Purpose of this Policy and Compact

Efforts will be made to clearly articulate the school’s intentions to engage with and involve parents/caregivers in the educational process.

Woodlawn Elementary is a Title I school in Fairfax County Public Schools’ (FCPS) and utilizes the Title I grant to improve student achievement and help all students meet the objectives of the FCPS Program of Studies and the Virginia Standards of Learning. A partnership with families is essential to meeting this goal.

Under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, schools that receive Title I funds are expected to collaborate with families to develop and maintain a parent and family engagement policy that describes the school’s approach to involve families in students’ learning and includes a compact expressing the partnerships among staff, caregivers, and students to reach high academic goals for every student.

Woodlawn Elementary jointly developed this policy and compact with members of the school community and adopted it for the 2024-2025 school year. A number of the provisions specifically address state or federal expectations for the policy and compact.

This policy and compact is distributed to all caregivers in a language that families can understand. Caregivers have opportunities to provide comments and feedback on the policy and compact through contacting the Principal, Laura Elliott at [email protected]. Comments are submitted with the school’s policy and compact to FCPS central offices and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE). This policy and compact are made available to the broader school community through the school website.

Important Dates

Parent-Teacher Conferences

• October - November by scheduling appointment with student’s teacher

Progress Report Distribution

• November 13, 2024
• February 5, 2025
• April 9, 2025
• June 12, 2025 

School Events

• Woodlawn Open House: August 
  • Grades K-6 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
• Back to School Night:  9/11/24 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
• Picture Day: October 22, 2024
• Winter Concert:  January 30, 2025 6:00pm
• Multicultural Night:  March 11, 2025, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
• Field Day:  June 6, 2025

Please call the main office if you are interested in volunteering for any of the events or in the classroom.  (703) 619-4800

Building Capacity for Involvement

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers are actively involved in the development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of the school’s Title I program, including the following:

• Provide family members a voice in decision-making on committees, such as the school board's Title I Parent Advisory Committee and Woodlawn Family Engagement Committee.
• Engage caregiver input when developing the School Improvement and Innovation Plan (SIIP), Title I Schoolwide Plan, and the Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy and Compact.
• Seek feedback from families on programs within the Title I Schoolwide Plan, offer multiple methods for caregivers to submit comments about programs they may not find satisfactory, and submit any such comments with the Title I Schoolwide Plan to FCPS central offices.
• Invite family members to help in organizing and executing a variety of school events to build collective ownership, such as volunteering for PTA and school events, Picture Day, 6th grade promotion, Parent/Staff basketball game, Career Day, and Field Day.
• Provide opportunities for caregivers to volunteer within the school in various ways, such as reading to classes, working in the school garden, and assisting in the library.
• Encourage families to take part in an annual evaluation of the content and effectiveness of the division-level Title I parent and family engagement policy in order to identify:
  • Barriers to greater family participation,
  • Ways to help family members be better able to assist in student learning, and
  • Strategies to support successful school and family interactions.

Effective Communication with Parents

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers receive meaningful communication in a timely manner, including the following:

• Use multiple methods of communication to families such as eNotify (email and phone calls), News You Choose, Facebook, Instagram, Talking Points, Wednesday folders, monthly grade-level newsletters, Schoology and Woodlawn's website.
• Share school and student performance data with families in ways that seek their ideas about how to improve performance toward Virginia’s challenging academic standards, such as parent conferences and presentations at PTA meetings.
• Provide opportunities throughout the year for families to better understand the school’s goals for students and find ways to improve student learning by relaying information about performance on assignments and specific information in the form of a narrative.
• Maintain resources for caregivers to review student assignments and ongoing communication about student work, such as ParentVue, Wednesday folders, e-mails, Talking Points, Schoology and phone calls.
• Provide ongoing feedback on student progress through Reading and Math intervention plans on SIS, interim reports, and quarterly progress reports that show specific areas of proficiency and areas for continued growth.
• Hold parent-teacher conferences for all students annually in the fall and as needed.

Shared Responsibilities for High Academic Achievement

We will ensure parents/caregivers receive materials, training, and benefits from school partnerships with social and academic services, community-based organizations, and businesses, including the following:

• Hold workshops connecting caregivers to tools and resources, such as bullying, social/emotional health, reading, and math.
•  Offer regular opportunities for families to learn directly from school staff about the school’s academic, behavioral, and social programming through events such as parent chats, family literacy, and math nights.
• Encourage participation in family learning events where caregivers learn strategies to support their child’s learning at home and have a chance to practice those strategies with their child, such as Literacy Night and Math Night.
• Provide ongoing access to resources in the school, such as family liaison, school counselors, school psychologist, school social worker, and Advanced Academic Resource Teacher.
• Provide staff mentors for students through our school counselors.
• Provide opportunities to donate and access supplies donated by others, such as backpacks, school supplies, shoes, and coats from the Penn Daw fire station. In addition, power packs, holiday gifts and holiday assistance from Our Daily Bread and Nova Project Give Back.
• Leverage partnerships with local businesses (Walmart, Safeway, Costco) and organizations to enhance school programs and events, such as Neighborhood Networks 
• Support parents in accessing county and community resources, such as the Community Service Board (CSB) and  South County Mental Health.
• Offer outreach and training for targeted families, such as Neighborhood Networks.

Welcoming All Families

We will ensure that all parents/caregivers are welcomed and provided opportunities to actively engage within the school, including the following:

• Create a welcoming atmosphere at the school with friendly and helpful staff members who greet parents.
• Provide interpretation services for parent-teacher conferences, workshops, and meetings.
• Translate or provide interpretation of all school documents and communication to make them accessible in the caregiver’s preferred correspondence language and for those with vision or hearing impairments.
• Support two-way communication between families and staff through the assistance of a parent liaison or translators for school events, PTA meetings, parent conferences, and other types of assistance.
• Expand access for family participation in informational meetings and learning sessions through the newsletter, News You Choose, Talking  Points,  Facebook and Instagram, virtual meetings as well as the Woodlawn webpage.

Compact Provisions

School staff, parents/caregivers, and students must work together to ensure student success.

The staff will:

Provide a high-quality curriculum and instruction that enables students to meet challenging academic standard through the following actions:

• Teach all students according to the state’s challenging standards, using approved curriculum resources.
• Provide ongoing professional development and support to all teachers to ensure effective instructional practices are used in all classrooms.
• Meet twice a week as a team for collaborative team meetings to plan instruction, examine data and refine teaching strategies.

Provide a supportive and effective learning environment for students through the following actions:

• Provide clear expectations for student behavior and academic learning.
• Offer a variety of resources to help students with their learning.
• Provide social skill instruction and group counseling as appropriate.

Provide assistance to caregivers in understanding the school’s program through the following actions:

• Hold an annual meeting to present information on the school’s Title I programs, state and division curriculum and assessments, and the school’s state and federal accountability status.
• Provide multiple opportunities for caregivers to ask questions and give input into the Title I programs.
• Provide opportunities for caregivers to provide ideas and suggestions through school events, parent requested meetings, and parent coffees.

Build caregivers’ involvement in the school’s Title I program through the following actions:

• Include caregivers as members of the School Improvement Planning (SIIP) Committee and as collaborators in developing the Title I Schoolwide Plan and plans for the use of Title I family engagement funds.
• Invite parents to volunteer in classrooms and at school wide events.

The parents/caregivers will:

Demonstrate understanding that participation in my child’s education will help his or her achievement through the following actions:

• Participate in decisions related to school programs and my child’s education, and share my questions or comments about the programs in my child’s school.
• Volunteer in my child’s classroom or in school activities, as my schedule allows.
• Encourage and support my child’s learning at home and at school.
• Contact my child's teacher with questions or concerns.
• Read or encourage independent reading daily.

The student will:

Share the responsibility to improve my academic learning to achieve the state’s challenging standards through the followings actions:

• Get enough sleep every night.
• Come to school on time unless I am sick.
• Try my hardest and work with my classmates to complete learning tasks.
• Give my parents all the notes and papers from my teacher.
• Ask for help when needed.
• Display positive citizenship skills.