Title I

District-Wide Parent and Family Engagement Policy

NOTE: In support of strengthening student academic achievement, each local educational agency (LEA or school district) that receives Title I, Part A funds must develop jointly with, agree on with, and distribute to, parents of participating children a written parent and family engagement policy that contains information required by section 1116(a)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (district-wide parent and family engagement policy). The policy establishes the LEA's expectations for parent and family engagement and describes how the LEA will implement a number of specific parent and family engagement activities and is incorporated into the LEA's plan submitted to the State educational agency (SEA).

PART I. GENERAL EXPECTATIONS

The Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 agrees to implement the following statutory requirements:

• The school district will put into operation programs, activities, and procedures for the involvement of parents in all of its schools with Title I, Part A programs, consistent with section 1116 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Those programs, activities, and procedures will be planned and operated with meaningful consultation with parents of participating children.
• Consistent with section 1116 of the ESEA, the school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level parent and family engagement policies meet the requirements of section 1116(b) of the ESEA, and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with section 1116(d) of the ESEA.
• The school district will incorporate this district-wide parent and family engagement policy into its LEA plan developed under section 1112 of the ESEA.
• In carrying out the Title I, Part A parent and family engagement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools will provide opportunities for the informed participation of parents and family members, including parents and family members who have limited English proficiency, parents and family members with disabilities, and parents and family members of migratory children, including providing information and school reports required under section 1111 of the ESEA in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
• If the LEA plan for Title I, Part A, developed under section 1112 of the ESEA, is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children, the school district will submit any parent comments with the plan when the school district submits the plan to the State Department of Education.
• The school district will involve the parents of children served in Title I, Part A schools in decisions about how the 1 percent of Title I, Part A funds reserved for parent and family engagement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 90 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools.
• The school district will be governed by the following statutory definition of "parent and family engagement," and expects that its Title I schools will carry out programs, activities, and procedures in accordance with this definition:

Parent and family engagement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring —

(A) that parents play an integral role in assisting their child's learning;

(B) that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child's education at school;

(C) that parents are full partners in their child's education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child; and

(D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1116 of the ESEA.

PART 11. DESCRIPTION OF HOW DISTRICTS WILL IMPLEMENT REQUIRED DISTRICT-WIDE PARENT AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT POLICY COMPONENTS

1. The Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district-wide parent and family engagement plan under section 1116 of the ESEA:

-shared and revised, if necessary, at annual Title I Family Nights and annual Title I Parent Meeting

2. The Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 will take the following actions to involve parents and family members in developing the local educational agency plan under section 1112 of the ESEA, and support and improvement plans under section 1111(d)(l)-(2) of the ESEA:

-shared and revised, if necessary, at annual Title I Family Nights, PTA Council meetings, School Improvement Team Meetings, Special Education Parent Advisory Council, and Bilingual Parent Advisory Council

3. The Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist Title I, Part A schools in planning and implementing effective parent and family engagement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance:

-translation services at Family Conferences and all parent advisory meetings
-translated documents posted on websites

4. The Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 will coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement strategies in Part A with parent and family engagement strategies of the following other relevant Federal, State, and local programs.

5. The Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 will take the following actions to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement policy in improving the academic quality of its Title I, Part A schools. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parent and family engagement activities (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background); the needs of parents and family members to assist with the learning of their children, including engaging with school personnel and teachers; and strategies to support successful school and family interactions. The school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its parent and family engagement policy and activities to design evidenced-based strategies for more effective parent and family engagement and to revise, if necessary (and with the involvement of parents), its parent and family engagement policies.

The Assistant Superintendent will facilitate an annual Title I Parent meeting.

6. The Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 will build the schools' and parent's capacity for strong parent and family engagement, in order to ensure effective involvement of parents and to support a partnership among the school involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, through the following activities specifically described below:

A. The school district will, with the assistance of its Title I, Part A schools, provide assistance to parents of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following, by undertaking the actions described in this paragraph:

• the State's challenging State academic standards,
• the State and local academic assessments including alternate assessments,
• the requirements of Title I, Part A,
• how to monitor their child's progress, and
• how to work with educators:

B. The school district will, with the assistance of its schools, provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children's academic achievement, such as literacy training, and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parent and family engagement.

C. The school district will, with the assistance of its schools and parents, educate its teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals and other school leaders, and other staff, in how to reach out to, communicate with, and work with parents as equal partners, in the value and utility of contributions of parents, and in how to implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools.

D. The school district will, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrate parent and family engagement programs and activities with other relevant Federal, State, and local programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children.

E. The school district will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand.

PART IV. ADOPTION

This District-wide Parent and Family Engagement Policy has been developed jointly with, and agreed on with, parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, as evidenced by School Board Approval of the 26-27 Consolidated District Plan.

This policy was adopted by the Oak Lawn-Hometown District 123 on 05/26/26 and will be in effect for the period of 06/30/30. The school district will distribute this policy to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children on or before August 17, 2026