Purpose of this Policy and Compact

Efforts will be made to clearly articulate the school’s intentions to engage with and involve parents/caregivers in the educational process.

Annandale Terrace Elementary School is a Title I school within Annandale Terrace Elementary is a Title I school within Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) and
utilizes the Title I grant to improve student achievement and help all students meet the objectives of
the FCPS Program of Studies and the Virginia Standards of Learning. A partnership with families is
essential to meeting this goal.

Under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, schools that receive Title I
funds are expected to collaborate with families to develop and maintain a parent and family
engagement policy that describes the school’s approach to involve families in students’ learning and
includes a compact expressing the partnerships among staff, caregivers, and students to reach high
academic goals for every student.
Annandale Terrace Elementary jointly developed this policy and compact with members of the
school community and adopted it for the 2024-2025 school year. Several of the provisions
specifically address state or federal expectations for the policy and compact.
This policy and compact is distributed to all caregivers in a language that families can understand.
Caregivers have opportunities to provide comments and feedback on the policy and compact through
Parent Coffee, weekly ATES Updates and ENotify. Comments are submitted with the school’s policy and
compact to FCPS central offices and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). This policy and
compact are made available to the broader school community through the school website.

Important Dates       

Parent-Teacher Conferences 

• November 3
  Additional Dates: November 5th

Progress Report Distribution

• November 6th
• February 5th
• April 9th
• June 11th

School Events

• Open House: 08/15/2024
• Back to School / Annual Title 1 Overview Night: 09/18/2024
• Baseball Game at Nationals Park: 09/28/2024
• Bi-weekly Parent Coffee Meetings on Fridays
• Family Science Night: 12/03/2024
• Monthly Parent Student Lunch (one per month)
• Partners IN Print
• 60th Anniversary Celebration

Building Capacity for Engagement

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers are actively involved in the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the school’s Title I program, including the following:

• Provide family members a voice in decision-making on committees, such as Annandale Terrace PTA,
  Title I Parent Advisory Committee and PTA parent advocacy support.
•  Engage caregiver input when developing the School Improvement and Innovation Plan (SIIP),
  Comprehensive Needs Assessment, the Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy and Compact and
  plans for use of Title I family engagement funding.
• Seek feedback from families on programs within the SIIP, offer multiple methods for caregivers to
  submit comments about programs they may not find satisfactory, and submit any such comments
  with SIIP to FCPS central offices.
• Invite family members to help in organizing and executing a variety of school events to build
  collective ownership, such as Family Science Night, Partners in Print Night, and 60th
  Anniversary Celebration events.
•  Provide opportunities for caregivers to volunteer within the school in various ways, such as Family
  Science Night, Monthly Parent student Lunch, Thanksgiving Luncheon, with the Capital Area Food
  Bank and in the Parent Center.
• Encourage families to take part in the annual evaluation of the division-level Title I parent and family
  engagement policy in order to identify:
  •  barriers to greater family participation,
  • ways to help family members be better able to assist in student learning, and
  • strategies to support successful school and family interactions.

Effective Communication with Parents

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers receive meaningful communication in a timely manner, including the following:

• Use multiple methods of communication to families such as such as emails, phone calls, conferences,
  ENotify, News to Choose, text messages, Wednesday folder forms, Twitter, Facebook, regular web
  updates of school news, Weekly ATES Updates newsletters, fliers, calendars, and parent resource
  links.
• Encourage all caregivers to attend an annual meeting on September 18, 2024 during BTSN, to share
  information about Title I services, explain Title I grant requirements, and inform families of their right
  to be involved in the school.
• Share school and student performance data with families in ways that seek their ideas about how to
  improve performance toward Virginia’s challenging academic standards, such as SOL Nights and
  Parent Coffee, etc.
• Provide opportunities throughout the year for families to better understand the school’s goals for
  students and find ways to improve student learning by holding Friday morning Parent Coffee
  Meetings to discuss topics such as Importance of Sleep, Reading, Math and Science at Home,
  Mental Health, Digital Citizenship/Internet safety and developing a growth mindset.
• Maintain resources for caregivers to review student assignments and ongoing communication about
  student work, such as:
  • Provide ongoing feedback on student progress through quarterly progress reports that show
    specific areas of proficiency and areas for continued growth.
  • Hold parent-teacher conferences for all students at least annually in the fall and more often, as needed.

Shared Responsibilities for High Academic Achievement

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers receive materials, training, and benefits from school partnerships with social and academic services, community-based organizations, and businesses, including the following:

• Hold workshops connecting caregivers to tools and resources, such as Partners in Print,
  parent coffees to cover topics such as digital citizenship and study skills.
• Offer regular opportunities for families to learn directly from school staff about the school’s
  academic, behavioral, and social programming through parent coffee meetings,
  curriculum celebration nights and weekly literacy programs.
• Encourage participation in family learning events where caregivers learn strategies to support
  their child’s learning at home and have a chance to practice those strategies with their child,
  such as such as Partners in Print, Family Literacy Night, Strategy Night, Math Night and Family
  Science Night.
• Provide ongoing access to resources in the school, such as the Parent Resource Center
  featuring books, DVDs, and the ability to check out materials as well as postings on parenting
  classes, Early Literacy classes, and Wee Play program
•  Provide mentors for students though community religious organizations, business partners from
  the Sprague Center, Annandale High School Seniors mentor program and staff members to
  mentor students during lunch as well as throughout the school day.
• Provide opportunities to donate and access supplies donated by others, such as school supplies,
  books, clothing, coats, hats, gloves, shoes and food donated by KIDS R First, Food for Others,
  Capital Area Food Bank, and local churches.
• Leverage partnerships with local businesses and organizations to enhance school programs
  and events, such as volunteers, donations of materials, sponsorship for food or guest
  speakers, reading partners or mentoring.
• Support parents in accessing county and community resources, such as health care, counseling, and
  tutoring, through the school social worker, parent liaisons, and Neighborhood School Readiness
  Team that supports early childhood education.
• Offer outreach and training for targeted families, such as Early Literacy classes, WeePlay Program
  and Friday morning parent coffee meetings.

Welcoming All Families

Efforts will be made to ensure that all parents/caregivers are welcomed and provided opportunities to actively engage within the school, including the following:

• Create a welcoming atmosphere at the school with courteous faculty and staff who are multilingual, parent-friendly signs, availability of resources in multiple languages.
• Provide interpretation services for parent-teacher conferences, workshops, and meetings.
• Translate or provide interpretation of all school documents and communication to make them accessible in the caregiver’s preferred correspondence language and for those with vision or hearing impairments.
• Support two-way communication between families and staff through assistance of a family liaison for outreach, supporting during parent conferences, liaison between home and school when new families transition, communicating critical information to parents about student progress and serving as a point of contact for questions for families.
• Expand access for family participation in informational meetings and learning sessions through PTA meetings and bi-weekly parent coffees.

Compact Provisions

School staff, parents/caregivers, and students must work together to ensure student success.

The staff will:

Provide a high-quality curriculum and instruction that enables students to meet challenging
academic standard through the following actions:

• Teach all students according to the state’s challenging standards, using approved curriculum
• Provide ongoing professional development and support to all teachers to ensure effective
  instructional practices are used in all classrooms.
• Meet individual learning needs through differentiated instruction
• Provide interventions and monitor students’ progress.

Provide a supportive and effective learning environment for students through
the following actions:

• Provide clear expectations for student behavior and academic learning.
• Offer a variety of resources to help students with their learning.
• Model and teach social skills through our school-wide Responsive Classroom approach and common
  schoolwide behavior expectations.
• Promote a collaborative learning environment through workshop approach that challenges each student
  to work creatively, think critically, and communicate effectively.
   

Provide assistance to caregivers in understanding the school’s program through the following
actions:

• Hold an annual meeting to present information on the school’s Title I programs, state and
  division curriculum and assessments, and the school’s state and federal accountability status.
• Provide multiple opportunities for caregivers to ask questions and give input in the Title I program(s)
• Communicate frequently with families using a variety of methods such as conferences, home visits,
  technology, Wednesday folders, parent liaisons and interpreters when needed.

Build caregivers’ involvement in the school’s Title I program through the following actions:

• Include caregivers as members of the School Improvement and Innovation Planning (SIIP)
  Committee and as collaborators in developing the SIIP and plans for the use of Title I family
  engagement funds.
• Elect a Title I Parent Advisory Committee member to represent our school at district wide
  meetings and report back to the school and parents.

The parents/caregivers will:

Demonstrate understanding that participation in my child’s education will help his or her achievement through the following actions:

• Participate in decisions related to school programs and my child’s education and share my questions
  or comments about the programs in my child’s school.
• Volunteer in my child’s classroom or in school activities, as my schedule allows.
• Encourage and support my child’s learning at home and at school.
• Check backpacks daily and monitor homework.
• Attend conferences and school events that support student achievement.
• Ensure that my child attends school on time every day.

The student will:

Share the responsibility to improve my academic learning to achieve the state’s challenging standards through the following’s actions:

• Get enough sleep every night.
• Come to school on time unless I am sick. 
• Try my hardest, work with my classmates to complete learning tasks, and ask for help when needed.
• Give my parents all notes and papers from my teacher. 
• Use the strategies and tools I have learned to do my best in class every day.
• Support my learning by using self-control and showing respect to all people.