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Parent Involvement Information

Kershaw County School District
Parent Involvement Framework

Kershaw County School District encourages, supports, and values the participation and
involvement of parents and families in the educational experiences of their children.
The
District recognizes all *parents as their children’s first teachers and acknowledges the powerful
influence of parents on their children’s lives. The District, therefore, is committed to developing
family-friendly schools, offices, and programs to welcome and serve parents and families in
positive and supportive environments.

Parents are involved in the development of the Kershaw County School District (serving as
the Lead Education Agency or LEA) plan and the process of school review and improvement by
being part of a planning team that develops an overall Parent Involvement Policy. This Parent
Involvement Policy is distributed to all parents with children participating in Title I schools and
to the community at large. An annual evaluation of parent involvement is conducted. Title I
federal funding is used at high-poverty schools to improve teaching and learning.

Parents are involved in decision- and policy-making via opportunities to serve on School
Improvement Councils and Parent-Teacher Organizations as well as by completing parent
surveys, previewing strategic plans at each school, and/or serving as mentors or through other
volunteer efforts. Schools provide many parent activities during the year, regarding Technology,
Literacy, Math/Science, STEAM, Fine Arts, Testing, Cultural Celebrations, academic seminars,
and other student performance/academic presentations. Efforts to increase parental involvement
also include annual conferences to accommodate varied family schedules. In addition, an annual
meeting (Back to School Night) for parents/families is held to provide information on legislative
updates, instructional programs, and the desired outcomes for students of Title I Targeted
Assistance schools, schools receiving special assistance to meet academic standards.

Parenting Programs serve and join together with other programs by inviting parents to attend
classes, Adult Education classes, workshops, and seminars offered by the District and/or state.
Additional efforts are made to work with other community programs to provide information and
assistance regarding Title I Targeted Assistance programs.

District Office staff provide technical assistance, coordination, and support to schools. To aid
these schools, District Office staff are available to help write federal grants, assist in
procurement, attend school improvement/renewal team meetings, and assist the schools in
implementing effective parent involvement activities for all parents, including parents with
limited English proficiency, and Parent-Teacher organization meetings. Additional district
responsibilities include assisting in any area requested to bring about school improvement and
increase parental involvement. The District assists each school in the development of a
school-level Parent Involvement Policy. District Office staff also see that state and federal
guidelines are followed.

The schools and parents build the capacity for strong parental involvement by entering into
School-Parent-Compacts with staff and families of students attending Title I schools. Compacts
are signed by the principal, teacher, parent, and student.

Regarding funding, the District reserves not less than one percent (1%) of the total Title I
allocation to support parental involvement including family and parent literacy skills. In addition,
each school reserves at least 5% of its Title I allocation for funding previously mentioned parent
activities. All of our nine (9) Title I elementary schools and four (4) middle schools continually
monitor the implementation of their Title I plans and welcome input from parents, school staff,
and community members regarding their current and future Title I plans.

If you would like to serve on your school’s planning team or make comments about the plan,
please contact the principal at the school.

The Kershaw County School District welcomes input and suggestions from our community and our parents
concerning Title I programs and funding. We seek input from parents and community members as we work to make
this a document that reflects the climate and needs of our community.


Please forward your comments or suggestions to Mr. Dan Matthews, Chief Academic Officer, Kershaw County
School District, 2029 West DeKalb Street, Camden, SC, 29020; fax to (803) 425-8918; email him at
daniel.matthews@kcsdschools.net or drop your suggestions by the district of ice to Mr. Matthews’s attention.

*Parent is defined as the legal parent, guardian, or caregiver of any student attending Kershaw County Schools.

Title 1 School-Level Parent & Family Engagement Policy

 

Camden Elementary School has developed a written Title 1 parent and family engagement policy with input from Title I parents, community members, teachers, and staff. The school welcomes feedback from our parents and community members through our CEP (Camden Elementary Partners - School PTO), SIC, surveys and suggestions from events. The policy is distributed to parents each year through a variety of outlets including the Title 1 annual meeting, parent university, newsletters, posts on our school webpage, and social media page. The policy describes the means for carrying out the following Title 1 parent  and family engagement requirements under the guidelines offered by our district and state.

The goal of this policy is to: (1) Honor and recognize families' knowledge, (2) Connect family engagement to student learning, (3) Create welcoming, inviting cultures, and (4) Develop the capacity of families to negotiate the roles of supporters, advocates, and collaborators.

 

 

Involvement of Parents in the Title 1 program

To​​​​​​ involve parents and family members in the Title 1 program at  Camden Elementary School, the following practices have been established: (1) The school convenes and 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 1 program and to explain the requirements, and the right of the parents to be involved, (2) the school involved parents in an organized, ongoing, and timely way, in the planning, review, and improvement of the school's Title 1 program, including the planning, review, and improvement of the school parent and family engagement policy and the joint development of the schoolwide program plan through feedback at meetings and parent surveys. (3) At parent teacher conferences, assessment information on student academic progress and grade level standards are shared with parents. Student progress in relation to state and local standards will be explained to parents including the curriculum being used, grade-level expectations for proficiency, data reporting for state and local assessments and available interventions in reading, ELA and mathematics for students needing assistance.

 

Building Capacity for Involvement

Camden Elementary School engages Title 1 parents in meaningful interactions with the school. It supports a partnership between the school, parents and the  community to improve student academic achievement through thoughtfully planned literacy activities that not only promote learning, but are fun as well.

 

Accessibility 

Camden Elementary School, 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) by providing information and school reports in a format and language that parents understand.

 

Updated - September 9, 2023