Parent & Family Engagement Policy
The mission of Mansfield ISD is to inspire and educate students to be productive citizens. MISD believes education requires a partnership between the home and school. To encourage parental involvement, the district shall actively commit to the activities contained in this policy. Parents are crucial stakeholders in our Vision 2030 plan.
Download the Parent & Family Engagement Policy in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
The Mansfield Independent School District will implement the following statutory requirements:
- The school district will implement programs, activities and procedures for the engagement of parents in all of its schools as planned with consultation of parents of participating children.
- The school district will work with its schools to ensure that the required school-level parental engagement policies meet the legal requirements, and include, as a component, a school-parent compact for Title I schools.
- The school district will incorporate this district-wide parental engagement policy into its improvement plans.
- In carrying out the parental engagement requirements, to the extent practicable, the school district and its schools will provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with children with limited English proficiency, parents of children with disabilities, and parents of migratory children. It will provide information and school reports in an understandable and uniform format and, including alternative formats upon request, and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents understand.
- The school district will involve the parents of children served in Title I schools in decisions about how the one percent of Title I funds reserved for parental engagement is spent, and will ensure that not less than 95 percent of the one percent reserved goes directly to the schools.
- The school district will be governed by the following statutory definition of parental engagement, and expects that its 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 that —
(A) parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
(B) parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school;
(C) 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
Statement of Purpose
Mansfield Independent School District provides a quality education for every student in our district. In support of the district mission to "inspire and educate students to be productive citizens,” Mansfield ISD will develop and nurture partnerships with parents/caregivers, students and community stakeholders. Furthermore, the district will involve parents/caregivers in all aspects of the various local, state, and federal programs offered in Mansfield ISD schools.
Parent Involvement in Developing the Policy
Mansfield Independent School District will provide the following necessary coordination, technical assistance, and other support to assist schools in planning and implementing effective parental involvement activities to improve student academic achievement and school performance:
- Campus support from the district to serve in an advisory capacity to campuses
- Meetings of parents/caregivers, community members, and campus personnel to provide feedback and input on campus plans, policies, and budget allocations
- Appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses, including faith-based organizations, in parental engagement activities
- District Parent and Family Engagement Policy will be available on the district website in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Mansfield Independent School District will take the following actions to involve parents in the joint development of its district/school parental engagement plan:
- Actively recruit parents/caregivers to participate in parent advisory capacity
- Schedule meetings at convenient times and locations to participate in a comprehensive review of policy, budget, and programs for parent involvement
- Annually solicit feedback on the policy via the website, social media, and parent organizations
- Offer a flexible number of meetings, such as meetings in the morning or evening
- Present the plan to the public online
Annual Meetings for Title I Parents
Mansfield Independent School District uses Title I funds to provide school-wide services for all students enrolled on Title I campuses. The Title I campuses will hold at least one meeting annually to review Title I guidelines and services offered at campus level. Copies of the district’s current Parent & Family Engagement Policy and campus designed School-Parent Compact will be distributed at the meeting. Both documents will be provided in English and in Spanish on bilingual program campuses. The meeting will be held at a convenient time and location; notice of the meeting will be provided through public announcements and school-based information flyers. Translators will be available on bilingual campuses and upon request.
Mansfield Independent School District will provide parents of participating children, if requested by parents, 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 practically possible.
The 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 parental involvement
- Pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with parental engagement activities to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions
- Arrange school meetings at a variety of times, or conduct in-home conferences between teachers or other educators, who work directly with participating children, with parents who are unable to attend those conferences at school
Matching Parent Engagement Programs to the Needs of the Community
Mansfield Independent School District will build the schools and parents’ capacity for strong parental engagement in order to ensure effective engagement of parents and to support a partnership among the schools involved, parents, and the community to improve student academic achievement, through the following activities:
The District, with the assistance of its schools, assist parents of children served by the school district or school, as appropriate, in understanding topics such as the following:
- the state’s academic content standards
- the state’s student academic achievement standards
- the state and local academic assessments including alternate assessments
- the requirements of Title I
- how to monitor their child’s progress
- how to work with educators
The Mansfield Independent School District will coordinate and integrate parental engagement strategies under Title I with the following other programs: Preschool programs, Special Education programs, Gifted Education programs, Career and Technology programs, Bilingual/ESL programs, Family Literacy programs, English Language classes and Parenting and Father Involvement programs.
Staff / Parent Communications
The district, with the assistance of its schools and parents, will educate its teachers, pupil services personnel, principals 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. District personnel will implement and coordinate parent programs and build ties between parents and schools. Furthermore, the Communications and Technology department will provide methods of communication via social media and software programs.
The school/district will take the following actions to ensure that information related to the school and parent- programs, meetings and other activities, is given 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:
- Translators provided at the campus level for parents in Spanish Bilingual/Dual Language programs
- District phone call out system based upon the primary language identified for the home
- Provide a centralized District level contact for translation requests and assistance
In carrying out parental engagement communication, districts and schools, to the extent practicable, shall provide full opportunities for the participation of parents with children with limited English proficiency, parents with children with disabilities, and parents of migratory children, including providing information and school reports in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language parents can understand.
Evaluation
Mansfield Independent School District will take action to conduct, with the involvement of parents, an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parental involvement policy in improving the quality of schools. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in parental engagement activities with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, disabled, limited English proficient, limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background. The school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its parental engagement policy and activities to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary and with the involvement of parents its parental engagement policies.
Mansfield ISD administers satisfaction surveys annually to parents, staff, and students (as age appropriate), and will use the results of the surveys as part of the evaluation of parent and family engagement.
Statewide Initiative
Texas has established a Parent and Family Engagement Initiative hosted by the Region 16 Education Service Center.
www.esc16.net | 806-677-5166
The Department of Federal Programs in Mansfield ISD is responsible for annually reviewing and publishing this policy. Please contact 817-299-6377 with any comments or concerns.
Please refer to www.mansfieldisd.org/parents for information on how to become a volunteer, handbooks for parents, calendars of school events, or talk to your school principal about opportunities to serve on committees. rev. Sept. 2023
Research shows that greater parental involvement leads to greater student achievement irrespective of such factors of socioeconomic status or ethnic background. The most accurate predictor of student academic achievement is the ability of the student’s family to create a home environment that encourages learning; to communicate high, yet reasonable, expectations for achievement; and to become involved in the student’s education. ~ Alan Blankstein, Failure Is Not an Option (2004), p. 168