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Family Engagement Plan 2025

JOHNSON CITY SCHOOLS FAMILY ENGAGEMENT PLAN

(Updated 1/7/2025)

 

Background

Since March 2005, Johnson City Schools has held a developed system wide plan for family involvement. After creating an initial framework based upon the requirements of NCLB (No Child Left Behind), the plan was presented to groups of principals, teachers, parents, school board members, and community stakeholders for feedback and revision. The plan has been shared on the school system’s website. 

The Family Involvement Plan is considered a living document and is annually reviewed and updated as needed.  Updated versions of the plan are presented annually to the Johnson City Council of PTAs for input and then posted on the system’s website.

Purpose

The Johnson City Schools Family Engagement Plan was developed to:

  • Support goal two of the Board of Education’s Five-Year Strategic Plan as well as the system’s District Level Plan (InformTN/ePlan)
  • Support the initiatives found in the Consolidated Federal Projects Application
  • Create a common vision of family engagement and resources needed to sustain that vision
  • Increase and improve the level of family involvement in our students’ education

Plan

Component 1:  Johnson City Schools is committed to involving families in policy development.

Indicators:

  1. Parents will have an opportunity to discuss and provide input through the Johnson City Council of PTAs meetings as well as each school’s PTA board meeting
  2. Parents will be represented on each school’s site-based council (including all Title I Schools)
  3. Parents and educators will have the opportunity to provide input through surveys and through postings on the system’s web page
  4. Cultural, economic, language, and demographic issues will be given attention through the selection of focus groups and advisory councils and committees
  5. The system will provide parents of English Learners (ELs) the opportunity to provide input through the district’s community liaison.
Component 2:  The Family Engagement Plan includes technical assistance and planning support for effective family engagement.

Indicators:

  1. Workshops for parents may be scheduled through The Learning Center at central office. In addition, special education sponsors an annual parent workshop
  2. School newsletters are sent home and posted on digital formats (Parent Square) on a regular basis and contain information regarding school report cards, student test and data distribution, new programming options, and suggestions for parents to become involved in their child’s education
  3. The district report card and other key sources of information are linked to the district website
  4. Courses of study may be accessed by a link from the district website to the state department website
  5. A computer with access to the internet and email will be made available to parents in The Learning Center and at each school site located in the front office
  6. Title I parent involvement activities will be coordinated with parent involvement activities of other programs such as: the 21st Century grant, preschool, and ESL programs.
Component 3:  The Family Engagement Plan supports clearly articulated goals for extent and type of family engagement.

Indicators:

  1. A variety of planned, goal-oriented programs will be created and implemented to engage all parents in their children’s education in one or more of the following categories:
    1. communicating (strategies to promote positive school-home communication)
    2. volunteering (opportunities for parents to volunteer or be an audience at school)
    3. learning at home (learning activities to involve parents with students at home)
    4. decision making (opportunities to engage in decision making, governance, and advocacy roles at both the school and system level)
    5. collaborating with the community (activities/events that foster school-community partnerships)

(NOTE:  the link to student achievement and the importance of providing activities in each of the above categories is derived from Joyce Epstein’s research at Johns Hopkins University.)

  1. Sign-in sheets and other forms of documentation will be kept on file and reviewed annually to assess parent participation in system and school activities in each of the six areas
Component 4:  The Family Engagement Plan provides for an evaluation process to promote continuous improvement of the engagement of all families.

Indicators:

  1. Annual surveys will be conducted at the system level as well as at each of the school sites to identify barriers to greater participation; to design more effective strategies; and to revise, if necessary, the parent involvement plan
  2. Survey results will be analyzed to measure the effectiveness of the plan and to secure input regarding modifications in future practices
Component 5:  The Family Engagement Plan requires family engagement at all school sites.

Indicators:

  1. All schools (including schools served under Title I-A) will develop a Family Engagement Plan that provides opportunities for family engagement in the six categories supported by Epstein’s research (see component 3) and submit an annual update of the plan to the district office
  2. All schools will conduct an annual parent survey regarding the family practices provided at each school site and submit the survey results to the district office
  3. Each school will set a goal for family engagement for each major strategy
  4. All schools will submit their plans to the central office for review and evaluation
Component 6:  The Family Engagement Plan includes procedures for parents to access and understand course of study or curricular materials as well as Federal, State, and local standards.

Indicators:

  1. The district website will contain a link to the Tennessee State Department of Education where the state curriculum for each grade level and subject area can be accessed
  2. Other academic resources can be found on the district website under the “Curriculum and Instruction” tab
  3. School, digital, and classroom library collections can be found on the district website under the “Library Media Services” tab along with a link under direct school sites
  4. Progress indicators on elementary report cards will be aligned with state standards
  5. The textbook adoption process will provide an opportunity for potential textbooks to be reviewed by teachers, parents, and the community
  6. The Learning Center will have specific activities and materials set aside for the involvement of families
  7. The system uses tools of communication to support conversations between teachers and families such as the Parent Square app and Parent Portal
  8. School Planning documents for each Johnson City School can be found at the ePlan link on the district web site under the “About” tab along with a one-page planning document linked to each school website
Component 7:  The Family Engagement Plan encourages the support of district involvement in positive parenting skills.

Indicators:

  1. Parent/Teacher conferences are scheduled throughout the first quarter with a deadline date of early November to build a partnership between the school and family
  2. After school tutoring and homework programs will be provided to improve student homework and achievement
  3. Parents will receive phone calls to confirm student absences and to encourage better student attendance; a letter will be sent home once a student has accrued five unexcused absences; parent meetings will be schedules at the school level to develop an intervention and promote the school’s incentive plan to support student attendance
  4. Schools will develop reward programs to acknowledge good character and good student behavior (i.e. the Character Counts Program)
  5. Parents and students will receive information about bullying awareness and the system wide anti-bullying program – Olweus Bullying Prevention
Component 8:  The Family Engagement Plan incorporates family involvement in decision making and governance.

Indicators: 

  1. School district staff members are friendly towards, respectful of, and helpful to all families
  2. All schools are required to have family representation on the site-based team
  3. The district has several ways of listening to parents and engaging them in two-way communication (for example, giving time at Board meetings, holding open forums, district and school surveys, and providing ways to give input on the district web site)
  4. Parent representatives will serve on the Voluntary PreK advisory council and the 21st Century advisory council
  5. Parents are represented each time the Johnson City Schools Board of Education updates its five-year plan.
Component 9:  The Family Engagement Plan supports professional development to build the capacity for family engagement.

Indicators:

  1. Professional development in the area of family engagement will be provided to all staff members
  2. Schools will be supported by the district office in planning/implementing family engagement activities for the purpose of improving student achievement
Component 10:  The Family Engagement Plan specifies budget and funding for family engagement.

Indicators:

1. The district has adequate staff and resources to implement the family involvement standards

2. District and site-based budgets will reflect a commitment to the effective development, implementation, and evaluation of family engagement programs including but not limited to the following:

·         System wide Spanish interpreter

·         System wide community liaison

·         System and school level newsletters and other publications

·         Staff development

·         Parent Square language translation capabilities

·         LanguageLine Solutions

3. All Title I schools will designative at least 1% of the Title I A budget for parent involvement activities

 

 

Last Updated: January 7, 2025