Parent's Right to Know
Complaint Resolutions
While the role of the Parent Advisory Council is an advisory one, parents and educators may not always agree on all aspects of the Title I program. It is anticipated that any differences will be resolved at the school, district, or state level where they occur. Solutions to most problems can be found when the parties concerned:
- make an honest effort to find solutions
- seek out sufficient objective information to make effective decisions
- hear each other openly
Parent Advisory Councils, parents, teachers, or other concerned organizations or individuals, who have a complaint about the operation of Title I which cannot be resolved on a person-to-person level, may file a written complaint with the Title I office of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Education.
The following procedure will be followed in the event of a written complaint:
- Record initiated. Within l0 days of receipt of a written complaint, or an appeal from a local educational agency against the operation of Title I, the State Title I office will acknowledge the complaint in writing. All written complaints must include signature and address of the person making the complaint.
- Within 15 working days of the acknowledgment of the complaint, the person making the complaint will be afforded an opportunity for an informal hearing with representatives of the State Title I office, at which time oral and written testimony may be taken.
- Failure to resolve the complaint in an informal setting will necessitate a formal hearing on the matter. The person making the complaint will be advised of the right to request in writing a formal hearing. The person making the complaint will have l5 days from the date of the informal hearing to make a written request for a formal hearing. Upon receipt of the request for a formal hearing, the state educational agency shall make, when necessary, an on-site investigation of the complaint.
- The formal hearing will be conducted by the state educational agency composed of a panel of two members from the Superintendent's Advisory Council, two members from the State Title I Coordinator's Office, two members from the state educational agency, and two parents of children in Title I programs. The panel will provide an opportunity for the person making the complaint or his/her representative, or both, and the local educational agency involved to submit evidence, including the opportunity to question parties to the dispute and any of their witnesses.
- The entire procedure, from receipt of the complaint to a satisfactory resolution, shall be completed within a period of not more than 60 days.
- The person making the complaint has the right to appeal the final resolution of the state educational agency to the U.S. Commissioner of Education, or his designate, within 30 days after receipt of the written decision.
- The state educational agency shall disseminate information concerning these procedures to affected parties within 15 days after resolution of the complaint.
PARENT RECOMMENDATIONS
When a parent has a recommendation for the Title I program the following steps should be taken:
- When the recommendation deals with an individual child, it should be presented to the Title I reading specialist who works with the child. Together the parent, teacher, and principal can decide what is best for the student.
- When the recommendation has an effect on the Title I program for our school system, the recommendation should be sent in writing to the Title I Director, Catiia Greene. The parent will receive written notice that the recommendation has been received. The recommendation will then be discussed with a representative group of parents, teachers, and administrators. The parent making the recommendation may attend the meeting for further input. A decision will be made, and the parent will be notified of the decision in writing.
School-Parent-Student Compact
COORDINATION WITH OTHER PARENTAL AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT EFFORTS
School-Parent Compact
- Each participating school must jointly develop with parents and families of all participating children a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student achievement and the means by which the school and families will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the State’s high standards. This compact is a component of the school level parental engagement policy.
- As a component of the parent and family engagement plan, each school must jointly develop, with parents and families, a school-parent compact that must describe:
- the school’s responsibility to provide high quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables children to meet the State’s student performance standards
- ways in which each parent will be responsible for supporting his/her child’s learning, such as monitoring attendance, television watching, homework completion, etc.
- the ongoing communication that will occur around children achieving high standards through such means as:
- parent-teacher conferences in schools at least annually at which the compact will be discussed
- frequent reports to parents on children’s progress
- reasonable access to staff and observation of classroom activities, and opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class
- parent-teacher conferences in schools at least annually at which the compact will be discussed
- the school’s responsibility to provide high quality curriculum and instruction in a supportive and effective learning environment that enables children to meet the State’s student performance standards
Parent's Right to Know
The empowerment of parents is vital for students to succeed. Thus, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), formerly known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Section 1118, has specific guidelines for family and parental involvement. Every Title I school must comply with the guidelines outlined in the Parent Involvement. These guidelines include the Annual Title I Meeting. Each Title I school must hold a yearly meeting explaining Title I and parents' rights as related to ESSA. The meeting should be identified as the Title I Annual Meeting on printed agendas and announcements. The school must offer a flexible number of meetings so that as many parents as possible may attend. The information discussed at the Title I Annual Meeting should be summarized and written as minutes discussed with the date and the information documented. Administrators, Parent Liaisons, Title I Contacts and related personnel are required to present the following information at the Annual Title I Meeting.
- Explanation of Title I
- The Parents' Right to Know
- School-Parent Compact
- Family or Parental Involvement Policy/Plan
EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT
The Every Student Succeeds Act may be found on the Virginia Department of Education website at https://www.doe.virginia.gov/programs-services/federal-programs/essa. There you will find the Elementary and Secondary Education Legislation.
VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SCHOOL REPORT CARDS
Report cards for schools, school divisions, and the commonwealth provide information about student achievement, accountability ratings, attendance, program completion, school safety, teacher quality, and other pertinent topics specific to student achievement.
Danville Public Schools’ annual School Quality Profile as well as individual Virginia School Quality Profiles may be found on the Danville Public Schools’ Parents website or the Virginia Department of Education website at Virginia's School Quality Profile. To view the profile for an individual school, select a school division, and then select a school within the division.
VIRGINIA STANDARDS AND DANVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENTS
Information regarding how to access state standards and the division’s assessment can be found at VDOE’s Student Assessment website and DPS’ Assessment & State Reporting website. The division’s local curriculum can be accessed via the Canvas Learning Management System. Please check with each school regarding login information.
24-25 Parent's Right to Know - Notification of Teacher Quality (English)
24-25 Parent's Right to Know - Notification of Teacher Quality (Spanish)
Parent's Rights
PARENTS HAVE A RIGHT TO:
- Information about your child's progress in a timely manner and in a form and language you understand.
- Information on specific requirements of Title I.
- Copies of all plans, evaluations, improvement plans, and other public documents.
- Written policies that ensure their involvement.
- The Policy Manual published by the Department of Education.
- Meaningful consultation with the Local Education Agency (Danville's Title I) and school personnel that is organized, systematic, ongoing, informed, and timely in relation to programmatic decisions. Timely response to parent recommendations is also an essential part of consultation.
- Involvement in all aspects of the program.
- A wide range of opportunities to participate in the program.
- Reasonable support for their activities.
- Training (to the extent practical) to help parents work with their children to attain the instructional objectives, understand the program requirements, build home-school partnerships, and become knowledgeable of the curriculum, methods, and activities used in the program.
- Ready, on-going access to personnel, teachers, the school, and their child's classroom.
- Reports on their children's progress and at least one parent-teacher conference per semester.
- Materials which build the capacity of parents to improve their children's learning.
- Use of complaint procedures to correct violations of the Title I regulations.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION
The following information is on file in the Title I office and is available for parents of participating children to review:
- Title I Regulations
- Title I Grant Application
- Parental Involvement Policy
- Title I Teacher Resource Manual
- Title I Parent Handbook
- Comparability Report
- Student Progress Reports
- School-Student-Parent Compact