Parent and Family Engagement & Compact

Purpose of this Policy and Compact

Efforts will be made to clearly articulate the school’s intentions to engage with and involve parents/caregivers in the educational process.

Poe Middle School is a Title I school within Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and utilizes the Title I grant to improve student achievement and help all students meet the objectives of the FCPS Program of Studies and the Virginia Standards of Learning. A partnership with families is essential to meeting this goal.

Under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, schools that receive Title I funds are expected to collaborate with families to develop and maintain a parent and family engagement policy that describes the school’s approach to involve families in students’ learning and includes a compact expressing the partnerships among staff, caregivers, and students to reach high academic goals for every student.

Poe Middle School jointly developed this policy and compact with members of the school community and adopted it for the 2019-2020 school year. A number of the provisions specifically address state or federal expectations for the policy and compact.

This policy and compact is distributed to all caregivers in a language that families can understand. Caregivers have opportunities to provide comments and feedback on the policy and compact through parent coffees and PTSA meetings. Comments are submitted with the school’s Policy and Compact to FCPS central offices and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). This policy and compact are made available to the broader school community through the school website.

Important Dates      

Open House

  • mid August

Rising 6th Grade and New Student Orientation

  • mid August

Back To School Night

  • mid September

Report Card Distribution
All report cards are mailed home at the conclusion of each quarter

  • early November 
  • early February
  • early April
  • mid June

Additional School Events

  • Parent University (Fall and Spring)
  • International Night each Spring
  • Monthly Parent Coffees
  • Curriculum Night for incoming students (January)
  • Monthly PTA Meetings

Building Capacity for Involvement

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers are actively involved in the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the school’s Title I program, including the following:

  • Provide family members a voice in decision-making on committees, such as the SIIP Committee and PTSA
  • Engage caregiver input when developing the School Innovation and Improvement Plan (SIIP), Title I Schoolwide Improvement and Innovation Plan, the Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy and Compact, and plans for use of Title I family engagement funding
  • Seek feedback from families on programs within the Title I Schoolwide Plan, offer multiple methods for caregivers to submit comments about programs, and submit any such comments with the Title I Schoolwide Plan to FCPS central offices
  • Invite family members to help in organizing and executing a variety of school events to build collective ownership, such as International Night, Parent University, Curriculum Night, Book Fair, and PTSA events
  • Provide opportunities for caregivers to volunteer within the school in various ways, such as assisting in the library, classrooms, and cafeteria
  • Encourage families to take part in annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the division-level Title I parent and family engagement policy in order to identify:
    • barriers to greater family participation,
    • ways to help family members be better able to assist in student learning, and
    • strategies to support successful school and family interactions.

Effective Communication with Parents

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers receive meaningful communication in a timely manner, including the following:

  • Use multiple methods of communication to families such as News You Choose and eNotify, parent newsletters, and parent coffees
  • Encourage all caregivers to attend an annual meeting on parent coffees and PTSA meetings, to share information about Title I services, explain Title I grant requirements, and inform families of their right to be involved in the school
  • Share school and student performance data with families in ways that seek their ideas about how to improve performance toward Virginia’s challenging academic standards, such as reading at home with your children and ensuring they attend school regularly
  • Provide opportunities throughout the year for families to better understand how students learn at school, how to support their children at home, and the school’s goals for students through events such as Curriculum Night and Parent University
  • Maintain resources for caregivers to review student assignments and ongoing communication about student work, such as Blackboard, SIS Parent Vue, and Google Classroom
  • Provide ongoing feedback on student progress through quarterly progress reports that show specific areas of proficiency and areas for continued growth
  • Hold parent-teacher conferences for all students as needed throughout the school year
  • Touching Bases (Mini Teacher/Parent Conferences).

Welcoming All Families

Efforts will be made to ensure that all parents/caregivers are welcomed and provided opportunities to actively engage within the school, including the following:

  • Create a welcoming atmosphere at the school with welcome posters in multiple languages that are represented at Poe Middle School and bilingual signage throughout the school
  • Provide interpretation services for parent-teacher conferences, workshops, and meetings
  • Translate or provide interpretation of all school documents and communication to make them accessible in the caregiver’s preferred correspondence language
  • Support two-way communication between families and staff through parent conferences, parent newsletters, eNotify, and News You Choose
  • Expand access for family participation in informational meetings and learning sessions through providing interpreters for PTSA and school events.

Compact Provisions

School staff, parents/caregivers, and students must work together to ensure student success.

The staff will:

Provide a high-quality curriculum and instruction that enables students to meet challenging academic standards through the following actions:

    • Teach all students according to the state’s challenging standards, using approved curriculum resources
    • Provide ongoing professional development and support to all teachers to ensure effective instructional practices are used in all classrooms
    • Learning Circles
    • Collaborative Learning Team meetings
    • Coaching in Best Instructional Practices.

Provide a supportive and effective learning environment for students through the following actions:

    • Provide clear expectations for student behavior and academic learning
    • Offer a variety of resources to help students with their learning
    • Intervention and enrichment time built into the school day (Raven Time) and After-School Program
    • Double block to provide additional time in content each week
    • On-time intervention during school to address academic gaps.
    • Have a positive attitude and hopeful outlook for all students

Provide assistance to caregivers in understanding the school’s program through the following actions:

    • Hold an annual meeting to present information on the school’s Title I programs, state and division curriculum and assessments, and the school’s state and federal accountability status
    • Provide multiple opportunities for caregivers to ask questions and give input for Title I programs
    • Parent coffees
    • PTSA meetings.

Build caregivers’ involvement in the school’s Title I program through the following actions:

    • Include caregivers as members of the School Innovation and Improvement Plan (SIIP) Committee and as collaborators in developing the Title I Schoolwide Plan and plans for the use of Title I family engagement funds
    • Share the SIIP with parents at PTSA meetings and parent coffees.

The parents/caregivers will:

Demonstrate understanding that participation in my child’s education will help his or her achievement through the following actions:

    • Participate in decisions related to school programs and my child’s education, and share my questions or comments about the programs in my child’s school
    • Volunteer in my child’s school or in school activities, as my schedule allows
    • Encourage and support my child’s learning at home and at school
    • Ensure that my child attends school on time every day unless my child is sick.

The student will:

Share the responsibility to improve my academic learning to achieve the state’s challenging standards through the following actions:

    • Get enough sleep each night
    • Come to school on time every day unless I am sick
    • Try my hardest and work with my classmates to complete learning tasks
    • Give my parents all notes and papers from my teacher
    • Show respect to school property, other people, and myself.