Title 1

Your child attends Oak Creek Elementary, which receives Federal Title I funds to assist students in meeting state achievement standards. Throughout the school year, we will be providing you with important information about this law and your child's education. This letter lets you know about your right to request information about the qualifications of the classroom staff working with your child.

At Oak Creek Elementary, we are very proud of our teachers and feel they are ready for the coming school year, and are prepared to give your child a high-quality education. As a Title I School, we must meet federal regulations related to teacher qualifications. These regulations allow you to learn more about your child's teachers' training and credentials.
We are happy to provide this information to you. At any time you may ask:

• Whether the teacher has met state qualifications and licensing criteria for the grade levels and/or subject areas in which the teacher provides instruction,
• Whether the teacher is teaching under an emergency or other provisional status through which state qualification or licensing criteria have been waived, and
• Whether the teacher is teaching in the field of discipline of the certification of the teacher.

You may also ask whether your child receives help from a paraprofessional. If your child receives this assistance, we can provide you with information about the paraprofessional's qualifications.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which was signed into law in December 2015 and reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1956 (ESEA), includes additional right-to-know requests. At any time parents and family members can request:

• Information on policies regarding student participation in assessments and procedures for opting out, and
• Information on required assessments that include:
  • subject matter tested,
  • purpose of the test,
  • source of the requirement (if applicable),
  • amount of time it takes students to complete the test, and
  • time and format of disseminating results.

Our staff is committed to helping your child develop the academic knowledge and critical thinking he/she needs to succeed in school and beyond. That commitment includes making sure that all of our teachers and paraprofessionals meet applicable California state requirements.

If you have any questions about your child's assignment to a teacher or paraprofessional, please contact us.

Chris Weber
Principal
ChrisWeber@iusd.org

Michelle Hulley
Assistant Principal
MichelleHulley@iusd.org

Oak Creek Elementary has developed a written Title I parent and family engagement policy with input from Title I parents and family members. This policy has been reviewed and approved by the Parents, Teachers, and Administrators who make up our School Site Council. This policy will be available on the Oak Creek Elementary website, https://oakcreek.iusd.org/, paper copies will be available in the office, and the policy will also be made available at various Parent and Family Engagement meetings throughout the year. The policy describes the means for carrying out the following Title I parent and family engagement requirements [20 USC 6318 Section 1118(c),-(g) inclusive].

Involvement of Parents in the Title I Program
To involve parents and family members in the Title I program at Oak Creek Elementary, the following practices have been
established:

• The school convenes an annual meeting, at a convenient time, to which all parents of participating children shall be invited to attend and encouraged to attend, to inform parents and family members of their school’s participation in the Title I program and to explain requirements and the right of the parents to be involved. (20 USC 6318 (c)(1).
  • Oak Creek will make presentations pertaining to the Title 1 program where families can access the information at convenient times.
• The school offers a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening, and may provide, with Title I funds, transportation, child care, or home visits, as such services relate to parent involvement. (20 USC 6318 (c)(2))
  • Oak Creek will provide meetings offered at convenient times; providing child care when appropriate.
• The school involves parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s Title I program, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan. (20 USC 6318 (c)(3))
  • Oak Creek will engage members of the School Site Council, as representatives of the parent population at large, in the planning review, and improvement of Oak Creek Elementary School Title 1 program.
• The school provides parents of Title I students with
  • Timely information about the Title I program. (20 USC 6318 (c)(4)) Title 1 program information will be made available to parents and guardians through a variety of means, including: Sent home via home-school communication, posted to the school’s website, and through Parent and Family Engagement meetings/activities.
  • A description and explanation of the curriculum in use at the school, the forms of academic assessments used to measure student progress, and the achievement levels of the challenging State academic standards. (20 USC 6318 (c)(5)) Information pertaining to the curriculum in use and academic assessments are provided to parents at Back-to-School Night, Parent Information Night, on teacher Canvas pages and, in upper-grade classrooms, through the Aeries Parent Portal. Information regarding achievement levels are provided at Fall. Parent-Teacher Goal-Setting conferences and through the Aeries Parent Portal. The IUSD district website also provides detailed information regarding curriculum and textbook adoptions and assessments, as well as links to the CA Dashboard.
  • If requested by parents, the school provides opportunities for regular meetings to formulate suggestions and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to the education of their children, and respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible. (20 USC 6318 (c)(4)) Oak Creek Elementary Staff and Administration are available throughout the year to work in collaboration with apartments and guardians in order to determine best practices when working to support students’ academic and social-emotional needs. In addition, Oak Creek collaborates with parent groups such as, PTA, School Site Council, and ELAC, to support student learning.
  • If the schoolwide program is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the local educational agency. (20 USC 6318 (c)(6)) Oak Creek Administration, in collaboration with the Leadership Team and School Site Council, will review parent feedback pertaining to our Title 1 program and develop an action plan to address parent concerns.

Building Capacity for Involvement 
To ensure the effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, each school and district assisted with Title I, Part A funds, has established the following practices:

• The school provides parents with assistance in understanding such topics as the challenging State academic standards, State and local assessments, the requirements of Title I, Part A, and how to monitor a child’s progress and work with educators to improve the achievement of their children. (20 USC 6318 (e)(1)) At Oak Creek we will provide meetings, workshops, and break-out sessions based on parent feedback, in order to enable parents to better understand the many factors that come together to provide a balanced academic experience for their child and to encourage parent/family engagement in the school experience.
• The school provides parents with materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children's achievement. (20 USC 6318 (e)(2)) At Oak Creek we work to meet the children’s academic as well as social-emotional needs. Materials and trainings will cover such topics as:
  • Title 1
  • STEAM
  • English Language Development
  • Social Emotional Learning
• The school shall educate teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals and other school leaders, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, and build ties between parents and the school; (20 USC 6318 (e)(3))+ Oak Creek will provide Professional Development for administrators, teachers, and staff that will allow for the effective implementation of Parent and Family Engagement Activities.
• The school shall, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate the parent involvement programs with other Federal, State, and local programs, including public preschool programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, to encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children. (20 USC 6318 (e)(4)). Oak Creek’s English Language Development (ELD) Coordinator, Title 1 Coordinator, and the Educational Resource Counselor (ERC) will work together to integrate multiple areas of interest into Parent and Family Engagement events with the intent of increasing participation by addressing the needs of more families at each event.
• The school distributes information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities to parents in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand. (20 USC 6318 (e)(5))
  • Parent and family communications will be made available as:
    • Printed material sent home in the classroom folders and accessible on classroom websites or portals
    • Information posted to the Oak Creek website (https://oakcreek.iusd.org/) and, when possible, posted in a manner that will allow for translation to the family’s home language.
    • Support documentation, made available during school Parent and Family Engagement Events.
• The school provides such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents may request. (20 USC 6318 (e)(14)) Feedback from annual climate surveys, along with feedback from parent groups such as School Site Council and PTA, will inform school planning of Parent and Family Engagement events.
• If the SPSA is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, submit any parent comments on the plan when the school makes the plan available to the school district. (20 USC 6318 (g)). School Site Council will complete an annual SPSA review and include feedback from parents on the SPSA plan and how the site will address parent concerns.

Accessibility
Oak Creek Elementary, to the extent practicable, provides opportunities for the informed participation of all parents and family members (including parents and family members with limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory students) including providing information and school reports in a format and language that parents understand.

Parents are able to access a wide array of information pertaining to the academic and social-emotional experiences of their child by accessing the Parent Portal. This application will allow parents to receive information in a variety of languages. Information posted to the school website will, whenever possible, be posted in a form that is consistent with online translation programs. In some instances translators may also be available to aid in communication between parents and school staff.

It is important that families and schools work together to help students achieve high academic standards. Through a process that includes teachers, families, students and community representatives, the following are agreed upon roles and responsibilities that we as partners will carry out to support and maximize each student’s success in school and in life. It is understood that there are a variety of factors that affect learning and school success.

Parent/Family Pledge
I agree to carry out the following responsibilities to the best of my ability:

• Support my child’s learning and maintain communication with the school; keep the teacher informed about any concerns or situations that may influence my child’s learning.
• Provide a quiet time and place for homework and monitor online activity, TV viewing, and the use of electronic games.
• Read to my child or encourage my child to read every day.
• Ensure that my child attends school every day, gets adequate sleep, regular medical attention, and proper nutrition.
• Participate at school in activities such as parent-teacher conferences, Back to School Night, Open House, and other school sponsored events.
• Communicate the importance of education and learning to my child and attempt to become involved in school decision-making and volunteering.
• Respect the school, staff, students, and families.

Student Pledge
I agree to carry out the following responsibilities to the best of my ability:

• Come to school on time and ready to learn and work hard every day.
• Bring necessary materials and homework to and from school each day.
• Know and follow school and classroom rules.
• Communicate regularly with my parents and teachers about school experiences so that they can help me to be successful in school.
• Complete all homework assignments and study or read every day after school by limiting my time online, TV watching, and use of electronic games.
• Respect the school, staff, students and families.

Teacher/Staff Pledge
I agree to carry out the following responsibilities to the best of my ability:

• Provide high quality curriculum and instruction.
• Teach classes through interesting and challenging lessons that promote student achievement.
• Endeavor to motivate my students to learn and develop a love of learning by maintaining high expectations and supporting every child.
• Communicate regularly with families about student progress.
• Provide a warm, safe, and caring learning environment.
• Provide meaningful homework assignments to reinforce and extend learning.
• Participate in professional development opportunities that improve teaching and learning and support the formation of partnerships with families and the community.
• Actively participate in collaborative decision making and consistently work with families and my school colleagues to make schools accessible and welcoming places for families which help each student achieve the school’s high academic standards.
• Strive to use a variety of instructional strategies and materials to meet the individual needs of students based on available data.
• Respect the school, staff, students and families.