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Parents & Community
Parent Advisory Committee (PAC)
The School Parent Advisory Committee’s role is to provide advice and assistance to school administrators and educators related to the Academic Achievement Plan, programs, activities, resources and services in order to help the school attain its goal of providing each child with the best education possible. Committee may:- Assist by providing input on the educational priorities of the school based on achievement data
- Offer advice on a variety of school issues (school climate, social-emotional learning, Title I, special education, ELL, attendance, extracurricular activities, etc.)
- Promote and encourage parent and community participation in the school
- Provide volunteers and fund raising activities to enhance the school experience for students
- Provide a communication link between the school and the community
- Help identify the concerns of students, parents, and community members and assist in developing solutions
- Parents or guardians whose children attend the school are eligible to serve as members of the advisory committee
Contact your local school office to participate in the parent organization at your school or contact:CMSD Parent and Family Engagement Policy
In order to receive Title I funds, districts must conduct outreach to parents and family members and must implement programs, activities and procedures for the engagement of parents and families in Title I-funded activities. Each district must jointly develop with and distribute to families, in a language they can understand, a written parent and family engagement policy. The engagement policy must be periodically updated to reflect the needs of families and be incorporated into the district plans described above. Title I-receiving schools in the district must also distribute parent and family engagement policies agreed to by parents.
School Districts: The district parent and family engagement policy must describe how the district will:
- Engage parents in the joint development of the district and school plans;
- Provide the support necessary to assist schools in implementing effective, integrated evidenced-based family engagement strategies, activities and programs;
- Conduct an annual evaluation of the effectiveness of the policy in improving the academic quality of Title I schools, including identifying barriers to greater participation by families, (especially family members who are economically disadvantaged, disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are a racial or ethnic minority) and use the findings to design strategies to support successful school and family partnerships; and
- Engage parents in the planning and execution of Title I school activities, which will also include establishing a parent advisory committee/council or School Parent Organization to review and revise the engagement policy annually.
- ESSA defines the term "parent" to include "a legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis (such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the child's welfare)."
PARENTS' RIGHT TO KNOW
Parents have the right to know about the teaching qualifications of their child's classroom teacher in a school receiving Title I funds. The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires that any school district receiving Title I funds must notify parents that they may request and receive information regarding the professional qualifications of their child's classroom teachers, including at a minimum, the following:
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Notification your child has not been taught by a Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT) for 4+ consecutive weeks
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Whether the teacher has met state qualification and licensing criteria for the grade levels and subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction
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Whether the teacher is teaching under emergency or other provisional status through which State qualification or licensing criteria have been waived
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Whether the teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of certiciation of the teacher
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Whether your child is provided services by paraprofessionals and, if so, their qualifications
Please contact your school principal for this information.
Parent Leadership Institute
The Parent Leadership Institute seeks to enable parents and caregivers to become leading advocates for children and school improvement under The Cleveland Plan. The institute will consist of workshops and presentations by district leaders, curriculum specialists, parent leaders, community partners and special guests.
The Parent Leadership Institute will strive to:
- Help parents and caregivers become the leaders they would like to be for children;
- Expand the capacity of parents and caregivers as change agents for children;
- Inform parents and caregivers about the policies and procedures of the school district, Title IA, ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act), district initiatives, and their rights and responsibilities.
- Develop communities of parents and caregivers that will support one another in both their skills development and successful parent action for children;
- Facilitate parents' capacity to offer input into community efforts at the school, neighborhood, regional and state level;
- Facilitate systems change for family engagement with increased utilization of parents and caregivers in policy and process decisions.
Parents and caregivers who are members of School Parent Organizations (SPO), Parent Advisory Committees (PAC), or monthly principal parent meetings are encouraged to attend.
All CMSD parents and caregivers are welcome.
Childcare, lunch and transportation assistance are available.
All meetings will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at East Professional Development Center, 1349 E. 79th Street, Cleveland, 44103.
2019-2020 MEETING DATES WILL BE POSTED IN AUGUST.
For more information call Tracy Hill, Executive Director at 216.838.0331.
