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.

Weyanoke 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. 

Weyanoke Elementary jointly developed this policy and compact with members of the school community and adopted it for the 2024 - 2025 school year. Several 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 comment boxes housed in the front office and family center and during the Title I Annual Meeting. 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

School Events

• TBD

Parent-Teacher Conferences

• Individually Scheduled before November 5
• Additional dates, as needed

End of the Quarter

• TBD

Building Capacity for Involvement

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 the school board’s Title I Parent Advisory Committee, School Improvement and Innovation Planning Team and the PTA. 
• 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 Title I Schoolwide Plan, offer multiple methods for caregivers to submit comments about programs they may not find satisfactory, and submit any such comments with the 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 such as Caregiver Coffees, Family Learning Nights, International Night and Family Market Nights.
• Provide opportunities for caregivers to volunteer within the school in various ways, such as cafeteria monitors, library helpers and during school events.
• Encourage families to take part in annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the division-level Title I parent and family engagement policy 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 Talking Points, Weyanoke News You Choose and eNotify messages via text and email. Additional information can be found on the school website and social media pages: WeyanokeEs.fcps.edu, Twitter.com/WeyanokeES and Facebook.com/WeyanokeWoodchucks. 
• Encourage all caregivers to attend an annual meeting on September 8, 2022 during Back to School Night 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 during PTA meetings and Caregiver Coffees. 
• Provide opportunities throughout the year for families to better understand the school’s goals for students and find ways to improve student learning by discussing them at PTA meetings, Family Learning Nights and Caregiver Coffees.
• Maintain resources for caregivers to review student assignments and ongoing communication about student work, such as interim reports, progress reports, emails, Talking Points communications and conferences.
• 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 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 parent workshops on home-school connection, internet safety, and advanced academics.   
• Offer regular opportunities for families to learn directly from school staff about the school’s academic, behavioral, and social programming through Caregiver Coffees, the family liaison, PTA meetings, Wednesday folders, newsletters, counseling services and parent workshops.
• 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 Family Learning Nights and Math in the Middle.
• Provide ongoing access to resources in the school, such as parent workshops and a family center featuring books, videos, and checkout materials.
• Provide mentors for students through the local high school, community volunteers and staff members.
• Provide opportunities to donate and access supplies donated by others, such as school supplies, winter coats, food resources and volunteering at Family Market Night.
• Leverage partnerships with local businesses and organizations to enhance school programs and events, such as St. Matthews United Methodist Church, Grand Involve and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
• Support parents in accessing county and community resources, such as health care, counseling and tutoring through the school social worker and family liaison.
• Offer outreach and training for targeted families, such as parenting workshops, curriculum nights and Hispanic Early Literacy classes.

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, welcoming signs, availability of resources in multiple languages, Family Liaison, the Family Resource Center, and Caregiver Coffees.
• 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, Talking Points App and use of a language line for interpretation and translation.
• Expand access for family participation in informational meetings and learning sessions through Weyanoke News You Choose, Talking Points, Wednesday folders and monthly PTA meetings.  

Compact Provisions

School staff, parents/caregivers, and students must work together to ensure a 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 resources.
• Provide ongoing professional development and support to all teachers to ensure effective instructional practices are used in all classrooms.
• Provide an instructional day that allows for a variety of engaging educational activities, including rigorous instruction for all students. 

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.
• Implement the Zones of Regulation and Responsive Classroom strategies to build positive relationships.

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 into the Title I programs.
• Provide information through school events and caregiver meetings.

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

• Include caregivers as members of the School Innovation and Improvement Planning (SIIP) Committee and as collaborators in developing the Title I Schoolwide Plan and plans for the use of Title I family engagement funds.
• Provide multiple opportunities for parents to receive an overview of the school’s Title I program, including meetings that provide an opportunity for questions and input. 

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.  
• Send my child to school on time, well rested and prepared for learning.
• Attend schoolwide events and participate in parent meetings.

The student will:

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

• Get enough sleep every night.
• Come to school on time unless I am sick. 
• Try my hardest and work with my classmates to complete learning tasks.
• Give my parents all notes and papers from my teacher. 
• Ask for help, when needed.