review of the Parent Involvement Policy and the School-Parent Compact

  • Evaluation of parent involvement through a parent survey

  • Opportunity to address questions and concerns

    • Building Capacity

    Paradise Intermediate recognizes the importance of parent involvement to the success of our students. We realize that student achievement is the result of effective and positive home-school-community partnerships. There are numerous ways parents can contribute to their child's education. Paradise Intermediate will strive to train and assist parents in many ways to help both at home and at school. We will coordinate with Paradise Elementary to assist in the transition of students from third to fourth grade. We will also assess the needs and concerns of current students and parents through a variety of tools including a survey and/or questionnaire. Based on these results, we will develop training for teachers and parents to address these needs. Multiple media outlets will be used to notify all parents of the training opportunities.

    Conduct an Annual Meeting

    Paradise Intermediate will conduct a meeting during the first six weeks of the school year for all parents. At this meeting the Title I program will be discussed, the Parent Involvement Policy will be distributed, and opportunities for parental participation will be explained. Expectations for student performance and grade level curricula and assessment will be discussed and available as well.

    The annual meeting will be held for the convenience of the parents. Translators will be available as needed and accommodations for disabilities will be made. Parents will be informed about the meeting by Facebook, letter mailed home, Alert Now phone calls, newspapers and other available tools.

    School-Parent Compact

    Paradise Intermediate will consult with the site-based decision making team to annually develop, review, and revise the school-parent compact. The compact will identify the responsibilities of the staff to provide high-level instruction, the expectations of the parents to provide support in their child's learning, and the responsibilities of the student in working for his/her ultimate achievement. The compact will address the most effective ways to maintain open and positive communication between school and home. It will be available to all parents and guardians in the student information file, on the school website, in the school handbook, and by parental request through the Paradise Intermediate office.

    Evaluation

    Paradise Intermediate will work with the Title I advisory committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the Parental Involvement Program. Numerous resources, including but not limited to surveys, classroom observation, TAKS data, and informal assessments will be utilized to determine needs and develop new strategies for student success. Parental input will be solicited for inclusion in the revision process. Through teacher, staff, student, and parent input, the Paradise Intermediate Parent Involvement Policy will remain a living and relevant document.

    Conclusion

    The ultimate goal of Paradise Intermediate is the all around achievement of every student. We strive for success academically, socially, and emotionally. This will fully occur only when the school, parents, and community work effectively together. We want to monitor and encourage the effectiveness of these vital relationships. The Parent Involvement Policy will remain the framework for keeping these relationships open and productive.

    A printable copy of this form in pdf format can be found here...