• Parent Involvement Policy 

    Lake Air Montessori Magnet School

    Statement of Purpose

    Lake Air Montessori Magnet PDS School is committed to the goal of providing a quality education for every child.  In order to accomplish this goal, partnerships must be established with parents and the community. Lake Air Montessori will educate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school.  Everyone gains if school and home work together to promote high achievement for our children.  Neither home nor school can do the job alone.  Parents play an extremely important role as children’s first teachers.  Lake Air Montessori recognizes and encourages parents in the four key roles that they play in their child’s learning as:

    • Teacher- helping their children at home, 

    • Supporter- contributing their skills to the school, 

    • Advocate- helping their child receive fair treatment, and

    • Decision Maker- participating in joint problem-solving with the school at every level.

     

    Parent Involvement in Developing the Policy

    The Campus Decision Making Committee on each campus provides input concerning the campus-based policy.  Parents will jointly develop the school-wide program plan through an adequate representation of parents of participating children.  Parent comments from parent/teacher conferences, parent surveys, and other meetings to solicit parent input are used in the development and revision of this policy.

     

    Types of Parental Involvement

    Lake Air Montessori will provide reasonable support for parental involvement activities.  Lake Air Montessori will provide materials and training to help parents work with their children, such as literacy training and using technology.  The following are possible opportunities for home-school partnerships that parents are encouraged to take advantage of throughout the year.  We will offer a flexible number of meetings and times both in the morning and evening.

    • Annual Title I Meetings at a convenient time for parents, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited and encouraged to attend, to inform parents of our school’s participation under Title I and to explain the requirements of Title I, and the rights of the parents to be involved.

    • Parent Involvement Policy Meetings which will involve parents, in an organized, ongoing and timely way, in the planning, review and improvement of programs under Title I, including the planning, review and improvement of the school parental involvement policy.

    • Parent Education Workshops to assist parents of the children being served in understanding state standards, district and school assessments, and how to monitor a child’s progress.  Other workshops offered may include topics such as literacy training and using technology.

    • Parent/Teacher Conferences

    • Lake Air Montessori PTA

    • Lake Air Montessori Home-School Compact

    • Resources in the Parent Center

    • Lake Air Montessori and Waco ISD website

    • Lake Air Facebook page

    • Parent Surveys

    • Lake Air Montessori Memo

     

    Staff/Parent Communication

    Communication with parents will include timely information about the aforementioned programs, a description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.  We will ensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents can understand.

     

    Teachers will provide progress reports for parents every three weeks.  At least one conference concerning the child’s progress will be held at the end of the first reporting.  Conferences may also be held at the request of the parent or teacher.  Parents will have opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children.  Lake Air Montessori agrees to respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.  Additional communication may come home in the form of: phone calls, newsletters, weekly memos, notes home, school marquee, and district and campus websites.

     

    Home-School Compact

    In order for school, parents, and students to share responsibility for high student achievement, the Lake Air Montessori Home-School Compact is reviewed each year by campus improvement committees, parents, staff and community members.  This compact is provided for the parent and the student to review, sign, and return to the campus.  A copy is distributed to parents at the parent/teacher conference and on the backs of report cards.  The compact outlines school, parent, and student responsibilities necessary for effective learning to take place. 

     

    Coordination of Services

    Lake Air Montessori will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parental involvement strategies under Title 1 with parental involvement strategies under other programs.

     

    Evaluation

    Evaluations will be conducted through:

    • Annual Title 1 meetings with parents at times convenient to all parties

    • Annual Public Hearing for Title programs with parents at times convenient to all parties

    • Campus surveys conducted with parents in various modes of communication in both English and Spanish

     

    The campus will use information from these sources to design strategies for school improvement and to revise the parental involvement policy.

     

    Questions, concerns, and comments may be directed to Jaclyn Freeland, Coordinator of Parental Involvement at 254-772-1910.