Kanawha County Schools Parent and Family Engagement Policy 2025 – 2026

Strong family involvement is integral to success in Title I schools. Research demonstrates a clear correlation between the level of involvement of families in a student’s education and academic performance in school.

Current law requires that families be offered opportunities to participate in the education of their children as well as the opportunity for parent consultation in all required planning and development of Title I applications, schoolwide plans, and improvement plans for low-performing schools.

Districts and schools must adopt written parent and family engagement policies developed jointly with the parents of Title I students. Also, schools must adopt parent-school “compacts” and hold annual meetings for Title I parents.

In addition, schools have specific obligations to keep parents apprised of school performance, academic progress, teacher qualifications, and placement of English learners.

Part I: District Level Activities

In support of strengthening student academic achievement, each school district that receives Title I, Part A funds shall develop and distribute to parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy. To foster meaningful parent and family engagement, KCS agrees to implement the following:

Provide programs, activities and procedures for the involvement of parents and family members in all of its schools with Title I programs with input from parents and family members.
Work with its schools to ensure that school-level parent and family engagement policies meet the requirements of Title I including parent compacts.
Include the district wide parent and family engagement policy into its district plan.
Provide full opportunities for the informed participation of parent and family members by providing information and school reports in a language parents understand.
Submit parent comments to the WV Department of Education when Title I plan is unsatisfactory.
Involve the parents and family members of children served in Title I schools in decisions about how parent involvement funds are used.
Support programs that reach parents and family members at home, in the community, and at school.
Provide information on best practices focused on parent and family engagement to increase the engagement of economically disadvantaged parents and family members.
Encourage schools to collaborate with community with the purpose of improving and increasing parent and family engagement.
Provide coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance.
Parents will be invited to participate in the annual Superintendent’s Retreat to provide input into the district’s strategic plan and to review the district’s progress in meeting jointly established goals for all students.
Provide support to the KCS Parent and Community Resource Center to better enable them to be a joint partner in parent and family engagement at the district and school levels.
Annually publish a Parent and Student Handbook that contains information that is pertinent to their child’s participation in KCS schools.
Maintain a website that provides a link on the home page for parents and families.
Conduct surveys of parents of English Learner students to determine the need for translated documents and arrange for special assistance for non-English speaking parents such as translators.
Engage in activities and strategies that KCS determines are appropriate and consistent with our parent and family engagement policy.
The KCS Title I office will manage, plan, and collaborate with CSI and ATS schools to effectively use their federal funds for school improvement outcomes. Families of those schools will also have the opportunity to offer input of parent involvement plans.

Part II: School Level Activities

Parent representatives of students attending Title I schools will participate in the development of the school’s parent involvement policy through attendance at school sponsored parent and family engagement events and through participation on Title I schools’ parent groups such as Local School Improvement Councils.

Each Local School Improvement Council will maintain parent representation to address school review and school improvement needs. The LSIC will participate in on-going school review and school improvement. Each school will also involve parents as part of their strategic plan committee.
Parents in all Title I schools will be invited to offer input into parent involvement activities through the school’s annual strategic planning process and review through participation on the school’s LSIC, PTO/PTA organization, parent committees, or other means.
Title I schools will conduct an annual fall meeting with parents and families to review parent and family school and district policies, parent compacts, required academic standards, school assessments and curriculums, and the performance status of the school based on the results of the State’s testing, discuss the requirements of Title I and the meaning of being a Title I schoolwide school, and review the opportunities for parent and family involvement at the school.
Schools will conduct a variety of parent and family engagement and involvement activities where parents are invited to observe, monitor and discuss their child’ academic progress and progress along other indicators.
Title I schools will provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s academic achievement, and to foster parental involvement including providing materials and supplies for use at home.
Schools will communicate with parents and families through school handbooks, newsletters, and school websites. Parents also have access to Schoology to track their child’s progress and maintain contact with their child’s teacher(s).
CSI and ATS schools will effectively use their federal funds for school improvement outcomes and will share plans to use the provided funds with families. Families of those schools will also have the opportunity to offer input of parent involvement plans.

Part III: Adoption

This KCS district wide Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents and family members of children participating in Title I schools as evidenced by attendance of parents and family members at the March 2022 Superintendent’s Retreat. A list of attendees is available upon request from the KCS Title I Office 304-348-6165.
This policy was adopted by the Kanawha County School District on July 9, 2019 and will be in effect for the period of school year 2025-2026. The school district will distribute this policy to all parents and family members of participating Title I children on or before October 1, 2025.

Sissonville Elementary