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Parents & Family Engagement Policy

Ferris Junior High Parent and Family Engagement Policy

1) Ferris Jr. High will reach out to all parents and family members and implement programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents and family members in programs consistent with the requirements of ESSA Section 1116. Such programs, activities, and procedures shall be planned and implemented with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.

  • ParentSquare, Campus social media and website postings, weekly parent newsletters and Skyward Family Access will be used to keep parents abreast of the lastest information concerning their children's progress.
  • Teachers will engage in and document positive parent communication on a regulard basiss. 
  • Parent teacher conferences are available upon request.
  • Ferris Jr. High will invite parents to transition activities to help familiarize students and parents with expectations at the next level. 
  • Ferris Jr. High will host a meet the teacher activity prior to school opening, at which families can meet their children's teachers, tour the school building, and receive information on clubs and activities at each school.

2) Ferris Jr. High receives Title 1, Part A funds. Our goal is to plan and implement effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance. Therefore, Ferris Jr. High will develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents and family members of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy. 

  • A parent survey requesting input from parents on meaningful parent and family involvement activities will be conducted each year. 
  • Ferris Jr. High's Parent and Family Engagement (PFE) Policy for the upcoming school year will be evaluated by the Campus Education Improvement Committee (CEIC) each spring. 
  • At a CEIC meeting in the fall semester, the committee (consisting of parents, community members, and staff) will use the findings from the spring evaluation, the spring parent survey, and current committee input to develop the PFE policy for the year. All parents of enrolled students will be invited to this meeting to allow for additional input.
  • Afterwards, the newly developed PFE policy will be posted on the Campus website. A ParentSquare notification and social media posting will be made advising parents that the PFE policy has been posted on the website and that a written copy of the policy is available upon request. Additionally, copies of the policy will be available on campus. 

3) Ferris Jr. High will invovle parents and family members in jointly developing the Campus Improvement Plan (CIP) under section 1112 and the development of support and improvement plans under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 1111(d). Section 1116 (a)(2)(A).

  • Ferris Jr High will include parents on all decision-making and adivsory committees, properly training them for the areas in which they will serve.
  • This enlistment of parents for membership on Ferris Jr. High committees will include membership on the CEIC. The committee will meet at least two times per year, wherein it will assist in developing the Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA), developing the Campus Improvement Plan (CIP), monitoring formative assessments of the CIP strategies/activities, and eventually conduct a summative assessment/evaluation of the CIP. The committee will hold at least one public meeting after receipt of the Texas Academic Performance Report, and additional parental input for the plan will be sought at that time. 

4) Ferris Jr. High will provide the coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist and build the capacity of the campus in planning and implementing effective parent and family involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance, which may include meaningful consultation with employers, business leaders, and philanthropic organizations, or individuals with expertise in effectively engaging parents and family members in eduction.

  • Ferris Jr. High will maintain campus-business partnerships to provide students internships and on-site, experiential learning opportunities. 
  • Ferris Jr. High will connect students and families to service-learning projects in the community. 
  • Campus staff will provide a brief overview for parents of the required state assessments including information related to the state's academic content standards, the state's student academic achievement standards, the state and local academic assessments, including alternate assessments, the requirements of Title 1, how to monitor the child's progress, and how to work with educators. 
  • Campus Education Improvement Committee meetings will be help to include parents in the development of the campus improvement plans.
  • English Learner parent and family nights will be planned throughout the year and translators will be available at the campus level for parents as needed.
  • Dyslexia and Autism parent and family nights and workshops will be offered and will provide parents with materials and resources to increase student achievement. 
  • Parents are provided a list of services and resources on the campus' website at www.ferrisisd.org under the tab "For Parents" as well as on the counselor's website.
  • Campus will provide periodic parent workshops focues on helping parents help their children at homd, such as Talk about IEPs and Latino Family Literacy Program.

5) Ferris Jr. High will coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies under Title 1, Part A, to the extent feasible and appropriate, with other relevant Federal, State, and local laws and programs, including public preschool programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children.

  • Through campus-community partnerships, Ferris Jr. High will facilitate families' access to community-based programs (e.g. health care and human services) to ensure that families have resources to be involved in their children's education. 
  • Ferris Jr. High will invite community partners to share resources at student/parent events.
  • When possible, parent involvement meetings will be coordinated among booster clubs, special education, ESSA, mirgrant, ESL, etc.

6) Ferris Jr. High will conduct, with the meaningful involvement of parents and family members, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of all schools served under this part, Sectino 1116 (a)(2)(D). This includes identifying:

  • barriers to greater participation by parents in activities authorized by this section (with particular attentino to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background);
  • the needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and 
  • strategies to support successful school and family interactions.
  • Ferris Jr. High's Parent and Family Engagement policy for the 25-26 school year shall be evaluated at a CEIC meeting in Spring 2026. All parents of enrolled students will be invited to this meeting to provide input. Barriers to greater participation by parents in activites (as indicated above), needs of parents to assist with the learning of their children, and strategies to support successful school/family interactions will be discussed. 

7) Ferris Jr. High will use the findings of such evaluation to design evidence-based strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, the parent and family engagement policies.

  • Evidence-based stategies, suggested by parents and other committee members, from the evaluation of the Ferris Jr. High PFE 24-25 policy will be used to update and develop the 25-26 PFE policy and parent and family engagement program in Spring 2026.

8) Ferris Jr. High will involve parents in the activities of the schools served under this part, which may include establishing a parent advisory board comprised of a sufficient number and representative group of parents or family members served by the local educational agency to adequately represent the needs of the population for the purposes of developing, revising, and reviewing the parent and family engagement policy and provide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request.

  • Ferris Jr. High has 2 Parent Ambassadors on the DEIC, campus PTOs, and various other parent-led organizations. Title 1, Part A informatino is disseminated at the campuses through their Annual Title 1 meetings. To solicit parent participation at the Annual Title 1 Meeting, publicity concerning the annual meetings will be distributed to all parent-led organizations. Parent invitations for the annual Title 1 meetings will also be sent to parents via email groups, through ParentSquare, and posted on campus websites and social media accounts.
  • Ferris Jr. High shall provide other reasonable support for parental involvement activities. Parents can make such requests by contacting the campus principal's office by email, in person, or by phone. Support can be translation services, physical access, printed materials, etc.

9) To ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, Ferris Jr. High shall:

  • provide assistance to parents of children served by the local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics as the challenging State academic standards, State and local academic assessments, the requirements of the parent and family engagement program, and how to monitor a child's progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children; Section 1116 (e)(1)
    • Parents will be advised of how to monitor their child's progress through weekly grades, progress reports, and nine-week grades.
    • Parents will be asked to provide suggestions for educators on how educators might improve instruction to raise achievement levels for their children. 
    • The requirements of the parent and family engagement program will be discuessed at the annual Title 1 meetings at the campuses.
  • provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children's achievement, such as literacy training and using technology (including education about the harms of copyright pirarcy), as appropriate, to foster parental involvement
    • Ferris Jr. High will post on the campus website and/or print suggestions for parents on home conditions (such as plenty of rest) the support learning at each grade level and provide information for parents on homework policies and on monitoring and supporting student work at home.
    • Ferris Jr. High will provide information for parents on technology usage/abuse by students including copyright piracy.
  • educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communite with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school.
    • Ferris Jr. High will solicit parent input on teacher training including the value of parent involvement through a spring survey.
    • The campus will provide staff training on the "value and utility of the contributions of parents as equal partners with the teacher in the education of their child" during the fall semester.
    • Campus personnel will attend parent and family engagement training at Region X ESC when provided and/or other providers when available and practicable.
  • ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.
    • Ferris Jr. High will utilize translation services and ParentSquare to ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to parents in their home languages.

10) This campus-wide Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title 1, Part A programs, as evidenced by attendance sign-in sheets or other documentation of virtual meetings. This policy will be in effect from August 1, 2025 through July 30, 2026. The school campus will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title 1, Part A children by posting in on the campus website on or before October 25, 2025. and making hard copies available upon request.