Author: jtaylor1

Kate Shepard Elementary School shall continue to work with its teachers through faculty meetings, grade level meetings and in-services which promote the importance of parental involvement and working with parents as partners in the education process. Training will be provided to teachers during a faculty meeting addressing how to foster positive home-school relationships and conduct effective parent conferences. Positive customer service skills will be discussed and expected from all personnel. In order to provide school wide uniformity and consistency in communicating students' academic progress to parents for 2024-2025 teachers will send home quarterly progress reports generated through an online platform or through Schoology, the system's computerized information tracking program and follow-up with parent conferences if needed. In an effort to build ties between the parents and the school, teachers will post weekly newsletters and administration will publish a monthly newsletters.
Kate Shepard Elementary School shall 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. If requested, newsletters/ field trip forms/etc. will be sent to our ESL office for translation. Interpreters maybe provided for our parent conferences via email/face to face/phone. Also, an English Second Language teacher is on staff.

Kate Shepard Elementary School shall work diligently with parents to meet their requests as related to other reasonable support. Teachers may provide additional resources to parents to meet the needs of individual students as determined through parent conferences or other communications between the parent and the teacher. The counselor and/or school nurse assist parents with contact information regarding social issues that may impact student learning, health and well-being, such as mental health, physical wellness, homelessness, domestic violence, etc. as needed or requested by the parent.

Kate Shepard Elementary School, to the extent possible, provides opportunity for the participation of all parents, including those with limited English proficiency and/or other challenges. Our school EL teacher assists with parent notifications to families with limited English proficiency. All information is provided as requested in the parent's native language or an interpreter is requested from the English Language Director to assist the parent in fully understanding the information provided. To accommodate any school stakeholder with disabilities, Kate Shepard Elementary School is a handicapped accessible building providing access to all areas of the school and accommodating their disability as needed.

Mobile County Public Schools

Kate Shepard Elementary
Parent and Family Engagement PLAN
2024- 2025

Know. Love. Grow.
Principal: Angela Lincecum
Assistant Principal: Fredric Robinson
3980-B Burma Road
Mobile, AL 36693
(251)221-1645
(251)221-1646 fax

Kate Shepard Elementary School informs parents of our school's participation in the Title I program and explains the Title I requirements through annual parent meetings. This year the Annual Title I Meeting was held in person and there was also a virtual option available. Information is prerecorded and parents were provided with a QR Code. In addition, the video is made available on the website. Title I parenting funds are used to purchase supplies to assist families in improving parenting skills. The Title I facilitator, counselor, or technology teacher organizes and offers parenting meetings at various times to include morning and evening sessions. Parents are notified of meetings through notices sent home with the students and public posting on the website as well as social media accounts.

The Title I facilitator, counselor, or administration teacher organizes and offers parenting meetings at various times to include morning and evening sessions. Parents are notified of these meetings through notices sent home with the students and public postings on the website as well as the phone messenger system. Flexibility will be achieved through recorded sessions that families may view at their convenience.
Kate Shepard Elementary believes in involving parents in all aspects of its Title I programs. Establishing and implementing a PTO will ensure that parents are involved in all aspects of decision-making. Parents are invited to serve on the CIP team and the Parent Advisory Committee. Survey results will allow parents to have a voice in school initiatives and programs.
Kate Shepard Elementary School received $3,057.82 in parental involvement funds to purchase school-to-home communication planners and folders. Funds are also used to purchase materials and supplies used for parent meetings and postage for mailing report cards to parents at the end of the school year.

Kate Shepard Elementary School utilizes weekly newsletters, phone messenger, social media accounts, and its website to keep parents informed of factors impacting their children's education. At annual Title I meetings, Kate Shepard Elementary School presents information about its Title I programs, the curriculum and forms of assessment utilized, and other topics of interest suggested by parents. Parents become knowledgeable about the following subjects taught: reading, math, language, science, social studies, physical education, art and music. Parents are made aware of specific curricula used in coordination with the Alabama Course of Study and the Mobile County District Pacing Guide. Parents are made aware in conferences and parent meetings of the different assessments and benchmark tests utilized such as the ACAP, Phonics First literacy screeners and individual assessments at each grade level, as well as the benchmarks required to score proficient on each assessment. They also become knowledgeable about procedures for scheduling virtual or phone parent-teacher conferences, tracking their child's academic progress (using the Schoology platform) and participating in decisions related to the education of their child. Teachers are available to provide parents with additional information on the subjects they teach and how students are individually assessed. Each grade level has an assigned staff member to help with the transmission of information. Parents participate in Partnership Conferences to understand their child's academic strengths and weaknesses and to develop a plan that ensures academic success. All information is provided as requested in the parent's native language or an interpreter is requested from the English Language Director to assist the parent in fully understanding the information provided.

The School-Parent Compact of Kate Shepard Elementary School was reviewed by the Leadership Team at the end of the 23-24 school year. The Team met to identify the current expectations, roles and responsibilities of our administration, teachers, parents and students. All parents were given a copy of the compact at the beginning of the school year. Teachers are given the responsibility to explain the compact to parents and students during partnership conferences and all sign compact signifying their commitment to working as a team to ensure the success of the student. The School-Parent Compact was also explained at the Annual Title I Parent Meeting. The compact consist of three copies; one is filed in the Title I documentation box, one copy is given to parents and one is to be kept on file by the classroom teacher for use during parent-teacher and/or student-teacher conferences. It will be reviewed and updated at the end of the school year.
The compact will be developed through a coordinated effort of a Parent Advisory Committee made up of parents, teachers and administration.
Parents are given the opportunity to address unsatisfactory components of the CIP in writing to school administrators. The school maintains a policy of forwarding parental CIP concerns, along with the CIP to the central office.
The faculty and staff of Kate Shepard Elementary School shall provide materials and training to help parents work with their children. Throughout the year, teachers will provide parents with information on ways they can work with their children at home to improve their child's academic achievement. Parenting meetings are held focusing on school goals such as the appropriate and safe use of technology in the home and the school setting, understanding ACAP, and the implementation of content specific curriculum. Parental involvement is encouraged at all times.

Describe procedures to allow parents to submit comments of dissatisfaction with the Continuous Improvement Plan.
Parents are given the opportunity to address unsatisfactory components of the CIP in writing to the school. The school maintains a policy of forwarding parental CIP concerns, along with the CIP to the central office.
Describe how the school will build capacity for parental involvement including how parents will be encouraged to become equal partners in the education of their children? (See NCLB Section 1118, requirements for building capacity in parental involvement.)