Purpose of the 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.

Forest Edge 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.  

Forest Edge jointly developed this policy and compact with members of the school community and adopted it for the 2024-2025 school year. Several 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 our newsletter and website. 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.

Important Dates

Parent-Teacher Conferences

• October 21, 2024 – November 29, 2024

Progress Report Distribution

• November 12, 2024
• February 4, 2024
• April 5, 2025
• June 11, 2025

School Events

• Welcome Walk – August 15, 2024
• Open House – August 16, 2024
• Back to School Night – September 10, 2024
• PTA Fall Festival – November 6, 2024
• Literacy Family Night - December 4, 2024
• Math Family Night - February 5, 2025
• Show What You Know - March 2025
• 6th Grade Promotion - June 2025
• Quarterly Parent Coffees

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 our Parent Advisory Committee and Community Engagement Committee.
• Engage caregiver input when developing the School Improvement and Innovation Plan (SIIP), Comprehensive Needs Assessment, 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 SIIP, offer multiple methods for caregivers to submit comments about programs they may not find satisfactory, and submit any such comments with SIIP to FCPS central offices.  
• Invite family members to help in organizing and executing a variety of school events to build collective ownership, such as our Parent Teacher Association, Welcome Walks, and Parent Coffees. 
• Provide opportunities for caregivers to volunteer within the school in various ways, such as Tuesday Folders, library helpers, classroom support, and mentors.  
• Encourage families to take part in the annual evaluation 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 to families such as our weekly newsletter, Eagle Updates (available through News You Choose), Talking Points, and FCPS Email for parent/community communication, and period posts on Instagram. 
• Encourage all caregivers to attend an annual meeting on September 10 to share information about Title I services, explain Title I grant requirements, and inform families of their right to be involved in the school.  
• 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 through Parent Teacher Association Meetings, Parent/Teacher Conferences, and Parent Coffees.
• Provide opportunities throughout the year for families to better understand the school’s goals for students and find ways to improve student learning by presenting at PTA meetings, math and literacy nights, parent coffees, open house/back to school night, and conferences
• Maintain resources for caregivers to review student assignments and ongoing communication about student work, such as weekly communication from teachers, Schoology, and Talking Points.
• 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 SIS ParentVue, Social Media Safety, and Social Emotional Learning.              
• Offer regular opportunities for families to learn directly from school staff about the school’s academic, behavioral, and social programming through PTA information nights, parent coffees, and written communication from the teacher.
• 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 Literacy Night & Math Night.
• Provide ongoing access to resources in the school, such as the Family Liaison and Community Resources.  
• Provide mentors for students though Mentorworks Program.
• Provide opportunities to donate and access supplies donated by others, such as school supplies and classroom snack.
• Leverage partnerships with local businesses and organizations to enhance school programs and events, such as PTA Events, Math Night, Literacy Night, Show What you Know Night.
• Support parents in accessing county and community resources, such as support from our family liaison, social worker and partnership with Cornerstones Organization and RestON.
• Offer outreach and training for targeted families, based on need and interest in connection with the FCPS Family Engagement Office and our Family Liaison

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 an inviting front office, family liaison, and student artwork gallery.
• Provide interpretation services for parent-teacher conferences, workshops, and meetings.  
• Translate or provide 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 assistance of a parent liaison for family resources and translation services.
• Expand access for family participation in informational meetings and learning sessions through real-time translation, closed captioning, translated notes/slides.  

Compact Provisions 

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

The staff will:

Provide a high-quality curriculum and instruction that enables students to meet challenging academic standard through the following actions:

• Teach all students according to the state’s challenging standards, using approved curriculum
• Provide ongoing professional development and support to all teachers to ensure effective instructional practices are used in all classrooms.  
• Share ongoing data review in literacy, writing, and math domains.  

Provide daily targeted intervention and enrichment to students in Edge Time (daily intervention-extension block) based upon data. 

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.  
• Maintain high expectations for all students
• Utilize a Responsive Classroom approach to include morning meeting and closing circle. 

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 in the Title I program(s).
• Continue partnerships with Family Liaison.

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

• Include caregivers as members of the School Improvement and Innovation Planning (SIIP) Committee and as collaborators in developing the SIIP and plans for the use of Title I family engagement funds. 
• Increase opportunities for volunteering  
• Get feedback from families around school structures.

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.  
• Read with my child daily and communicate with my child’s teacher often. 
• Participate in family engagement events.

The student will:

Share the responsibility to improve my academic learning to achieve the state’s challenging standards through the following’s actions: 

• Get enough sleep every night. 
• Come to school on time unless I am sick.  
• Try my hardest and work with my classmates to complete learning tasks. 
• Give my parents all notes and papers from my teacher.  
• Respect all other students and adults in the learning environment.