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1. Using the data of choice, provide the LEA measurement of parent and family engagement and the basis for the identified need. Please identify the source data that is used.

Parent and Family Engagement participation is measured by the Data collection tool each school submits. The data collected showed that in the 2019-2020 school year, Pasco County Title I Schools held over 600 parent events, either academic or relational in nature, and over 40,000 parents attended these events. Though the number of parent’s events decreased slightly due to COVID, the percentage of parents participating in events has increased over the last year and we are proud of the efforts our Title I schools are making to engage parents.

Despite the gains in family engagement our schools are making, we recognize there is always more that can be done. Results from parent surveys, parent focus groups, and a family and community engagement selfassessment taken by the school leaders, all indicate a need for our Title 1 schools to focus their family engagement efforts on creating authentic school-family partnerships.

2. Engagement of Parents

Describe the actions the LEA will take to engage parents in the following required policies/plans:

• LEA-wide parent and family engagement policy (PFEP)[Section 1116(2)];
• LEA plan [Sections 1112(b), 1112(d)(1 and 2)]; and
• How the funds reserved for parent and family engagement will be spent [Section 1116(a)(3)].

Pasco County Schools will invite parents and families to participate in a survey to help the LEA better understand the needs of the parents and families being served in our Title I schools. This is done through the Title I parent brochure and the district parent newsletter “Pasco Parent Press”. The brochure is created by the district and distributed to all Title I schools to provide to all parents. The Title I office will also gather all the parent and family input each Title I schools collects on their school level plan and compact as well as data collected on parent events using the family and community engagement data collection tool each school submits to the Title I office. Based on the data we collect from the LEA wide survey and from school level parent and family input and data on family events we will formulate a LEA policy and plan and determine how parent and family engagement funds are spent.

Each Title I School in the Pasco County School District develops their Parent and Family Engagement Plan (PFEP) in collaboration with parents via a Title I input meeting that all parents are invited to, and through the use of data collected through parent surveys. The survey and meeting both solicit feedback specifically on the school-based Parental and Family Engagement Plan as well as the use of Title I funds. Parents are invited through school publications, invitations, flyers, phone calls, and postings on school websites and social media. Parent input is solicited and encouraged throughout the school year as well.

Title I staff reviews and considers each school-based Parent and Family Engagement Plan as an integral part of the LEA PFEP. This Plan is shared with all Title I schools, to be shared with parents and other stakeholders.

The 90% of the 1% Parent and Family Engagement reservation for school funds will be used to support schools in their parent and family engagement initiatives. Funds will be spent on stipends for teachers to facilitate parent and family engagement events after contracted hours, and on materials and supplies to host parent and family engagement events. Some schools will use funds to employ a Parent Engagement Assistant.

The 1.1% Parent Engagement set aside at the district level will fund a Parent Engagement Resource teacher, additional stipends for schools for parent engagement activities, travel for Parent Engagement Resource teacher to support schools, digital parent engagement subscriptions, and printing of parent resources. The district level set aside will also fund stipends, trainer pay, and materials for four parent and family engagement initiatives; The Parent Teacher Home Visit Project, One School One Book, and Families Learning English through Rosetta Stone. Supplements for school based Parent and Family Engagement Liaisons will also be funded from the district level set aside.

3. Technical Assistance

• Describe the actions the LEA will take to provide coordination, technical assistance, and other support necessary to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family engagement activities which build the capacity of parents to improve the academic achievement of their child and overall school performance [Section 1116(a)(2)(B and C) and 1116(e)(1-14)].
• Include a description of the process the LEA will use to review the school-level PFEP to ensure compliance with all requirements of Section 1116 [34 CFR 200.21(c and d)].
• Include information on how the LEA will provide other reasonable support for parent and family engagement activities under Section 1116 as parents may request [Section 1116(e)(14)].

The Title I office will support Title I schools in implementing effective parent and family engagement activities through a variety of methods. The Title I office offers capacity building professional development to schools around parent and family engagement, providing opportunities for schools to participate in research based, high impact family engagement programs, such as the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, One School, One book and the Getting Ahead Parent Curriculum.

The Title I Program Coordinator and Title I Parent and Family Engagement Resource Teacher provide support and technical assistance to schools by holding two principal meetings and two parent engagement liaison meetings per year, as well as sending principals our technical assistance newsletters and Title I Family Engagement capacity building Powtoons, once every quarter. Title I staff also works with individual schools by conducting school visits and providing one on one consultation to schools. Quantity of site visits to schools vary based on newness of leadership at the school, self-assessment data, and school requests. The focus of site visits is the Title I schoolwide plan and parent and family engagement plan.

The Title I office collects a draft of each Title I schools' Parent and Family Engagement Plan at the end of the previous school year to review. Feedback and technical assistance is provided to each school at the beginning of the school year, so schools can complete their plan to share with families.

4. Coordination and Integration

Describe how the LEA will coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies from Title I, Part A of with other federal programs (including but not limited to Head Start, Early Reading First, Parents as Teachers, Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten, Title I, Part C and Part D, Title III, and Title IV, Part A) [Sections 1116 (a)(2)(D) and 1116(e)(4)]. In the text box, please include the name of the federal program and describe how parent and family engagement strategies are coordinated.

Title I, IDEA, and VPK coordinate to fund a district translator/ interpreter specialist who supports parent engagement initiatives and activities for Title I families. Title I and Title III will coordinate to provide access to Rosetta Stone to ELL families wanting to learn English. Grant administrators from all federally funded grants will be meeting on a monthly basis to discuss grant initiatives and progress towards goals in all areas, including parent and family engagement. In addition to that, a district level parent and family engagement team will also meet quarterly to coordinate the parent and family engagement efforts taking place across the district. This group will include representatives from all of the federal funding sources.

5. Annual Evaluation

With the inclusion of parents, describe the actions the LEA will take to conduct an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of the Title I, Part A schools [Section 1116(a)(2)(E)].

The District School Board of Pasco County will use a variety of data sources to evaluate the content and effectiveness of the PFEP. Parent surveys at the school and district levels, data collected on parent events including surveys, parent input on school level plans gathered during parent input meetings, and parent focus groups all help the district to comprehensively review and analyze our Parent and Family Engagement Policy. Through the analysis of these various data sources, areas in need of improvement are identified and incorporated in the policy.

All Title I schools hold annually, a Title I Parent Input Meeting, where all parents and family members are invited to evaluate the content and effectiveness of the parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of the school. Parents are asked to give feedback on each of the following areas in this meeting.

• Barriers to greater participation by parents
• The needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers -Strategies to support successful school and family interactions
• How to use Title I Parent and Family Engagement Funds
• Input on revising the existing the school home compact and Parent and Family Engagement plan

Schools then use the parent input gathered from this meeting to determine needs and determine what evidence-based strategies they can implement for more effective parental involvement.

6. Staff Training

Describe the professional development activities the LEA will provide, with the assistance of the schools and parents, to educate staff on the value and utility of contributions of parents; how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners; the implementation and coordination of parent programs; and how to build ties between parents and the school [Section 1116(e)(3)].

Pasco County Schools will, again, provide Title I schools with the opportunity to participate in the Parent Teacher Home Visit Training, except this year the training will focus on conducting visits virtually. The training aims to provide teachers with the skills and knowledge necessary to be able to conduct virtual home visits to the families of students in their class. This will help to engage the families of students who may otherwise not participate in family engagement efforts coordinated by the school. The district will contract with the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project team to provide the training and on-going support will be coordinated by the Title I Parent and Family Engagement Resource Techer. The training will take place in November of 2020 but ongoing support will continue throughout the 2020-2021 school year. According to research conducted by the Flamboyan Foundation, home visits are one of the highest impact family engagement strategies to increase student achievement. Participation in the home visit program has been shown to increase students’ academic achievement and developmental growth, build skills and understanding in both teachers and families, improve school climate, attendance and connection and build community support for local schools. This will be the second year of implementation of the Parent Teacher Home Visit Project for Title I schools in Pasco County. Teachers that participated in the first half of the 19-20 school year reported positive impacts on student achievement and behavior. They also felt that the visits provided the opportunity to form partnerships with parents, which they credited for the improvements they saw in their students. We will continue to measure the impact the program has on our students though teacher feedback and student achievement data.

Some schools also have trained Getting Ahead Facilities that teach the Getting Ahead curriculum to families within their schools. The Getting Ahead Trainings are part of a National Program that has a record of effectiveness in improving parent education and in turn increases student achievement for graduates of the program (Getting Ahead in a Just Getting by World by Philip Devol 2013). The Getting Ahead curriculum runs for 12 weeks, 1 day a week for 2 hours a day. The Parent and Family Engagement Resource teacher will be responsible for ongoing coordination and technical assistance for this program. To measure the effectiveness of the program we will track the number of parent "graduates" of the Getting Ahead course.

Once the need for social distancing diminishes, schools can be provided with Poverty Simulation Training conducted by the Title I office. Though this training school staff will gain a better understanding of poverty though experiential learning. The 3-hour training will be offered throughout the year at school's request.

Pasco County School District will also hold orientation and trainings for school based Parental Engagement Liaisons and Assistants. The Title I Parent Engagement Resource Teacher will facilitate 2 meetings per year focused on building the capacity of the parent engagement personnel at the school level. Topics will include data, assessments, strategies and current research, relating activities to district initiatives and practices to help schools align their practices.

7. Communication and Accessibility

Describe how the LEA will provide full opportunities for participation in parent and family engagement activities for all parents (including parents with limited English proficiency, disabilities, and migratory children). Include how the LEA plans to share information related to school and parent programs, meetings, school reports, and other activities in an understandable and uniform format and to the extent practical, in a language parents can understand [Section 1116(e)(5) and 1116(f)].

Pasco County Schools implements specific strategies to ensure all parents have opportunities to participate fully in parent and family engagement activities. These include employing a translator for schools to use, holding meetings at varied times/ locations, using technology to engage families that may not be able to attend events in person, recording meetings to post for later viewing, and employing migrant advocates to help families of migrant students become more engaged. Some schools will offer Rosetta Stone licenses to ELL parents to help them to learn English and feel less isolated from the school community.

Pasco County Schools communicate with families in variety of different ways. Connect Ed phone calls are made to families with important information, these calls can be translated in to Spanish and can also be emailed if the parent choses. Information in also shared via text message and on social media sites which have the capability to be translated.

Pasco County Schools also utilizes MyStudent, a student information database system. Through MyStudent parents can create an account to access student information and communicate with teachers. Parents also can elect to receive text messages and email alerts regarding their student though the MyStudent system.

8. Building Capacity Summary

Provide a summary of the activities offered to help build the capacity of parents to improve their the academic achievement of their child or children [Section 1116(e)(1-2)].

Pasco County Title I schools offered over 400 academic and informational parent events with over 25,000 parents attending throughout the 2019-2020 school year. These events helped parents build capacity and empowered them to support their children academically, at home. Over 200 parenting and relationship building events were hosted by Title I schools in Pasco County with over 15,000 parents in attendance. These events offer opportunities for schools and families to build a strong foundation of trust, which is essential in engaging families, and sets the stage for authentic school-family partnerships.

9. Staff Training Summary

Provide a summary of the professional development activities provided by the LEA to educate staff on the value and utility of contributions of parents; how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners; the implementation and coordination of parent programs; and how to build ties between parents and the school [Section 1116(e)(3)].

Pasco County School District held orientation and trainings for school based Parental Engagement Liaisons and Assistants. The Title I Parent Engagement Resource Teacher facilitated 2 meetings during the 2019-2020 school year, with a total of 64 attendees. The meetings focused on building the capacity of the parent engagement personnel at the school level. Topics also include data, assessments, strategies and current research. This year we will be we will be focusing capacity building for family liaisons on the essential elements of effective virtual family engagement, so schools have the knowledge and training to host parent events that are effective and linked to learning, to increases academic achievement.

Schools Have the opportunity to participate in virtual Parent Teacher Home Visit Training. This training helps school staff learn authentic parent and family engagement strategies where schools and families build relationships to become partners in education.

The district Parent Engagement Resource teacher will create a series of family engagement videos aimed to help educate school staff on the value of school family partnerships and their impact on student achievement. They will also illustrate how to implement authentic family engagement practices. The district Parent and Family Engagement Resource Teacher will also provide information on family engagement professional development opportunities and resources to school staff members though quarterly Title I newsletters.

10. Private School Summary

Provide a summary of the parent and family engagement activities provided for private schools implementing a Title I, Part A program [Section 1120(a)(1)].

An annual parent orientation is facilitated by the LEA for each participating private schools’ Title 1 parents. There were 14 participating schools during SY 19-20. Informational packets and Title 1 program literature was provided to the parents that were in attendance. Informational packets were also made available to the parents who were not able to attend the orientation.

The purpose of the parent meeting is to orient parents to the services and supports that are available to Title 1 eligible students that are attending participating private schools. Throughout the year, parents receive information regarding tutoring services and their child’s progress, supplemental curriculum and ways to partner with Title 1 and their private school to support their child’s learning, technology resources, and district wide parent engagement participation opportunities.

In addition, parents received supplemental curriculum support for continued learning and intervention during the emergency school closures, and for summer retention.

11. Barriers (LEA Plan):

Describe the barriers which hindered participation by parents in parent and family engagement activities during the previous school year. Include the steps the LEA will take during the upcoming school year to overcome the barriers and design more effective parent and family engagement policies (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, disabled, have limited English proficiency, limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background) [Section 1116(a)(2)(E)].

Transportation, childcare, scheduling conflicts, access to internet and limited knowledge of technology platforms are all barriers to parent engagement that effect various subgroups. In order to overcome these barriers, schools will provide sponsored bus pass applications to families that need transportation, as well as providing internet hot spots and education to families on technology platforms. Schools will host events virtually and record them, helping to reduce barriers for families where scheduling, transportation, and childcare are concerns. For in person events, schools will also provide childcare during parent events when possible. Schools will survey parents to find when the best time for their population of parents to attend events. Schools will offer events at varied times to ensure that all parents can attend. Some schools will be conducting home visits, engaging parents who may not otherwise be able to come to school events.

A. Describe the process and method used to ensure the LEA’s and schools’ compliance with the “Parents’ Right- to-Know” requirements. Include the date of dissemination.

Schools are informed of the requirement of sending home information to parents describing their right to know the specific information outlined in the "Parents' Right- to-Know", though the Pasco County Schools Title I handbook, Technical Assistance Newsletters, and at Title I Principal meetings. Title I schools send home an annual Title I letter that the district provides the template for. The parents right to know is included in the contents of the Annual Title I Letter. The Title I office collects a copy of these dated letters at the end of the first quarter to ensure compliance with this requirement. Information on the parents' right to know is also shared at the annual Title I meeting.