WJC Continuous Improvement Plan 2022-2023:

ACIP Link Here

Parent and Family Engagement Plan:

W. J. Carroll's website and the Baldwin County Board of Education's website provide a wealth of information concerning all activities and expectations for student progress. The administrative staff and faculty may be contacted at anytime via email from these websites or contacted by phone. The handbook presented to each parent/guardian at the beginning of school by means of the student agenda, email, website, and/or hard copy includes a wealth of information. Meetings will be utilized for disseminating information and provide an opportunity to discuss information to improve student progress. We conducted the required Annual Title I Meeting for parents on August 23, 2022. Parents will be notified of the meeting through (1) notices sent home by students, (2) Blackboard (rapid notification system), (3) school website, (4) the school reader board, (5) WJC Intermediate Facebook page, and (6) WJC PTO Facebook page.

Topics discussed at this meeting were:

• What it means to be a Title I School
• The 1% Set-Aside
• The LEA Title 1 Plan
• The LEA Parental Involvement Plan
• The Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP)
• The Parent and Family Engagement Plan
• School-Parent Compacts
• Requesting qualifications of your child's teacher
• Notifications of teachers who are not Highly Qualified
• The Annual Evaluation of the Parent and Family Engagement Plan (Parental Involvement Plan)
• The process for how all Title I parents may have involvement in the 1% Set-Aside, the LEA Title 1 Plan, the ACIP, the revisions of compacts, the LEA and School Parental Involvement Plans, and the Annual Evaluation of the LEA Parental Involvement Plan
• Introduction of Parent Leaders/Contacts
• Timeline for the years' Parent Involvement Opportunities (including opportunities to share in decision-making)

The leadership and staff have a strong belief in the importance of parental involvement and therefore will put measures in place to offer parent meetings on a flexible schedule and/or virtually. The annual meeting for parents will occur at the Title I Parent Meeting in the fall and workshops/sessions for parents of struggling students will be implemented when a request is made.

We believe in involving parents in all aspects of our school but especially with the Title I programs through the Continuous Improvement Team Title I Committee. The process for involving all parents in decision-making will be as follows: The committee will be comprised of at least two parents. The committee meetings will be open to all parents. A parent involvement facilitator and parent leaders will be trained on Title I, Part A, parental involvement, and parents' rights. They will serve as representatives on decision-making committees and as contact persons for parents with questions about parental involvement and parents' rights. They will keep parents informed of various committee activities and receive input from parents about committee decisions. They will assist in evaluating the Parent and Family Engagement plan and in training other parents to be parent leaders. Title I parents will be introduced to the parent leaders at the annual Title I Parent Meeting at the beginning of the school year. Parents will be reminded of the on-going activities through the website, emails, Blackboard messages, WJC and PTO Facebook Pages, PTO flyers and in the school handbook.

Parent/Educator partnerships are vital to student success. A Parent Advisory Meeting is scheduled and conducted each month. Parent conferences, PTO meetings, daily agendas, letters, Remind, Blackboard Messaging, telephone contact, WJC Facebook, WJC School Website and emails help to ensure open communication, which strengthens partnerships. Communication of progress is sent home at least twice a month by homeroom teachers and is available 24/7 on PowerSchool. Incentive programs are used to highlight successes such as, AR reading point clubs/assemblies, IXL Math goals, honor roll, Shining Star, Leaders of the Month, Trojan Triumphs, Leader in Me Spotlights, and Synergy Rallies.

The School-Parent Compact was developed through a coordinated effort by the faculty and parent representatives. All parents were given a copy of the new compact. The compact was discussed with parents, and they were asked to sign the compact signifying their commitment to a working partnership with the school to ensure their child's success. The compact was discussed with teachers at the opening faculty meeting, and each teacher was given the responsibility of explaining the compact to their students and obtaining the students' signatures. Teachers then signed the compact and housed them in their classrooms for use during parent-teacher and/or student-led conferences. The compact is evaluated and revised annually.

Parents may submit comments of dissatisfaction through whatever form of communication they desire. The most common form of communication is phone calls, email, Remind and letter format. During our Class Conversation Meetings, homeroom teachers present information about Title I programs, the curriculum, and various forms of academic assessments that are utilized. Parents learn about priority goals in reading and math, how to schedule parent-teacher conferences, and procedures necessary for participating in decisions related to their child's education are reviewed. Parents were informed that scores are sent home twice a month in progress folders, at midterm, and at the end of each quarter. They are also available 24/7 in Parent Portal PowerSchool.  Resources located on our school website were shared with parents that would assist their children with the learning process at home.

W.J. Carroll's ACIP Team for Title I will work diligently to ensure that all parent materials and training are closely aligned with our school's identified goals. Grade levels send home newsletters and have classroom websites and Google Classroom pages that include teaching tips and homework help. Parents can access teachers' websites for additional instructional strategies, tools, and resources in various academic areas. Workshops/sessions for parents of struggling learners will help parents understand the goals and expectations for students as well as tips for helping students at home.

W.J. Carroll will work with its teachers through in-services and faculty meetings to understand and facilitate the importance of parental involvement and the acknowledgement of parents as partners in a child's education. The CIP Team for Title I places special emphasis on the need to ensure a closer connection with our transient population.

The Family Advisory Committee, sponsored by the Parent Teacher Organization, will meet monthly with administration to facilitate meaningful dialogues between parents and teachers to encourage student success. The Title 1 Parent Survey and the Leader in Me Measurable Results Assessment will be administered to elicit parent feedback, concerns, and needs. Both surveys will allow parents to identify school strengths and challenged areas in leadership, culture and academics. This parental input will allow WJC to better align its resources in order to serve their students and parents. Our PTO will conduct three school-wide evening meetings to allow parents an opportunity to hear updates on school issues as well as share their perspectives. A Leader in Me Action Team will sponsor Family Night Events that combine learning with fun activities to strengthen the family unit.

W.J. Carroll will coordinate its parent involvement program for all Title I parents. A bilingual liaison from the county can work with the school in meeting the needs of our ELL population's parents. The system can provide an interpreter when needed for hearing impaired parents. Our special education teachers will meet monthly to review student progress and develop plans that include parental involvement to increase student achievement. In addition, our school hosts an annual meeting for parents of gifted students. Finally, events like workshops/sessions for parents of struggling students will provide information on how parents can more fully participate in the education of their child.

W.J. Carroll makes every effort to work with parents in meeting their requests related to involvement in their child's education. Parents have conveyed in many meetings that they struggle with math homework so sessions and/or video recordings will be available for parents of struggling students. These sessions (Math Boosters, Help-online, and Sessions scheduled with the Instructional Coach) will allow parents to better understand reading and math goals and how to better help students with difficult subject matter. We have also made an effort school-wide to reduce the homework assignments to give families an opportunity to relax and decompress together from a hard day of everyone working.

W.J. Carroll Intermediate School, to the extent practicable, provides opportunities for the participation of parents with limited English proficiency and parents with disabilities. WJC presently has 16 ELL students; therefore, parent notifications can be sent to parents of these children in other languages. In addition, we have a bilingual liaison who is available to assist in verbal communications with these parents. At this time, WJC has no migrant students. Every effort is made to accommodate parents with disabilities. WJC is a handicapped-accessible building. The system provides an interpreter for hearing impaired parents when needed. For parents who are homebound, special accommodations will continue to be made to communicate with them by phone, Zoom/Google Meet and through home visits when needed.