Family Engagement Plan

Purpose 

The North Side Elementary Family Engagement Plan was developed to: 

• Support Goal Four of the Board of Education’s Long Term Plan as well as the system’s Tennessee Comprehensive System wide Planning Process (TCSPP)  

• Support the initiatives found in the Consolidated Federal Projects Application 

• Create a common vision of family engagement and resources needed to sustain that vision 

• Increase and improve the level of family involvement in our students’ education. 

• Comply with Tennessee state law (public chapter 154) 

 

Plan

Component 1:  North Side Elementary is committed to involving families in policy development. (NOTE:  this component supports TPIS Standard 5:  sharing power.) 

Indicators: 

1. Parents will have an opportunity to discuss and provide input through PTA Council and monthly School Improvement Team meetings.  Comments regarding E-plan will be accepted through the North Side website www.jcschools.org/NorthSide 

2. Parents will be represented on North Side Elementary school’s site-based council  and will be involved in the development of the parent plan and the E-Plan 

3. Parents will be represented on North Side’s School Improvement Plan core team 

4. North Side Elementary has a parent/school compact as part of its parent involvement plan.  This compact describes how parents, staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student academic achievement. 

5. Parents and educators will have the opportunity to provide input through quarterly feedback through postings on the system’s web page and the school’s website at www.jcschools.org/northside. 

6. Cultural, economic, language, and demographic issues will be given attention through the selection of focus groups and advisory councils and committees  

7. The system will provide parents of English Language Learners the opportunity to provide input at an annual community meeting. 

 

Component 2:  The Family Engagement Plan includes technical assistance and planning support for effective family engagement.  (NOTE:  this component supports TPIS Standard 2:  communicating effectively.) 

Indicators: 

1. Parents are notified of North Side’s parent involvement plan in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language the parents can understand through a link on the website. 

2. North Side has an annual parent meeting to inform parents about the school’s parent involvement programs and right of parents to be involved at a PTA meeting. 

3. Workshops for parents are scheduled through The Learning Center www.jcschools.org/tlc 

4. Assistance is provided to parents in better understanding state standards (content as well as achievement), local assessments, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with teachers to improve student achievement through Parent Connect Workshops and Grade Level Parent meetings. 

5. Title I and the PTA Council co-host an annual program “Looking into our Schools” to provide information regarding federal programs and expenditures and to collect feedback from parents. 

6. School newsletters are sent home on a regular basis and contain information regarding school programs including report cards, test results, new programming options, and suggestions for parents to become involved in their child’s education 

7. The district report card and other key sources of information regarding academic assessment and expected student proficiency levels are linked to the district web site and to each school’s web site.  Report cards and student assessments are sent home to students each quarter at North Side, conferences may be set up as needed with the teacher. 

8. Curriculum/courses of study may be accessed by a link from the district web site to the state department web site 

9. A computer with access to the internet and email will be made available to parents in the The Learning Center site www.jcschools.org/tlc 

10.  Parents will be provided opportunities for regular meetings relating to the education of their children and as appropriate participate in decisions relating to the education of their children.  Conferences are scheduled as needed with teachers. 

11. Title I parent involvement activities will be coordinated with parent involvement activities of other programs such as: Even Start, preschool, and ESL programs. 

12.  Information related to school and parent programs, to the extent practicable, will be sent in a language parents can understand. 

 

Component 3:  The Family Engagement Plan supports clearly articulated goals for extent and type of family engagement.  (NOTE:  this component supports   TPIS Standard 1: welcoming all families into the school community.) 

Indicators: 

1. A variety of planned, goal oriented programs will be oriented and implemented to engage all parents in their children’s education in one or more of the following categories: 

1. parenting (strategies to promote effective parenting practices at home) 

1. parenting workshops from Resource Central 

2. Parent Connect Workshops at North Side 

2. communicating (strategies to promote positive school-home communication) 

1. school monthly newsletter 

2. classroom weekly/monthly newsletter 

3. Open House 

4. classroom planners 

5. website, Bloomz App communication 

6. on-going conferences, phone calls 

3. volunteering (opportunities for parents to volunteer or be an audience at school) 

1. parents in the classroom volunteering 

2. PTA 

4. learning at home (learning activities to involve parents with students at home) 

1.  STEAM Night 

2.  Reading Night 

3. Fall Festival 

4. Rejoice in the Arts 

5. Dinner & the Theater 

5. decision making (opportunities to engage in decision making, governance, and advocacy roles at both the school and system level) 

1. School Improvement Team Representatives 

2. PTA meetings 

6. collaborating with the community (activities/events that foster school-community partnerships) 

1. Coalition for Kids 

2. Rise UP! 

3. Girls on the Run 

4. Second Harvest food events 

5. Munsey Church 

6. Boys & Girls Club 

7. America Reads tutors/ETSU & Milligan interns & student teachers 

(NOTE:  the link to student achievement and the importance of providing activities in each of the above categories is derived from Joyce Epstein’s research at Johns Hopkins University.) 

1.   North Side will offer a flexible number of meetings  

2. Reasonable support for parent involvement activities will be provided per parent request (i.e., transportation, interpreter, etc.) 

3. To the extent practicable, opportunities will be provided for full participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children. 

4. Sign-in sheets and other forms of documentation will be kept on file and reviewed annually to assess parent participation in system and school activities in each of the six areas 

 

Component 4:  The Family Engagement Plan provides for an evaluation process to   promote continuous improvement of the engagement of all families. 

Indicators: 

1. Annual surveys will be conducted at the system level as well as at each of the school sites to identify barriers to greater participation; to design more effective strategies; and to revise, if necessary, the parent involvement plan 

2. Survey results will be analyzed to measure the effectiveness of the plan and to secure input regarding modifications in future practices 

3. Measurable goals for increasing the level and quality of family involvement are required as part of every school improvement plan 

4. The system wide Family and Community Advisory Council will use the Family Friendly Schools-District Family Policy Assessment and Development (rubric) to evaluate the system wide Family Engagement Plan 

 

Component 5:  The Family Engagement Plan requires family engagement at all school sites. 

Indicators: 

1.  North Side (including schools served under Title I-A) develops a  Family Engagement Plan jointly with parents, agreed on with parents, distributed to parents, and submitted as an annual update of the plan to the district office 

2.  North Side will conduct a  parent survey regarding the family practices provided at each school site and submit the survey results to the district office 

3    Each school will set a goal for family engagement for each major strategy 

4.   All schools will submit their plans to the central office for review and evaluation 

 

Component 6:  The Family Engagement Plan includes procedures for parents to access and understand course of study or curricular materials as well as Federal, State, and local standards.  (NOTE:  this component supports TPIS Standard 3:  supporting student success.) 

Indicators: 

1. The district web site will contain a link to the Tennessee State Department of Education where the state curriculum for each grade level and subject area can be accessed 

2.  Progress indicators on elementary report cards will be aligned with state standards 

3. The textbook adoption process will provide an opportunity for potential textbooks to be reviewed by parents and the community 

4. The current resource known as The Learning Center will have specific activities and materials set aside for the involvement of families 

5. The Johnson City Schools’ Tennessee Comprehensive System wide Planning Process (TCSPP) document (including learning goals and action steps) will be posted on the school system website, and each school’s TSIPP will be posted on the school web site 

 

Component 7:  The Family Engagement Plan encourages the support of district  involvement in positive parenting skills.  (NOTE:  this component supports TPIS Standard 4: speaking up for every child.) 

Indicators: 

1. Parenting workshops will be offered through the “Resource Central” and an annual special education conference 

2. Parenting programs such as “STEP” and PASSport to Success” will be provided on an annual basis 

3. The Learning Center will provide a variety of parenting materials for review and checkout 

4. Materials and training are provided to help parents work with their children to improve their achievement, such as literacy training and using technology to foster parental involvement. 

5. North Side offers after school tutoring to improve student homework and achievement. 

6. Parents will receive phone calls to confirm student absences and to encourage better student attendance; a letter will be sent home once a student has accrued five unexcused absences. 

7. North Side strives to acknowledge good character and good student behavior through the counselor’s office.  (Life skills) 

 

Component 8:  The Family Engagement Plan incorporates family involvement in decision making and governance.  (NOTE:  this component supports   TPIS Standard 5:  sharing power.) 

Indicators:   

1. North Side Elementary Staff is friendly towards, respectful of, and helpful to all families 

2. North Side has family representation on the site-based team 

3. North Side has several ways of listening to parents and engaging them in two-way communication (for example, two way writing planners, Bloomz app, open door policy, and providing ways to give input on the school web site) 

4. Parent representatives will serve on each school’s School Improvement Planning Process (SIPP) team as well as on the system’s Tennessee Comprehensive System wide Planning Process (TCSPP) core team.  Parents are also represented each time the Johnson City Schools Board of Education updates its five year plan. 

 

Component 9:  The Family Engagement Plan supports professional development to build the capacity for family engagement.  (NOTE:  this component supports TPIS Standard 3: supporting student success.) 

Indicators: 

1. Professional development in the area of family engagement will be provided to all staff members,   Staff will be educated in the value and contributions of parents, in working with parents, and in building ties between parents and schools 

2. Families will have opportunities to be included in family engagement training 

3. Schools will be supported by the district office in planning/implementing family engagement activities for the purpose of improving student achievement 

 

Component 10:  The Family Engagement Plan specifies budget and funding for family 

    engagement. 

Indicators: 

1. The district has adequate staff and resources to implement the family involvement standards 

2. District and site-based budgets will reflect a commitment to the effective development, implementation, and evaluation of family engagement programs including but not limited to the following: 

• System wide Spanish interpreter 

• The Learning Center workshops and materials 

• System and school level newsletters and other publications 

• Staff development 

3.  The Learning Center will serve as a clearinghouse to gather best practices, ideas, materials, new approaches, research, and other program information in order to help schools improve family involvement programs. 

4. All Title I schools will designative at least 1% of the Title I A budget for parent involvement activities 

 

Component 11:  The Family Engagement Plan encourages families and school staff to  work together with community members to connect students, families,  and staff to expanded learning opportunities, community services, and civic participation.  (NOTE:  this component supports TPIS Standard 6:   collaborating with community.) 

Indicators: 

1.  Partnerships between schools and community organizations will be encouraged including but not limited to Coalition for Kids,  Carver Park, , Rise- Up, ETSU, Boys and Girls Club, Girls on the Run, Girls Inc., Milligan College, and Northeast State Community College 

2. Parent involvement strategies are coordinated with parent involvement strategies of other programs, such as Family Resource Center, Youth Empowerment Initiative, and Title III. 

3. Each school’s parent involvement plan is made available to the local community and updated periodically to meet the changing needs of parents and the school. 

 

 

Last Updated: September 21, 2022