Parent and Family Engagement Policy

Parents and families are a child’s first teacher. A mutually beneficial relationship between school and home is in the best interest of every child. The expectation of our PFE Program is to foster communication and decision-making with parents about student performance and to collaboratively support learning. Our objectives are: 

• Enhance two-way communication between school and home 
• Promote a sense of belonging and engagement for all parents and students
• Foster parent and family participation in school activities

Parents and families are encouraged to attend Back to School events at each level in the district. Additionally, elementary campuses host Open Houses in the spring to showcase academic and non-academic achievements. Parent-teacher conferences are held annually in October at the elementary level. Parents are encouraged to contact staff members with questions or concerns regarding their child or other curricular issues. Teachers and administrators work with parents to develop effective communication plans. Parents are also afforded various volunteer opportunities on the campuses as a way to stay involved in their child’s education. Additionally, each campus has activities such as carnivals, performances, fairs, etc. which promote family involvement. 

Various campus and district committees and organizations are open for parents to be involved including the Campus Leadership Team, District Leadership Team, PTOs, Booster Clubs, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee, Special Education Parent Partners, Bond Oversight Committee, Technology Advisory Committee, and the School Safety and Health Advisory Council. The Eanes ISD CAFE series made up of Town Hall meetings, Listening Dinners, Staff & Parent Conversations and Social Media Vignettes scheduled for the 2022-23 school year provide additional opportunities for information to be disseminated and for parents to stay involved. 

Communication is shared with parents in various forms including newsletters, social media and letters from the district. Messages through Skylert are all translated into Spanish. The EISD website has a translation feature whereby information can be translated into several languages. Parents can also request language translators or sign language interpreters for campus or district events. 

The District also hosts training and informational events for parents of Emergent Bilingual students and their families and also for parents of students with or suspected of having Dyslexia. 

Through the Special Education Department, parents are encouraged to attend the annual Meet & Mingle and Progression Meetings to enhance their understanding of department and district initiatives. During these meetings, parents are also provided activities to enhance the parent to parent network.

The District also offers various events around mental health or other health related issues including a Speaker Series and a parent to parent support group through the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). 

Eanes ISD provides resources for parents to help with the use of technology including a guide for raising digitally responsible youth and tips on managing digital distractions at home. Elementary parents have access to other online systems allowing them to monitor student progress and keep in contact with teachers. Secondary campuses utilize Google Classroom as a Learning Management System which includes weekly summaries fo parents to review. 

STEAM events are also held on many campuses allowing parents to experience the curriculum and activities in which the students are involved. An art exhibit is held every year at the Central Administration building to highlight the creativity and artistic talents of students of all ages. 

Information is presented at both the district and campus level regarding state assessments and state accountability. On the two Title I Targeted Assistance campuses, information is shared with families regarding the School-Family Compact and the PFE campus policy. Families are invited to attend elementary school conferences and are made aware of various benchmark testing and screening instruments to help monitor progress. Parents of our Emergent Bilingual students receive a student progress report documenting the student’s TELPAS and STAAR results. STAAR family reports and MClass Home Connect letters are available in Spanish.

Eanes ISD utilizes community members and partners to serve on various district committees as referenced under the Parent and Family District Involvement section. Administrative staff in Eanes are involved with organizations such as the Westlake Chamber of Commerce and Rotary. We are connected to all local law enforcement agencies and meet to discuss safety and security measures. Mental health professionals and organizations are invited to partner with our schools in terms of support or presentations. We have bilingual counseling available through the TCHATT collaboration with Dell for students who qualify. Lists of community resources are kept current for families on our website. We seek internships or job placements for various Career and Technology Education programs and the Adult Transition Services campus. 

Community members contribute their experience and expertise through career days, STEAM day, and cultural arts. At the high school, parent volunteers plan Senior Career Day where seniors are placed throughout the community to shadow professionals in various industries. 

There are several layers of support for teachers to continue to develop or learn to build positive and strong school/parent relationships. Campus administration, mentor teachers and educational partners work with teachers on communication strategies around academic achievement, behavior, and social-emotional growth. New to the profession and new to district teachers are provided mentors who provide strategies for parental collaboration and communication. Professional Working Communities work on providing information to families on curricular topics and other class or departmental activities. Parent input is solicited from parents during feedback mechanisms such as surveys, back to school nights, or Town Halls.

Starting in the 2022-23 school year, Eanes ISD will review and revise the PFE Policy yearly in the spring. The District Leadership Team (DLT) composed of parents and staff will have input on the activities outlined in the plan. The PFE Policy will be incorporated as part of the District Improvement Plan also reviewed by the DLT in the spring. In the 2022 -2023 school year, the DLT will have input on the PFE policy in the fall to get the district on the current cycle as there was not a plan in the spring of 2022. The District Improvement Plan (DIP) is typically presented to the District Leadership Team (DLT) in the spring. The DLT is composed of a representative group of parents and staff. The parents provide recommendations to the district leadership regarding elements of the DIP and ultimately recommend the DIP for consideration to the Board of Trustees. 

An evaluation of the PFE policy will be completed in the fall of each school year. The Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Department will lead the evaluation in conjunction with DLT for consideration for review or revision of the current policy in the spring. The evaluation will include identifying barriers to greater participation by parents in activities (with particular attention to parents who are economically disadvantaged, are disabled, have limited English proficiency, have limited literacy, or are of any racial or ethnic minority background). The school district will use the findings of the evaluation about its parent and family engagement policy to design strategies for more effective parental involvement, and to revise, if necessary, its parent and family engagement policy. Data considered may include student, parent or staff climate surveys, event participation rosters, ARD process surveys, and information collected during CAFE series discussions. The PFE policy will be posted on the District website with the ability to translate into over a dozen languages. Information about the PFE Policy will be contained in the Student Handbook beginning in the 2023-24 school year. 

In the late spring or early summer of each school year, information on the various grant programs EISD is a part of is presented to the School Board, and at that time, feedback is solicited from the community prior to the mid-late summer submissions of those grants for the upcoming school year. The presentation includes the amount of funding received for the upcoming school year along with recommendations for the use of those funds.