Family Engagement Policy and School-Home Compact

2025-2026

Purpose of the 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.

Garfield Elementary is a Title I school within 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.  

Garfield Elementary jointly developed this policy and compact with members of the school community and adopted it for the 2025-2026 school year. Several 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 parent coffees, Email, and by requesting a meeting with the principal and/or administrative team. . 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  

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 PTA, supporting other families (i.e., meeting with them, building relationships with them, answering questions regarding the school and community), and co-leading parent coffees.

• Engage caregiver input when developing the School Improvement and Innovation Plan (SIIP), Comprehensive Needs Assessment, the Title I Parent and Family Engagement Policy and Compact and plans for use of Title I family engagement funding.  

• Seek feedback from families on programs within the SIIP, offer multiple methods for caregivers to submit comments about programs they may not find satisfactory, and submit any such comments with SIIP to FCPS central offices.  

• Invite family members to help in organizing and executing a variety of school events to build collective ownership, such as  such as the PTA, supporting other families (i.e., meeting with them, building relationships with them, answering questions regarding the school and community), and co-leading parent coffees.

• Provide opportunities for caregivers to volunteer within the school in various ways, such as in the school library, Family Resource Center, at the Family Science Night, in the classrooms, and on field trips.

• Encourage families to take part in the annual evaluation 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 our Community Newsletter, Grade level newsletters, Website, Parent,  Caregiver handbook, Parent Coffees, Meeting with Principal.

• Encourage all caregivers to attend an annual meeting on Back to School Night - September 11, 2025, to share information about Title I services, explain Title I grant requirements, and inform families of their right to be involved in the school.  

• 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 hosting data chats during parent–teacher conferences, sharing quarterly grade-level data summaries, and offering family surveys for input.

• Provide opportunities throughout the year for families to better understand the school’s goals for students and find ways to improve student learning by offering family workshops, school wide curriculum nights, and information sessions during PTA meetings.

• Maintain resources for caregivers to review student assignments and ongoing communication about student work, such as using Schoology, Talking Points,  weekly classroom newsletters, take-home folders, and regular teacher emails or messages.

• Provide ongoing feedback on student progress through quarterly progress reports that show specific areas of proficiency and areas for continued growth.  

• Hold parent-teacher conferences for all students at least annually in the fall and more often, as needed. 

Shared Responsibilities for High Academic Achievement

Efforts will be made to ensure parents/caregivers receive materials, training, and benefits from school partnerships with social and academic services, community organizations, businesses, including the following:

• Hold workshops connecting caregivers to tools and resources, such as literacy and math strategy sessions, technology how-to workshops, and WIDA support sessions.                       

• Offer regular opportunities for families to learn directly from school staff about the school’s academic, behavioral, and social programming through principal coffees, curriculum nights, parent academies, and grade-level information and in-school share  sessions.

• 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 Family Curriculum Night, STEM/Science  Night, and Student Success showcases.

• Provide ongoing access to resources in the school, such as a  family resource center, take-home learning kits, a lending library, and digital resource links on the school website.

• Provide mentors for students though lunch-buddy mentors, community volunteer mentors,

• Provide opportunities to donate and access supplies donated by others, such as a school supply pantry, clothing closet, and seasonal donation drives.

• Leverage partnerships with local businesses and organizations to enhance school programs and events, such as collaborations with Rotary Club, Local Churches, Shoes That Fit, local libraries, and community centers.

• Support parents in accessing county and community resources, such as family counseling services, food assistance programs, health clinics, and county-sponsored workshops.

• Offer outreach and training for targeted families, such as home-visits, small-group parent workshops , newcomer orientation sessions, and multilingual family trainings (HIPPY Program).

Welcoming All Families

Efforts will be made to 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 warm front-office greetings, clear signage in multiple languages, family-friendly events, and staff visibility during arrival and dismissal.

• 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 assistance of a parent liaison for Early Family Conferences, ongoing parent-teacher conferences, curriculum nights, PTA meetings, PTA sponsored events, monthly coffees, and Success Morning.

• Expand access for family participation in informational meetings and learning sessions through videos of guest speakers, and copies of all meeting resources available in the Family Resource Center in physical and electronic formats.

Compact Provisions 

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

The staff will:

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

• Teach all students according to the state’s challenging standards, using approved curriculum        

• Provide ongoing professional development and support to all teachers to ensure effective instructional practices are used in all classrooms.  

  • Use regular progress monitoring and data meetings to adjust instruction based on student needs.

  • Provide targeted small-group instruction and intervention supports.

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.
• Implement Responsive Classroom practices to support social–emotional development and community building.
• Ensure safe, welcoming, and inclusive classrooms where all students feel valued.
  

  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 in the Title I program(s)
  • Share information through family workshops, curriculum nights, and principal coffees.
  • Communicate regularly through newsletters, Schoology updates, and translated materials when needed.

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

• Include caregivers as members of the School Improvement and Innovation Planning (SIIP)
• Committee and as collaborators in developing the SIIP and plans for the use of Title I family engagement funds.  
  • Invite caregivers to participate in volunteer opportunities, classroom events, and family engagement activities.
  • Partner with the PTA and community organizations to expand family engagement and support.
    

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.