Alert: All Materials are Copyright 2006-2009 (Parent-U-Turn)
Parent School Report Card
Objective
To provide the content of a parent-generated School Report Card (Parent School Report Card) to promote community-based accountability in the Los Angeles Public Schools. (Required)
3.0 Responsibility
The Parent/Community Evaluation Group
California Public Schools will create a district level committee of parents and community members to train parents and evaluate the new Parent/Community Evaluation Group process. This trained group of parents will assist the parents at the various schools in initiating the research group process.
Parents of students currently attending the school, and community members who volunteer at the school for a minimum of 15-20 hours/week are eligible to participate on the Parent/Community Evaluation Group.
The Parent/Community Evaluation Group will be responsible for:
- Prioritizing the issues to be evaluated by the Parent/Community Evaluation Group during the coming year;
- Using this list of priorities to conduct an annual evaluation of school programs to develop the parent-generated School Report Card;
- Ensuring that the parent-generated Report Card is disseminated to all families of students currently attending the school, parents considering sending their children to the school, and the greater school community;
- Facilitating school community meetings to educate parents on the parent-generated Report Card, and the process of collecting this information;
- Recruiting and training new members for next year’s Parent/Community Evaluation Group.
4.0 Procedures
The parent-generated School Report Card is designed to engage parents in the NCLB and California School Accountability Report Card process established by the Los Angeles County Unified School District schools and to establish guidelines for their engagement.
5.0 Statement of Principles (Required)
Parents have the right to send their children to schools that are safe and caring. Schools where:
- The principal and other administrators, teachers and other school staff are committed to providing a quality education to all students;
- Classrooms are staffed by permanent, highly qualified teachers who teach to a curriculum based on the standards and guidelines established by the California Department of Education and the LAUSD;
- All students receive State-Adopted textbooks in good condition in all core subjects;
- The counseling staffing is adequate to meet the needs of the student body;
- The principal is accessible to parents, and provides effective leadership to the school community;
- The principal and all staff views parents as partners in their children’s education, and encourage their involvement in educational decision-making;
- Parents are encouraged to observe classes and other services offered by the school, including the type and quality of food served to students, the condition of text books and other teaching materials, the condition of school facilities, the quality of the tutoring services and after school programs, and other services identified by the parent community;
- The principal and staff assist the Parent/Community Evaluation Group in collecting and evaluating school-related data that help parents understand the conditions in the school;
- The principal and other school staff assist the Parent/Community Evaluation Group in reporting their findings to official and other interested parent groups, local school districts, county and state boards of education.
6.0 Parent Community Accountability Procedures
When conducting research, the Parent/Community Evaluation Group will make every effort to minimize disruption to school routines. Parents are expected to report to the main school office prior to commencing to observe classes and other school activities, and collect data. This will permit the principal (or appropriate vice-principal) to greet the parent group, and facilitate the data collection process.
Before starting their investigation, parents will:
- Provide identification to the principal or principal’s designee;
- Explain the purpose of the visit; and
- Provide a written overview of the school campus location where data will be collected.
The parents on the Parent/Community Evaluation Group will engage in a research process that includes:
- Identifying the concerns of the larger parent community;
- Prioritizing these concerns to identify the issues the Parent/Community Evaluation Group will study over the next school year;
- Analyzing the findings;
- Developing a Parent School Report Card to present the findings of their research;
- Conducting workshops and a media campaign to introduce the Parent SchoolReport Card to local parent groups, school staff and school committees (e.g., School Site Council, English-Language Learners Advisory Council, District Advisory Council, etc.), the local school district and the board of education.
Parents will use the information in the parent-generated School Report Card to work with the local school staff and school district to engage in a problem-solving process that effectively creates a process of progressive reduction of current identified issues.
7.0 School Responsibility
It is the responsibility of the local school district to ensure that parent community groups are welcomed and provided with reasonable accommodations to collect data about school facilities, participate in classroom observations and conduct parent surveys. Appropriate assistance includes: (Required)
- Meeting space for parent community groups;
- Ensuring that appropriate staff are accessible to meet with the Parent/Community Evaluation Group, to assist in the collection of data and information, and the interpretation of existing school data and reports;
- Inviting the Parent/Community Evaluation Group to participate in all data collection efforts;
- Providing space in teacher professional development meetings for the Parent/Community Evaluation Group to share their findings on school conditions; and
- Involving the Parent/Community Evaluation Group and other parents in problem solving on school issues.
The school will also be responsible for posting the Parent Report Cards in the entry of every school and the principal’s office, and including it with the “back to school” flyer, the announcement advising parents of their right to enroll their children in tutoring, and the school compact.
THE PARENT/ COMMUNITY EVALUATOR GROUP For A:
“Parent-generated Report Card”
WHAT:A Parent/ Community Evaluator Group to promote community-based accountability in the Los Angeles Public Schools.
WHO:The Parent/Community Evaluator will consist of a district level committee of 35, That represents 60% parents & 40% community members) parents and community members: Parents: Have students that are currently attending the school Community members: Volunteers at the school for a minimum of 15-20 hours/week
HOW:
1. The Parent/Community Evaluator will create a district level committee of parents and community members to train parents and evaluate the new Parent/Community Evaluation Group process.
2. The Parent/Community Evaluation Group will engage in a research process that will provide the content of a parent-generated School Report Card (Parent School Report Card).
WHY:
The parent-generated School Report Card is designed to engage parents in the NCLB and California School Accountability Report Card process established by the Los Angeles County Unified School District schools and to establish guidelines for their engagement.
IMPACT
Parents will use the information in the parent-generated School
Report Card to work with the local school staff and school district to engage in a problem-solving process that effectively creates a process of progressive reduction of current identified issues.
Appendix
Example Draft of Parent Report Card Evaluation:
Services
Cleanliness
1.Cafeteria
A B C D F
Category
Need repairs
Clean
Maintenance updated
2. Facility
A B C D F
Category
Accessible
Friendly
Outreach to parents/student
Available
3. Counselor
A B C D F
Category
Friendly/
Environment
Intervention/
Prevention programs available
Encourage parent involvement
Every child is provided a Safe enviroment
4. School
A B C D F
Category
Effective leadership
Accessible to parents/students
Open door policy
Approachable
5. Principal
A B C D F
Category
Classroom textbook
Textbook to take home
Textbook in need of repair
6. Textbook available
A B C D F
Category
Provide services to families
Respect Parents/students
Accessible
7. School staff
A B C D F
A= Excellent, School always ... B= Good,
C= Sufficient, but school seldom... D=. Needs Improvement
F= Unacceptable
Assessment to measures for Implementation and Accountability: We would like to see a provision that says that schools will be assessed on how well they achieve each of these goals. This assessment could draw on a Parent Community Evaluator data and assign an Independent Monitor assigned to Parent Task Force.
.
