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.

Woodley Hills Elementary 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.

Woodley Hills Elementary jointly developed this policy and compact with members of the school community and adopted it for the 2022-2023 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 PTA, emails, and surveys. 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.

Click here to view the Title I Parent Letter. 

Important Dates       

Parent-Teacher Conferences                                                

• October, November, and December

Progress Report Distribution

• November 18, 2022
• February 7, 2023
• April 18, 2023
• June 16, 2023

School Events

• Kindergarten Orientation: August 18, 2022
• Back To School Night: September 14, 2022
• First PTA and Annual Meeting: September 12, 2022
• Turkey Bingo: November 18, 2022
• Head Start Meetings: Oct. 18, Nov. 15, Jan. 17, Feb. 14, Mar.14
• Family Math & STEAM Night: Dec. 9, 2022, 5:30-7:30
• Parent Meetings: Once a quarter - TBD
• STEAM Fair: TBD                                   
• International Festival: May 5, 2023, 5:30-7:30

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 becoming members of the School Improvement Committee and the school’s Parent Empowerment Committee.
• Engage caregiver input when developing the School Improvement Plan (SIP), Title I Schoolwide 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 they may not find satisfactory 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 becoming members of the school’s Family Engagement Committee and PTA.
• Provide opportunities for caregivers to volunteer within the school in various ways, such as classroom volunteers, school library volunteers, cafeteria support, and sponsoring after school programs.
• Encourage families to take part in the 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 with families such as News You Choose, Twitter and flyers.
• 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 during the Back to School annual meeting, parent-teacher conferences, curriculum nights, and Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meetings.
• Provide opportunities throughout the year for families to better understand the school’s goals for students and find ways to improve student learning by dedicating a portion of each PTA and parent meeting to reviewing school goals.
• Maintain resources for caregivers to review student assignments and ongoing communication about student work, such as FCPS 24-7 Learning (Blackboard), Tuesday folders, Parent Vue & emails.
• 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 at least annually in the fall and more often, as needed.

Shared Responsibilities for High Academic Achievement

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers receive materials, training, and benefits from school partnerships with social and academic services, community-based organizations, and businesses, including the following:

• Hold workshops connecting caregivers to tools and resources, such as Connecting Parents to Advanced  Academic Service, How to Help with Homework, Executive Functioning Skills, and Social Emotional Content.  
• Offer regular opportunities for families to learn directly from school staff about the school’s academic, behavioral, and social programming through eNotify messages, Newsletters, and parent  meetings. 
• Encourage participation in family learning events where caregivers learn strategies to support their child’s learning at home and have a chance to practice those strategies with their child, such as curriculum nights, Technology Skills, Math and STEAM Nights, and Mental Health Strategies. 
• Provide ongoing access to resources in the school, such as use of technology, clothing, and food.  
• Provide mentors for students though Best Buddies Program between staff and students, Woodley Gents,  sponsored by NOVA Alexandria chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Girls Self-Esteem Group; Organizational Skills  Group; FRESH – Region 3; Student Leadership Academy.  
• Provide opportunities to donate and access supplies donated by others, such as partnerships with Kappa  Alpha Psi, Kids R First, Fairfax County Foundation; GrandInvolve and Food for Thought. 
• Leverage partnerships with local businesses, churches, and organizations to enhance school programs and provide resources to families. 
• Support parents in accessing county and community resources, such as Fairfax County departments of Health,  Family Services, and Housing, and summer enrichment camps and programs, including scholarship  opportunities. 
• Offer outreach and training for families, by providing information about parenting classes, the Early Literacy  and Parent Leadership program as well as a variety of workshops in the district and at neighboring schools.  

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 signs displayed in the main office and training for all office staff.
• Provide interpretation services for everyday communication, parent-teacher conferences, workshops, and meetings.
• Translate or provide an interpretation of all school documents and communication to make them accessible in the caregiver’s preferred correspondence language and for those with vision or hearing impairments.
• Support two-way communication between families and staff through the assistance of a parent liaison for general questions, parent-teacher conferences, curriculum nights, parent workshops, and meetings.
• Expand access for family participation in informational meetings and learning sessions through virtual participation options, copies of all meeting resources available in physical and electronic formats, varying meeting times.

Compact Provisions

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

The staff will:

Provide a high-quality curriculum and instruction that enables students to meet the challenging academic standard 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.
• Monitor students’ progress in an ongoing way through regular assessments and data reviews.
• Regularly communicate with family members about their child’s progress.

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.
• Allow multiple ways for students to demonstrate what they have learned.
• Involve students in choices about their learning.
• Respect, value, and challenge each child as a unique individual.

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 into the Title I programs.

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

• Include caregivers as members of the School Improvement Planning (SIP) Committee and as collaborators in developing the Title I Schoolwide Plan and plans for the use of Title I family engagement funds.
• Include caregivers in the school’s Family Engagement Committee to design family events.
• Hold curriculum night events where caregivers and their children practice academic strategies that they can use to support literacy and mathematics learning at home.

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 classroom or in school activities, as my schedule allows.
• Encourage and support my child’s learning at home and at school. 
• Review notes and papers sent home from the school and my child’s teacher.
• Participate in school events, when possible, or review material from these events online or by contacting the parent liaison.

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 every night.
• Come to school on time unless I am sick.
• Give my parents all notes and papers from my teacher.
• Eat breakfast and lunch every day.
• Respect myself, others, and the school.
• Be a cooperative learner, pay attention, and complete assignments to the best of my ability.
• Respect and value each member of Woodley Hills’ learning community.
• Be responsible for my own work and behavior, and I will always do my best.