Choice

• The receiving school(s) is/are determined by the district and cannot include a building that is also identified as one in need of assistance.
  
  
• Priority in giving school choice must be given to the lowest achieving students from low-income families.
  
  
• Subject to a funding cap established by federal law, districts must provide transportation for all students who exercise their school choice option under Title I.

The school district must notify parents no later than the first day of the school year about the identification of a school as one in need of assistance. They must also inform the parents about how they can become involved in school improvement efforts. In addition, the district must share the Annual Progress Report (APR) with the parents, families, and the community.

Each state must also support the collection and dissemination of information on effective parent involvement practices to school districts and schools. This web site is one of the ways the State of Iowa provides information on effective parent involvement practices.

Parents/Families should ask their school...

• What is being done to assure that our school is not identified as a school in need of assistance (SINA)?
  
  
• How can I become involved in supporting our school’s school improvement efforts?

 Teachers/Caregivers should ask...

• Do I understand school choice well enough to explain it to parents and/or assist them in determining what is the best choice for their child?
  
  
• What is being done to assure that our school is not identified as a school in need of assistance?
  
  
• How can I become more involved in supporting our school’s school improvement efforts?

Administrators should ask...

• What are we doing to assure that our school is not identified as a school in need of assistance (SINA)?
  
  
   
• What information are we communicating to our parents? Are all necessary notifications (e.g., teacher quality, school in need of improvement, choice, SES) being communicated to parents in the language they speak at home?
   

Parents/Families should...

• Attend parent/family-teacher meetings or special meetings to address academic problems at your child’s school.
  
  
• Volunteer to serve as needed.
  
  
• Encourage other parents to get involved. 
  
  
• Learn about the school’s special challenges, community resources, and the No Child Left Behind act.
  
  
• Consider the opportunities of choice and talk with your child’s principal and teachers to determine what is best for your child.
   
• Talk with your school board members, principals, and other leaders in your school and state about which programs they think will help the students the most.

Teachers/Caregivers should...

• Be able to communicate the rights and responsibilities of parents in regard to school choice. Communicate whenever possible in the language of the home.
  
  
• Participate actively and collaboratively in parent/family-teacher meetings or special meetings to address academic problems at your school.
  
  
• Encourage parents to get involved.
  
  
• Learn all you can about the school’s special challenges, community resources, and the No Child Left Behind act.
  
  
• Understand the various opportunities of choice and work with the parents to determine what choice is best for their child.

Administrators should...

• Facilitate parent/family-teacher meetings or special meetings to address academic problems at your school.
  
  
   
• Encourage parents to get involved; invite them to have meaningful participation in increasing student achievement, including overall planning for increasing student achievement.
  
  
• Facilitate opportunities for parents and families to learn about your school’s special challenges, ways you are meeting those challenges, community resources, and the No Child Left Behind act.
  
  
• Be able to communicate the rights and responsibilities of parents in regard to school choice. Communicate whenever possible in the language of the home.
  
  
• Work closely with the parents and teachers to determine what is best for each child in regard to school choice.
  
  
• Consider supporting a written policy on parent involvement, both at the district and building levels.
  
  
• Have a plan to evaluate the success of the parent involvement strategies your building is using; make adjustments to increase engagement.
  
  
• If your school has a school-wide Title I program, be sure to involve parents in developing plans for the program that is designed to raise the achievement of low-achieving students in high-poverty Title I schools by improving instruction throughout the entire school.
  
  
• Recognize that the law provides for the involvement of parents of private schools’ students served by various federal education programs, including Title I.
  
  
• Know the approved supplemental educational services available for students in your building.