Title 1

Dear Alderwood Parent(s)/ Guardian(s):

Your child attends Alderwood Elementary, which receives Federal Title I funds to assist students in meeting

state achievement standards. Throughout the school year, we will be providing you with important

information about this law and your child’s education. This letter lets you know about your right to request

information about the qualifications of the classroom staff working with your child.

At Alderwood, we are very proud of our teachers and feel they are ready for the coming school

year, and are prepared to give your child a high-quality education. As a Title I School, we must meet

federal regulations related to teacher qualifications. These regulations allow you to learn more about your

child’s teacher’s training and credentials. We are happy to provide this information to you. At any time you may ask:

• Whether the teacher has met state qualifications and licensing criteria for the grade levels and/or

subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction,

• Whether the teacher is teaching under an emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived, and
• Whether the teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher.

You may also ask whether your child receives help from a paraprofessional. If your child receives this

assistance, we can provide you with information about the paraprofessional’s qualifications.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which was signed into law in December 2015 and reauthorizes the

Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1956 (ESEA), includes additional right-to- know requests. At any

time parents and family members can request:

• Information on policies regarding student participation in assessments and procedures for opting out
• Information on required assessments that include: subject matter tested, purpose of the test source

of the requirement (if applicable amount of time it takes students to complete the test, and time and

format of disseminating results

Our staff is committed to helping your child develop the academic knowledge and critical thinking he/she

needs to succeed in school and beyond. That commitment includes making sure that all of our teachers

and paraprofessionals meet applicable California state requirements.

If you have any questions about your child’s assignment to a teacher or paraprofessional, please contact

me at kellicheshire@iusd.org or 949-936-5400

Sincerely,

Kelli Cheshire 

Principal

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Title I School-Level Parent and Family Engagement Policy

Alderwood Elementary has developed a written Title I parent and family engagement policy with input from Title I parents and family members. This policy has been reviewed and approved by the Parents, Teachers, and Administrators who make up our School Site Council. This policy will be available on the Alderwood Elementary website, https://alderwood.iusd.org/, paper copies will be available in the office, and the policy will also be made available at various Parent and Family Engagement meetings throughout the year. The policy describes the means for carrying out the following Title I parent and family engagement requirements [20 USC 6318 Section 1118(c),-(g) inclusive]. 

Involvement of Parents in the Title I Program

To involve parents and family members in the Title I program at Alderwood Elementary, the following practices have been established:

• The school convenes an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited to attend and encouraged to attend, to inform parents and family members of their school’s participation in the Title I program and to explain requirements and the right of the parents to be involved. (20 USC 6318 (c)(1)) 
  • Alderwood will make presentations pertaining to the Title I program where families can access the information at convenient times. 

• The school offers a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with Title I funds, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parent involvement. (20 USC 6318 (c)(2)) 
  • Alderwood will provide meetings offered at convenient times; providing child care when appropriate. 

• The school involves parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s Title I program, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan. (20 USC 6318 (c)(3)) 
  • Alderwood will engage members of the School Site Council, as representatives of the parent population at large, in the planning review, and improvement of Alderwood Elementary School Title I program. 

• The school provides parents of Title I students with timely information about the Title I program. (20 USC 6318 (c)(4)) 
  • Title I program information will be made available to parents and guardians through a variety of means, including: Sent home via home-school communication, posted to the school’s website, and through Parent and Family Engagement meetings/activities. 

•  A description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress, and the achievement levels of the challenging State academic standards. (20 USC 6318 (c)(5)) 
  • Information pertaining to the curriculum in use and academic assessments are provided to parents at Back-to-School Night, Parent Information Night, and in upper-grade classrooms, through the Aeries Parent Portal. Information regarding achievement levels are provided at Fall Parent/Guardian-Teacher conferences and through the Aeries Parent Portal. The IUSD district website also provides detailed information regarding curriculum and textbook adoptions and assessments, as well as links to the CA Dashboard. 

•  If requested by parents, the school provides opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible. (20 USC 6318 (c)(4)) 
  • Alderwood Elementary Staff and Administration are available throughout the year to work in collaboration with parents and guardians in order to determine best practices when working to support students’ academic and social-emotional needs. In addition, Alderwood collaborates with parent groups such as, PTA, School Site Council, and ELAC, to support student learning. 

• If the schoolwide program is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency. (20 USC6318 (c)(6)) 
  • Alderwood Administration, in collaboration with the Continuous Improvement Leadership Team and School Site Council, will  review parent feedback pertaining to our Title I program and develop an action plan to address parent concerns.

Building Capacity for Involvement 

To ensure the effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, each school and district assisted with Title I, Part A funds, has established the following practices:

• The school provides parents with assistance in understanding such topics as the challenging State academic standards, State and local assessments, the requirements of Title I, Part A, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children. (20 USC 6318 (e)(1))
  • At Alderwood we will provide meetings, workshops, and break-out sessions based on parent feedback, in order to enable parents to better understand the many factors that come together to provide a balanced academic experience for their child and to encourage parent/family engagement in the school experience. 

• The school provides parents with materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children's achievement. (20 USC 6318 (e)(2)) 
  • At Alderwood we work to meet the children’s academic as well as social-emotional needs. Materials and trainings will cover such topics as: 
    • Title I
    • IUSD Essential Standards for Learning
    • Standards Based Grading
    • English Language Development
    • Social Emotional Learning

• The school shall educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals and 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, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school; (20 USC 6318 (e)(3))+ 
  • Alderwood will provide Professional Development for administrators, teachers, and staff that will allow for the effective implementation of Parent and Family Engagement Activities.

•  The school shall, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate the parent involvement programs with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, to encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children. (20 USC 6318 (e)(4)) 
  • Alderwood’s English Language Development (ELD) Coordinator, Title I Coordinator, and the Educational Resource Counselor (ERC) will work together to integrate multiple areas of interest into Parent and Family Engagement events with the intent of increasing participation by addressing the needs of more families at each event. 

• The school distributes information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities to parents in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. (20 USC 6318 (e)(5)) 
  • Parent and family communications will be made available as: 
    • Printed material sent home in the classroom folders and accessible on classroom websites or portals 
    • Information posted to the Alderwood website (https://alderwood.iusd.org/) and, when possible, posted in a manner that will allow for translation to the family’s home language.
    • Parent Square Notifications (https://www.parentsquare.com/signin)
    •  Support documentation, made available during school Parent and Family Engagement Events.

• The school provides such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents may request. (20 USC 6318 (e)(14)) 
  • Feedback from annual climate surveys, along with feedback from parent groups such as School Site Council and PTA, will inform school planning of Parent and Family Engagement events. 

• If the SPSA is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments  on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the school district. (20 USC 6318 (g)) 
  • The School Site Council will complete an annual SPSA review and include feedback from parents on the SPSA plan and how the site will address parent concerns. 

Accessibility

Alderwood Elementary, to the extent practicable, provides opportunities for the informed participation of all parents and family members (including parents and family members with limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory students) including providing information and school reports in a format and language that parents understand. 

Parents are able to access a wide array of information pertaining to the academic and social-emotional experiences of their child by accessing the Parent Portal. This application will allow parents to receive information in a variety of languages. Information posted to the school website will, whenever possible, be posted in a form that is consistent with online translation programs. In some instances translators may also be available to aid in communication between parents and school staff.

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Dear Owl Star Families,

The purpose of our Home-School Compact is to illuminate how students, parents, and teachers share responsibility for ensuring academic achievement.  It is part of our effort to create a partnership for learning, and by working together we can achieve our goals. The following are agreed upon responsibilities that we, as partners, will carry out to support student success in school and in life.

The Student Promise

I understand that education is important. I am responsible for working with my teachers to achieve success. As a student, I will:

• Safety first:  I will make choices that keep myself and others safe from danger and harm. 
• Treat everyone with kindness: I will follow the Golden Rule by treating others the way I want to be treated. 
• Act with Integrity: I will always do the right thing, even when no one is watching.
• Respectful and responsible choices: I will consider those around me before I act and make choices that are kind and helpful for both myself as well as others. I will be respectful of the school, staff, students, and families. 
• Solve Problems with grit: I will not be afraid to try new and hard things.  I understand that it is ok to make mistakes, that is how I will learn!  I will come to school each day on time and ready to work hard.

The Parent/Guardian Promise

I understand that education is important. As a parent/guardian, I will:

• Maintain communication with the school through participation in Back to School Night, Open House, and Parent/Guardian Conferences.  (Required component of the contract) 
• Read and respond to all forms of communication from the school.  (Required component of the contract) 
• Notify my child’s teacher about any concerns or situations which may influence my child’s learning, including their physical and mental health.  (Required component of the contract) 
• Establish high expectations, set realistic goals, and celebrate my child’s successes, support their adherence to classroom and school rules.
• Make time to talk about school, help with organizational skills and homework (if needed), and provide a consistent quiet place for homework.
• Encourage and maintain responsible digital citizenship.
• Support your student in developing healthy online practices when using social media and electronic communication.
• Communicate the importance of education to my child, and assure they arrive at school on time, ready to learn.
• Ensure my child has the appropriate learning materials and supplies, or communicate to the school the need for assistance in obtaining them.
• Model respect towards the school, staff, students, and families.  

The Alderwood Staff Promise

I understand the importance of a quality education for each student. As an Alderwood Staff Member, I will:

• Deliver a high-quality curriculum and instructional program that promotes engagement and supports students in achieving their learning goals while working towards meeting end-of-year standards for their grade level.  (Required component of the contract)  
• Foster a learning environment that is warm, welcoming, safe, and recognizes the diverse needs of all students.
• Provide research-based instruction in accordance with California’s Standards for the Teaching Profession and participate in professional development opportunities that will continue to improve my teaching.
• Actively participate in collaborative decision making and consistently work with families and my school colleagues to make schools accessible and welcoming places for families which help each student achieve the school’s high academic standards.
• Select instructional materials and strategies aimed at meeting the unique needs of each student, based on ongoing assessments.  
• Motivate my students and acknowledge their accomplishments through positive reinforcement.
• Positively encourage and reinforce our school wide PBIS Owl Star expectations. 
• Engage in reflection and activities to identify my personal biases and improve my cultural proficiency so that my classroom environment and personal engagement can be equally affirming and impactful for all children.
• Establish and maintain open communication with parents with timely feedback about their child and notify parents of specific concerns.
• Model respect towards the school, staff, students, and families.

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