Title I

Title I, Part A is a federal education grant meant to provide all children significant opportunities to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps. Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA) provides financial assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging academic standards. 

New Hanover County Schools currently serves 20 of its schools as Title I schoolwide schools. The schoolwide designation means that every student, regardless of income, can benefit from the resources that Title I funds provide - from additional staffing to high-quality professional development for staff to instructional resources for the classroom.

One of the pillars of Title I, Part A is its requirement that a significant effort is placed on including parents and families in their child’s education and for schools to provide information on how parents can be active participants in the educational process. 

Districts and schools receiving Title I, Part A funds are required to develop and parent involvement policy. New Hanover County School’s Parent Involvement Policy can be found HERE. 

Pine Valley's Family Engagement Policy

List of Assurances:

• Engage parents in developing a family engagement policy and make parents aware of their right to be involved in their children's education

• Host annual Title I meeting (Fall Curriculum Night)

• Dedicate at least 1% of Title I funds for family engagement, with parents involved in deciding the best use of these funds (ShowTime at Pine Valley)

• Develop a compact that outlines shared responsibilities for student achievement for parents and school staff.

• Build parent capacity by explaining state academic standards, showing how parents can support student learning at home.

• Provide take-home educational materials

• Coordinate with federal, state and local programs, including English learner programs and EC

• Provide materials in a language parents can understand, to the extent practicable.

Plan of Action:

• Title I annual meeting: Parents' rights to be involved in children's education, Title I programs, family engagement policies, and state assessments are explained in a stand-alone meeting early in the school year and not as part of an open house or back-to-school night. Parents also receive a brochure of all Title I funded programs and activities. A follow-up meeting in the spring gets parent feedback on Title I programs and adjusts programs for the upcoming school year.

• Policy on school meetings: School schedules alternate meeting times for the annual Title I meeting to accommodate parent schedules. Transportation and child care are also paid through the Title I family engagement set-aside to encourage attendance.

• Outreach to all families: The school year begins with Family Back to School night and Curriculum program funded through PTA. The school year ends with a Spring Fling. Parents are encouraged to volunteer at school, including their children's classrooms. Teachers are required to have atleast 2 face to face meetings/conferences with parents during school year.

• School partnerships: Translation services in Spanish are made available to parents at meetings. It has a memorandum of understanding with local Head Start and Pre-K programs. Our PTA provides funding throughout the year to assist in various programs and technology at Pine Valley. 

• Communication: The school is committed to meaningful, two-way communication. School messages are delivered through a family engagement smartphone app, robocalls, and emails, but the school does use social media through the PTA and school run Facebook page to connect more families. The school surveys parents on all Title I policy, needs assessment, and funding decisions.

• Use of family engagement set-aside: Title I pays for Instructional Coach, teacher, TA and 2 part-time tutors who work with small groups throughout the year in all grades.  This position was created and funded after a discussion with SIT. Additional funds are set aside for take-home educational materials and providing food and technology to parents at various school events.

• Parent capacity building: Each quarter, the school hosts a family-oriented academic activity, such as a math night, LEGO night, or Coding Night. Take-home educational materials are provided. WE also do an Art night each spring.

• Teacher capacity building: Parents are invited to speak about their experiences as Title I parents during SIT meetings and parent nights. Teachers play a role in the planning of all these events, we include all our families including single parents, and low-income parents. They work on listening and communication skills.

• Parent advisory council: The school has a parent advisory council that meets with the principal and school staff during SIT meetings. Every meeting focuses on a topic like the school budget, state academic assessments, the needs assessment, the parent-school compact, or family engagement policies.

• Documentation: Parents must sign in at all school meetings and activities. Sign-in sheets are recorded with dates and times and collected and archived for audits. The school also keeps parent survey results and meeting minutes as well as copies of the Title I plan and parent-school compact.

• Parent-school compact: This is included as part of this Title I plan.

Click Here To Print Pine Valley's Family Engagement Policy