Family Engagement Program

In support of strengthening the academic achievement of students, Bulloch County Schools has developed a parent and family engagement plan that establishes the district's expectations and objectives for meaningful family engagement and guides the strategies and resources that strengthen school and parent partnerships in the district's Title I schools.

This plan describes Bulloch County Schools' commitment to engage families and build capacity in our Title I schools in order to improve academic achievement. When schools, families, and communities work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer and enjoy school more.

Title I, Part A provides for substantive family engagement at every level of the program, such as in the development and implementation of the district and school plan, and in carrying out the district and school improvement provisions.

Section 1116 of the Every Student Succeeds Act contains the primary Title I, Part A requirements for schools and school systems to involve parents and family members in their children's education. Consistent with Section 1116, Bulloch County Schools will work with its Title I schools to ensure that the required school-level parent and family engagement policies meet the requirements of Section 1116(b) and each include, as a component, a school-parent compact consistent with Section 1116(d) of the Every Student Succeeds Act.

The school district annually conducts a Title I parent survey and Title I Annual Meetings to solicit input into the district's family engagement plan. All parents  and guardians are invited to participate and provide suggestions and ideas to improve the district parent and family engagement plan. The district sends an email to all families informing them about these opportunities and posts an announcement on the schools' district's websites.

Upon final revision, the District Family Engagement Plan is incorporated into the Consolidated Legal Education Agency Improvement Plan , which is submitted to the state. Additionally, each Title I school may use its Parent Advisory Council to review the District Family Engagement Plan before the end of the school year.

Parents are welcome to submit comments and feedback regarding the policy at any time on the school district website or by submitting written comments to their child's school. All feedback received by July is included in the upcoming year's plan.

The District Family Engagement Plan is posted on the district and school website, distributed during annual Title I school meetings, and made available in the schools' parent resource centers.

The district-wide parent and family engagement plan is developed jointly and agreed upon with parents and family members of children participating in Title I, Part A programs as evidenced by the collaboration of parents, school, and district personnel. The current plan was last adopted by Bulloch County Schools on May 7, 2024, and will be in effect for the 2024/2025 academic school year. The school district will distribute this plan in multiple ways to all parents of participating Title I, Part A children before or during the first week of the first semester.

Input and suggestions from parents and family members are an essential component of the district and school improvement plans that are developed each year.  All parents of students eligible to receive Title I services are invited to attend the two meeting opportunities described in this section to share their ideas and suggestions to help the district, schools, and students to reach our student academic achievement goals.

Each Title I school will hold a Parent Input meeting during the months of January or February, and a survey will be available during this time, that seeks suggestions as to how these family engagement funds will be used in the upcoming year at both the district and school-level. Feedback from these meetings and the survey results will be reviewed by the district to determine areas of need for the upcoming school year and consider changes to the family engagement budget.

Each Title I school will send invitations home as well as email and text parents to notify them about the date and time of the forum. Information regarding the Title I Family Input Meeting will also be made available on the school websites and social media.

Parent input on the use of Title I funds to support family engagement programs may also be provided through the annual district survey. The survey will contain questions related to the family engagement budget as well as a section for parents to provide their comments.

Unable to attend these meetings? Please visit our Federal Programs webpage to review the meeting documents.

Each year, Bulloch County Schools will conduct an evaluation of the content and effectiveness of this parent and family engagement plan and the family engagement activities to improve the academic quality of the Title I schools through an annual parent survey and the Parent Input Meetings.

In January, each Title I school will email a survey link to the survey to parents so they may provide valuable feedback regarding the parent and family engagement activities and programs. These surveys will also be posted on the district and school websites for parents to complete. In addition to the annual survey, each Title I school will host a Title I Parent Input Meeting to facilitate group discussions for parents of children eligible to receive Title I services so we may design strategies for more effective family engagement.

Bulloch County Schools will use the findings from the Input meeting and the survey results to design strategies to improve effective family engagement, to remove possible barriers to parent participation, and to revise its parent and family engagement plans.

Bulloch County Schools reserves one percent of its annual total of Title I funds to carry out parent and family engagement requirements, especially those described in Section 1116 of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Furthermore, the school district will distribute 90 percent of the amount reserved to Title I schools to support their local-level family engagement programs and activities. The district will provide clear guidance and communication to assist each Title I school in developing an adequate family engagement budget that addresses their needs assessment and parent recommendations.

In carrying out the parent and family engagement requirements established by Section 1116 of the Every Student Succeeds Act, the district family engagement coordinator will communicate and collaborate to ensure full opportunities for participation of parents with limited English proficiency, parents with disabilities, and parents of migratory children including providing information and school reports in a language parents can understand. Residential facilities in the school attendance area are included in any parent involvement correspondence and activities as well.