FARRELL AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

RUSSELL C. PHILLIPS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT August 20, 2024

RUSSELL C. PHILLIPS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL-PARENT COMPACT

The Russell C. Phillips Elementary School, and the parents of the students participating in activities, services, and programs funded by Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), agree that this compact outlines how the parents, the entire school staff, and the students will share the

responsibility for improved student academic achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership that will help children achieve Pennsylvania’s high standards.

This school-parent compact is in effect during the 2024-2025 school year.

School Responsibilities

The Russell C. Phillips Elementary School will:

1.	Provide high quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables the children to meet Pennsylvania’s student academic achievement standards as follows:
●	The use of the Standards Aligned System (SAS) through the Pennsylvania Department of Education: This is a comprehensive approach to support student achievement across PA through: Clear Standards, Fair Assessments, Curriculum Framework, Instruction, Materials and Resources and Interventions.
●	Data-Driven Decision-Making: Grade level data teams meet on an ongoing basis to analyze a variety of assessment data such as MAP Assessments, Edmentum, attendance and other measures to inform instructional decision-making. Teachers and administration will use OnHand’s student data system to assist in decision making.
●	Expand Intervention Opportunities: After school tutoring is provided through Title I

●	Administrative Walkthroughs: Administrators visit the children’s classrooms on a regular basis to interact with teachers and students. Administrators are active participants in the learning process.
●	School Wide Positive Behavior Initiative that will foster a positive collaborative classroom atmosphere.
2.	Hold parent-teacher face to face/virtual conferences during which this compact will be discussed as it relates to the individual child’s achievement. Specifically, those conferences will be held as follows:
●	Parent-Teacher conferences are scheduled throughout the school year.

●	Parent conferences may be scheduled after the instructional day so as to protect the students’ learning time.
●	Additional conferences may be arranged by contacting the child’s classroom teacher or other support staff at the school.
3.	Provide parents with frequent reports on their children’s progress. Specifically, the school will provide reports as follows:
●	Interim Reports are sent home mid-way during each nine-week grading period. ●	Report Cards are sent home four times a year.
●	IEP students receive Progress Monitoring Reports.

4.	Provide parents reasonable access to staff. Specifically, staff will be available for consultation with parents as follows:
●	Parents may contact the school to arrange a meeting with the child’s teacher. Arrangements must be made in advance.
●	Conferences may be scheduled after the instructional day.

●	Communication may occur via phone, in-person, or through email. Phone calls should be made with the teacher after the instructional day so as to protect the students’ learning time.

5.	Provide parents opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class and to visit classroom activities as follows:
●	Parents will abide by the school district volunteer policy.

●	Parents/guardians, grandparents, community members and interested educators are always welcome to visit our schools to attend programs and activities. However, due to the global pandemic, visitors have been limited.
●	Parents/guardians are always welcome to make appointments for teacher conferences. Contact your child’s teacher in advance to arrange a time and date.
●	Recognizing its responsibility to ensure the safety and welfare of students in its charge, the Board directs the Superintendent to secure a criminal history record and child abuse clearance from volunteers who have direct contact with students. In considering which volunteers have contact with students, the Superintendent or designee shall consider the individual performance responsibilities, the location where the contact is likely to occur, and whether contact is likely under supervision or observation of employees who have background checks. Persons not covered by this policy are limited to those volunteers who are determined not to have direct contact with students. All costs for the background checks will be absorbed by the Farrell Area School District.
●	Any parent who chaperones on a field trip must have clearances.

●	Any parent who wishes to observe in his/her child’s classroom may do so by making arrangements with the administration and the classroom teacher in advance.
●	Any volunteer/visitor in the classroom will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities

We, as parents/guardians, will support our children’s learning in the following ways: ●     Encourage my child to demonstrate respect for self, others, and the environment.
●	Create an atmosphere that supports learning by encouraging reading, writing and math activities. ●	Read to my child or listen to my child read as appropriate.
●	Encourage my child to read at least 30 minutes a day.

●	Monitor attendance. Make sure my child arrives at school on time every day. ●	Send the child to school well-rested.
●	Monitor assignments and make sure that homework is completed.

●	Sign my child up for tutoring programs to support them in their learning.

●	Monitor the amount of television children watch and amount of video games children play. ●	Provide opportunities for physical activities.
●	Volunteer in my child’s classroom.

●	Participate, as appropriate, in decisions relating to my children’s education. ●	Promote positive use of my child’s extracurricular time.
●	Stay informed about my child’s education and communicate with the school by promptly reading all notices from the school or the school district either received by my child or by mail and responding, as appropriate.
●	Attend school functions, such as Open House, Title I informational Meetings, Title I Family Nights, and parent conferences. At times, functions may be held virtually.
●	Serve, to the extent possible, on policy advisory groups, such as being the Title I, Part A parent representative on the school’s School Improvement Team, the Title I Policy Advisory Committee, the District–wide Policy Advisory Council, School Improvement Planning, or other school advisory or policy groups.

Student Responsibilities

We, as students, will share the responsibility to improve our academic achievement and achieve Pennsylvania’s high standards. Specifically, we will:
●	Develop a positive attitude about school.

●	Be respectful to self, others, and the environment.

●	Always try to do my best, use my time wisely, and ask my teacher when I do not understand. ●	Talk to my family about what I am learning and doing at school.
●	Do my homework every day.

●	Pay attention and do my work in class.

●	Return completed homework on time that reflects quality and accuracy. ●	Be at school on time unless I am sick.
●	Come to school each day with pencils, pens, paper and other necessary tools for learning. ●	Read at least 30 minutes a day outside of school time.
●	Give my parents/guardians all notices and information received by me from my school every day. ●	Participate in appropriate extra-curricular activities.
●	Follow the Code of Student Conduct.

●	Be responsible for keeping materials and assignments organized. ●	Take ownership for my learning.
●	Be responsible for my own behavior.

●	Attend tutoring programs to support me in my learning.

The Russell C. Phillips Elementary School will:

1.	Involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the school’s parental involvement policy, in an organized, ongoing and timely way.
2.	Involve parents in the joint development of any schoolwide program plan, in an organized, ongoing, and timely way.
3.	Hold an annual meeting to inform parents of the school’s participation in Title I, Part A programs, and to explain the Title I, Part A requirements, and the right of parents to be involved in Title I, Part A programs. The school will convene the meeting at a convenient time to parents, and will offer a flexible number of additional parental involvement meetings, such as in the morning or evening, so that as many parents as possible are able to attend. The school will invite to this meeting all parents of children participating in Title I, Part A programs, and will encourage them to attend.
4.	Provide information to parents of participating students in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon the request of parents with disabilities, and, to the extent practicable, in a language that parents can understand.
5.	Provide to parents of participating children information in a timely manner about Title I, Part A programs that includes a description and explanation of the school’s curriculum, the forms of academic assessment used to measure children’s progress, and the proficiency levels students are expected to meet.
6.	On the request of parents, provide opportunities for regular meetings for parents to formulate suggestions, and to participate, as appropriate, in decisions about the education of their children. The school will respond to any such suggestions as soon as practicably possible.
7.	Provide to each parent an individual student report about the performance of their child on the State assessment in at least Math, Reading, Writing and Science, as provided.
8.	Provide each parent timely notice when their child has been assigned or has been taught for four (4) or more consecutive weeks by a teacher who is not highly qualified within the meaning of the term in section 200.56 of the Title I Final Regulations (67 Fed.Reg.71710, December 2, 2002).

Optional School Responsibilities:

To help build and develop a partnership with parents to help their children achieve the State’s high academic standards, the Russell C. Phillips Elementary School will:
1.	Recommend to the local educational agency (LEA), the names of parents of participating children of Title I, Part A programs who are interested in serving on the State’s Committee of Practitioners and School Support Teams.
2.	Work with the LEA in addressing problems, if any, in implementing parental involvement activities in section 1118 of Title I, Part A.
3.	Work with the LEA to ensure that a copy of the SEA’s written complaint procedures for resolving any issue of violation(s) of a Federal statute or regulation of Title I, Part A programs is provided to parents of students and to appropriate private school officials or representatives.