School Plan for Student Achievement
What Is The School Plan For Student Achievement (SPSA)?
The School Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) is a document that represents a school’s cycle of continuous improvement of student performance. The annual process of developing, reviewing, and updating the SPSA includes a comprehensive review of data and the development of actions necessary to achieve school goals. The plan also addresses funding and proposed expenditures related to state and federal categorical programs. The SPSA contains the School Action Plan, Parent Family Engagement Policy, and School-Parent Compact. Each year, the School Site Council and the local governing board approve the SPSA.
What Is The Parent Family Engagement Policy (PFEP)?
Parental involvement always has been a centerpiece of Title I. However, for the first time in the history of the ESSA, it has a specific statutory definition. The statute defines parental involvement as the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring that:
- Parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
- Parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school
- Parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child
Why Is Parent Involvement Important?
A synthesis of the research concluded that the evidence is consistent, positive, and convincing: families significantly influence their children’s achievement in school and throughout life. When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more.
How Must Schools Communicate With Parents?
Because regular communication is the foundation of effective parental involvement, schools must provide information to parents of students participating in Title I programs in an understandable and uniform format, including alternative formats upon request, and, “to the extent practicable,” in a language that parents can understand.