Tuesday, March 26, 2019

CHECKLIST of Parental Involvement Under ESSA

Overview of Parental InvolvementUnder ESSA
Overview of Parental Involvement Under ESSA


The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) serves as the latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) which was last reauthorized in 2002 as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Since its inception, the intent of the law has been to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps. Parent and family engagement and consultation have always been a key piece of the law, focused on the low-income parents of “Title I-participating” children. We know that gaps in educational opportunity and achievement will only be remedied when those closest to the affected students – parents, families, and communities – are driving decision-making.



QUICK REVIEW OF THE EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT (ESSA): WHAT’S IN IT FOR PARENTS?
The most important thing to know is that the major requirements of districts and schools to engage parents and families are the same in the new law, including:

1. The School District must offer programs and activities to involve parents and family members, and seek meaningful consultation with parents.

• Develop with parents a written parent and family engagement policy • Build schools’ capacity to engage families 
• Evaluate its family engagement policy and practices, with meaningful input from families 
• Involve families in the activities of Title I schools 
• Reserve at least 1% of its Title I funds to support parent and family engagement activities; involve parents in deciding how to use these funds. 

2. Title I schools must:

• Develop with parents a written policy, agreed on by parents, that describes how the school will carry out its required family engagement activities 
• Hold an annual meeting for families to explain the program and the rights of parents to be involved and offer other meetings, at flexible times 
• Involve parents in the planning, review and improvement of the Title I program 
• Develop a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, students, and school staff will share the responsibility for improving student achievement, and that describes how parents and teachers will communicate. 

3. The school district and Title schools must build capacity for involvement:

• Offer assistance to parents in understanding the education system and the state standards, and how to support their children’s achievement
• Provide materials and training to help parents work with their children 
• Educate teachers and other school staff, including school leaders, in how to engage families effectively 
• Coordinate with other federal and state programs, including preschool programs 
• Give parents information in a format and language they can understand 
• Provide reasonable support that parents may request. What’s New? 
• Statewide Family Engagement Centers replace Parental Information Resource Centers (PIRCs) in the new legislation, with $10 million allocated; until PIRCs were defunded in 2011 they regularly received in the area of $40 million, but received no funds between 2012 and 2015. 
• Of the 1% of Title I funds mandated to fund family engagement, the school district now must send 90% of funds directly to the school; previously it was 95% 
• In many places the law uses the term “parent and family engagement” rather than parental involvement. • In the district policy, the district must establish its expectations and objectives for meaningful parent and family engagement. 
• Schools may establish a parent advisory board to represent families in developing and evaluating the school policy. 
• The district must carry out at least one of the following strategies to engage families effectively: professional development for school staff (and may include parents); home-based programs; information dissemination; collaboration with community organizations; and other related activities

RESOURCES:

 What’s in it For Parents: http://nafsce.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ESSA-Review.pdf 

 Quick Brief on Family Engagement in Every Student Succeeds Act http://ra.nea.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/FCE-in-ESSA-in-Brief.pdf 

 Parent and Family Engagement Provisions in the Every Student Succeeds Act http://civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/education/ESSA-Parent-Family-Engagement.pdf

ESSA Parent and Family Engagement - https://www.readyrosie.com/essa-parent-and-family-engagement/
Big Education Ape: If the LAUSD’s Goal is “Parent Engagement”, What is the Plan of Action? - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2019/03/if-lausds-goal-is-parent-engagement.html

Big Education Ape: Stand Up For LAUSD Parent Voices - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2019/03/stand-up-for-lausd-parent-voices.html

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DeVos, testifying before Congress, refuses to say whether schools should be allowed to discriminate on basis of sexual orientation or gender identity - The Washington Post

DeVos, testifying before Congress, refuses to say whether schools should be allowed to discriminate on basis of sexual orientation or gender identity - The Washington Post

DeVos, testifying before Congress, refuses to say whether schools should be allowed to discriminate on basis of sexual orientation or gender identity




Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was asked repeatedly Tuesday by a member of Congress whether she believes schools should be allowed to discriminate against students based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. She did not directly answer.
DeVos was appearing before a House education appropriations subcommittee to defend the Trump administration 2020 budget request for the Education Department. This exchange occurred between DeVos and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who had raised the issue of charter schools with the secretary.
Pocan was discussing a new report by a public education advocacy group about waste in the U.S. Charter Schools Program.
Here’s the back-and-forth:
POCAN: Do you think it’s all right for a school to discriminate based on someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity?
DeVOS: We have laws that cover discriminatory efforts and, um, our Office for Civil Rights has continued to be very diligent in investigating any allegation of discrimination and will continue to do so.
POCAN: So is that a yes or is that a no? I’m trying to get a yes or no, I guess, on that.
DeVOS: We follow the law as defined. . . .
POCAN (interrupts her): So personally you don’t have an opinion on it?. . . Because you are giving money to some charter schools that do discriminate. . . .
He went on to ask what the department was doing to recoup the estimated $1 billion the advocacy group Network for Public Education says in a report was wasted on charter schools that never opened, or were closed because of mismanagement, low enrollment, fraud and other reasons.
She did not directly answer, instead saying the nation needs more charter schools.
It is not the first time DeVos has appeared before Congress and refused to say whether schools should be allowed to discriminate based on sexual orientation. At a May 2017 hearing before a House subcommittee about the Trump administration’s 2018 budget proposal, she was asked whether private schools that accept CONTINUE READING: DeVos, testifying before Congress, refuses to say whether schools should be allowed to discriminate on basis of sexual orientation or gender identity - The Washington Post


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Women’s History Month should have a place women educators

Women’s History Month should have a place women educators

Women’s History Month should have a place for teachers
Teachers deserve more credit in the history and financial books


Given that teachers are charged with imparting the contributions of women to their students throughout Women’s History Month, a special place should be reserved during March for the women teachers who go unrecognized.

“You have teachers who give everything for children — sometimes spending more time than parents — but society doesn’t respect or pay teachers what they are worth,” Michelle Santos told the Hechinger Report. Santos is the director of journalism and media arts for the Richard Wright Public Charter School for Journalism and Media Arts in Washington, D.C. Santos began her teaching career in a facility for students found guilty of criminal offenses; in the nearly two decades since, she has been a teacher and administrator in various schools.
“It’s because we’re mostly women,” she explained. “Women’s work in general is undervalued.”
In our capitalist society, people’s worth is viewed as being linked to the salary they bring home. Women are overrepresented in the lowest paying jobs, and women in high-paying professions are paid less than their male counterparts, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Teachers who have gone on strike across the country over the last year and a half have made explicit demands for increased pay and better working conditions; their demands are inextricably linked to women’s frustrations with being undervalued.
Approximately 77 percent of the more than 3,827,000 teachers in public elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. during the 2015-16 school year were women, according the data compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics. There’s an even higher concentration of women in the lower grades: 89 percent in primary school, 73 percent in middle school, but 59 percent in high school. Yet an overwhelming majority of women who have made significant contributions won’t make it into the history books used in classes women teach, because teaching is a “pink-collar” profession, meaning it’s comprised mostly of women. The lack of credit shows CONTINUE READING: Women’s History Month should have a place women educators

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4 Important Ways to Help a Grieving Student - Teacher Habits

4 Important Ways to Help a Grieving Student - Teacher Habits

4 Important Ways to Help a Grieving Student

A guest post by Meghan Belnap
As a teacher, watching over the mental and emotional health of your students can be difficult. Students who face tragedy are often in need of comfort and extra support, but it can often feel as if your options are limited in regards to how to help. 20 percent of all kids will grow up experiencing the death of someone close to them by adulthood. Even though helping a student through grief is the primary responsibility of parents, rather than teachers, students will look to their teachers as authority figures for guidance and sympathy. Here are just four big ways that you, as a teacher, can help your students through a painful loss. 

Making sure basic needs are met

When children, teens, and young adults experience grief, they can often become withdrawn and lethargic, lacking the energy or even motivation to meet many of their basic needs. Eating, especially, can be hard for them to make a priority, as anxiety caused by grief can constrict the stomach and make food unappealing. One way you can check up on these students is to talk to the cafeteria staff to see if the student is getting lunch. Consider keeping some light, easily digestible snacks in your desk to offer them before or after class if you find they are neglecting to eat at lunchtime, and be aware of any extreme weight loss that may necessitate action from the parents. 

Consult with Parents and Guardians

Being able to openly discuss their feelings is a major part of the grieving process, but children and teens can feel worried about bringing up depressing or uncomfortable topics. Make sure that the student knows your office hours when they can come and talk to you if they need a compassionate ear, and make sure they are aware of the services offered by your school counselor. If you notice them feeling overwhelmed during class, discretely allow them to step outside or to the school counselor immediately. It can also be greatly beneficial to CONTINUE READING: 4 Important Ways to Help a Grieving Student - Teacher Habits



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Education Research Report

Education Research Report

Education Research Report



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