9.1.2025
St. Paul, Maplewood and Oakdale Schools (ISD 622)
Title I Family Engagement Plan
2025-2026 School Year
Overview
School District 622 believes that quality education is a partnership between the district, its schools, and families. Families play a crucial role as children’s first teachers. Their support for their children and for the school is critical to their children’s success at every step along the way. This is especially true for students who are struggling to meet state standards and district essential outcomes. District 622 strives to involve families in all aspects of the district’s Title I program to foster a school-home partnership that supports our students success. This document outlines the district’s Title I parent involvement policies and procedures, supporting ISD 622 School Board Policy 612.1, "Development of Parental Involvement Policies for Title I Programs" More information about family engagement is available via the district website: https://www.isd622.org/families-link
1. Involving parents in the joint development of its district-wide family engagement plan.
- School and district achievement data are published on the district website, sent to all households in district newsletters and annual reports, and discussed at several forums(committees, school board, 622 Advisory/Title I Parent Advisory Committee) that include parent/guardian representation.
- The 622/Title I Parent Advisory Committee receives training on Title I, as well as the district’s implementation of the program. It reviews key aspects of the application process and offers opportunities to ask questions and provide feedback. This feedback is considered in the school-year implementation of the MDE-approved Title plan/s.
- Parents are surveyed for information about the impact, satisfaction, and desired improvements to the overall educational experiences in 622.
- Schools notify parents in early Fall via letter (translated as needed) that their child qualifies for Multilingual (ML) services and what level of service is recommended.
- Schools notify parents throughout the year if their child has been identified as needing academic support in a specific area, such as reading or math, and will be receiving intervention services to help them meet grade-level standards.
2. Involving families in the process of school review and improvement.
- All families are informed of district and school performance on state accountability tests via
- newsletter, annual report, and website.
- Schools hold family night events or meetings at which Title I information is shared.
- Schools partner with parent groups (i.e, PTO, PTA) to disseminate information and gather feedback.
- Schools conduct professional development in a variety of family involvement strategies.
- School staff reviews each student’s Title I Compact (Family Report) with families (Fastbridge and formative assessment data, along with strategies to support learning at home, etc.). This takes place in the Fall and Winter.
3. Technical assistance to Title I schools in planning/implementing effective family involvement
activities to improve student academic achievement.
The Director of Teaching and Learning, Teaching & Learning Coordinator, Federal & State Programs Coordinator, Research Evaluation Assessment Director, Assistant Superintendents, Community Education Director, and educators provide assistance to identified Title I schools in planning and staging effective family involvement activities focused on academic success for students for all school staff. In addition, the district routinely shares strategies and ideas for increasing family involvement and its impact across schools.
4. Coordination of family involvement with other programs such as Head Start
District 622 is committed to providing a strong start for all of our youngest learners. We continue to
build on existing partnerships with local Head Start services and other community early learning
providers.
Our district offers several programs for young children and their families:
- Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE): ECFE classes are for parents and their children from birth to age five. These classes are designed to strengthen family relationships and provide parents with the information and resources they need to help their children grow and develop.
- Preschool (Age 3): Our half-day, play-based preschool program for three-year-olds is located at the Beaver Lake Education Center and the Gladstone Education Center.
- Pre-K (Age 4): Our full-day, play-based Pre-K program for four-year-olds is located at all seven of our elementary schools.
- Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE): We provide services at no charge to children from birth to age five who meet criteria for special education services established by the Minnesota Department of Education.
Families living at local homeless shelters are actively notified of and encouraged to participate in the full range of early learning and parent education events. The district also works to identify and support
families of youth in transition to ensure they are actively involved in their children's education. Providing these services and opportunities creates a strong foundation for learning, helping children transition smoothly into kindergarten.
5. Evaluating the effectiveness of the parental involvement policy in improving the quality of the district’s Title I schools
Families are provided with information about this policy at the beginning of the year (ex, building family meetings, website, 622 Advisor). We gather feedback on desired and actual levels of participation through various methods, including surveys, focus groups, and site-specific family groups. This feedback helps us identify any barriers to participation and provides us with your recommendations for improvement. The district's Research, Assessment and Evaluation (REA) team, in partnership with the Teaching & Learning/Title I, Office of Educational Equity, and Student Services departments, will use this feedback to assess the effectiveness of our family engagement activities. Our goal is to analyze this data to better understand and remove barriers to involvement. This District Parent and Family Engagement Policy will also be reviewed and updated as required.
6. Building the schools’ and parents’ capacity for effective family involvement, which supports a partnership between the school and parents
a. Title I families are strongly encouraged to participate in the wide variety of activities held throughout
the school year. Most of these activities occur at the schools and, where appropriate, are offered to
parents at all Title I (schoolwide) schools. These activities may include:
- Family information nights, where families are introduced to state standards and district essential outcomes, district, and state testing plans and become familiar with the school, its staff, policies, and procedures.
- Title I information sessions, where topics focus on the state and district standards, assessments, Title I Parent/School Compacts, and strategies to monitor progress and work with school staff.
- Sessions with featured speakers ranging from parenting professionals to district staff focused on specific topics such as Science, Math, or Reading strategies.
b. Title I schools provide frequent newsletters to send home with activities, strategies, and tips for
families working with their children in reading and math. This information is also included in the Title I
Compact. In addition, the district facilitates the district-wide sharing of ideas, activities, and materials
developed at individual Title I schools.
c. A variety of classes are available for parents through the schools and community education. These are promoted to Title I parents.
d. Offer transportation to and from, childcare during, and food during family involvement activities to
remove barriers for families to attend.
e. Title I schools volunteer coordinators advise staff on the value and effective use of volunteers in the
classroom.
f. The American Indian Parent Advisory Council (AIPAC) advises district and school staff on curriculum, instruction, and activities.
g. New educators are trained in the value of family involvement, and administrator standards have a
strong parent involvement component.
h. Communications regarding school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities sent to Title I and ML households are frequently checked for readability and made available in Spanish, Hmong, and Somali. Many communications are sent in translation or with banners in primary home languages, giving instructions on engaging a district-provided interpreter. In addition, where we know of non-literate parents, follow-up calls are frequently made. Materials made available electronically can always be requested on paper.
2025-2026 Title I Contacts
Heidi Leigh - Director of Teaching and Learning
Jason Walters - Federal & State Programs Coordinator
Dr. Amy Luckner - Director of Research, Assessment, and Evaluation
Elementary Title I Schoolwide Programs - Principals
Arthur Williams - Carver, awilliams5@isd622.org
Bridget Bruner - Castle, bbruner@isd622.org
Travis Barringer - Cowern, tbarringer@isd622.org
Shawn Bromeland - Eagle Point, sbromeland@isd622.org
Kenny Newby - Justice Alan Page, knewby@isd622.org
Melissa Houde - Richardson, mhoude@isd622.org
Jennifer Parker - Weaver, jparker@isd622.org
