About Madison Academy

Parent Involvement in Schoolwide Plan

“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.” -­National Education Associaion

The Trillium Academy Staff concurs with the result of students that show when parents are involved in decision-making and advocacy student achievement rises to a higher level. Since parents are valued stakeholders, we value their input and involvement in all decisions involving their children. We have extended chances for parents to become actively involved in decision-making and advocacy by providing the following opportunities:

  • Opportunities are provided for parents to participate in the school improvement process through the Parent Educator Organization (PEO). This process involves setting school-wide goals based on building and state assessment data results.
  • Providing parents and community with our School Annual Report. This report summarizes the school goals, provides information on the school, recent achievement test scores and special programs that are sponsored by the school.
  • Maintaining an “Open Door Policy,” encouraging parents to feel welcome to come into school to discuss any concerns or challenges they might have.
  • Provide parent surveys in multiple languages if necessary.

Parents are invited to attend all monthly Parent Educator Organization (PEO) Meetings where school improvement is the focus. Parents were clearly involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Schoolwide Plan.

School Parental Involvement Policy

Trillium Academy establishes policies for parental involvement. Trillium Academy adheres to and implements at the building level according to requirements set forth in Section 1118 of No Child Left Behind. The parental involvement policy will be included in the Parent/Student Handbook provided annually.

To establish an effective home/school partnership and in compliance with Section 1118 of No Child Left Behind, Trillium Academy will provide the following:

By enrolling your child at Trillium Academy, you have chosen to participate in a unique educational experience that actively involves both you and your child. We ask that you demonstrate your commitment to Trillium Academy by…

  • Ensuring your child will attend school on a regular basis. He/She should attend school unless he/she is unable to function at school due to illness. We also ask that you schedule vacation in conjunction with school breaks and holidays.
  • Ensuring your child will be on time to school each day. Being on time is critical to minimizing interruptions to instruction and learning time for all children in class.  A child being 5 minutes late each day means a loss of two full school days in a school year for the entire class.  Consider the loss over time when there are multiple tardies and/or early dismissals. Respect the need to have your child at school on time for the full day.
  • Provide you child with the necessary materials and time to complete assignments requiring library references, computer access, and other research materials.
  • See that your child is dressed properly in adherence to the dress code policy.
  • Attend conferences and communicate with your child’s teachers to monitor progress and to address questions and concerns as they occur.
  • Read and return, on time, as requested, all informational materials sent home by the school and classroom teacher in order to ensure good communication./
  • Adhere to policies and procedures within the handbook and at the school including behavior in the parking lot and on school grounds.
  • Respond respectfully and appropriately to all staff, students, parents, and guests within the Trillium community and at the school.
  • Complaint Procedure: If you have a disagreement with a teacher or the administration, you should make every attempt to settle the problem with that person, without involving others.  Should it not be settled, the two should go to the next line of authority to arbitrate difficulty (Teacher → Vice Principal → Principal → Superintendent → Board of Directors).  It is the goal of Trillium Academy to respond to complaints and problems as soon as possible.

Building Capacity for Involvement

In building and effective home-school partnership and in compliance with Section 1118 (e) of the No Child Left Behind Act, Trillium Academy will provide the following:

  • Section 1118 (e) (1): Assist parents in understanding the State’s content standards and assessments and how to monitor the child’s progress. Trillium Academy will provide parents with trimester report cards, and MEAP, PLAN, Explore, ACT, MME parent reports.  Parent/teacher conferences are held following the first and second completion of trimester report card markings. Parent Teacher Conferences are mandatory in order for parents to pick up their child’s report card.  Prior to the end of the second trimester marking period, retention letters are sent home to inform parents of possibility of failure.  Meetings with parents are then scheduled to collaboratively discuss students’ academic progress.
  • Section 1118 (e) (2): Provide materials and training to help parents work with their children. Trillium Academy assists parents in working with their children by conducting training on Love and Logic, Performance Series, Title 1, Communication with Educators, Singapore Math, and OnPoint Literacy through use of simple language, supported graphics, like clip art, and photographs to increase understanding of written communication. The staff makes every effort to communicate with parents in ways that are free of educational jargon.
  • Section 1118 (e) (3): Train staff to build effective parent involvement.  Trillium Academy’s staff is provided with materials, instructions, and suggestions to build effective parent involvement at the beginning of the school year. 
  • Section 1118 (e) (4): Collaborate with other programs to coordinate parent involvement. The staff at Trillium Academy collaborates with programs coordinated by the Guidance Center and resources are provided for local health and family services agencies to strengthen parent involvement.
  • Section 1118 (e) (5): Provide information in a format and language that parents can understand. When communicating with parents, Trillium Academy translates letters and flyers into native languages to accommodate their needs.  The staff makes an effort to communicate with parents in a format and language that is free of educational jargon and that is easily understood. We communicate through frequent flyers, monthly calendars, breakfast, and lunch menus.
  • Section 1118 (e) (14): Provide other reasonable support for parent involvement as parents may request.  Trillium Academy makes an effort to meet all parental requests to support their involvement, including before and after school childcare. Teachers are available for conferences with parents before school, during their planning time, or after school. Appointments can be made by either a phone call or written request.  These meetings may be held in the individual classrooms or the administration’s office, with the principal or any other necessary staff.
  • Section 1118 (f): Provide all opportunities for participation of parents with limited English proficiency or with disabilities for parents of migratory children.  See Section 1118 (e) (2 and 5) above.

Evaluation of Parent Involvement Component

The parent involvement component of the school-wide program is evaluated through the use of parent, teacher, and student surveys; and through parent meetings. The information gathered from these surveys is shared with all stakeholders and used to amend this component as necessary.

Teacher/Parent/Student Compact

Trillium Academy advocates a strong connection among the student, home, and school as a way of closing the gap and reducing barriers. We understand the importance of involving all stakeholders in the education of the children we serve.  As a result, we have developed the following Teacher/Student/Parent (See Appendix C) that is mutually agreed upon by all parties.  This compact incorporates all of the components necessary to ensure students, parents, and the school share equally in the responsibilities of educating all of our students.

The Trillium Academy teachers, parents, and students, developed the Student/Parent/Teacher Compact (See Appendix C) during Parent Educator Organization (PEO), school improvement meetings, Schoolwide Planning Committee, and through the use of parent/student/staff surveys.  The compact outlines how the parties will share in the responsibility for improved student achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership that will help students achieve the state’s high standards.

The compact is introduced to families in the parent handbook at the beginning of each school year. It is introduced during Parent Orientation Night and thoroughly discussed during fall all parent/teacher conferences where all stakeholders (parents, teachers, and students) are required to sign the compact. It is revisited as needed throughout the year especially in the last conference in the spring for updating the compact for the following year. 

How the students achievement results are shared with parents in a language they can understand.

When communicating with parents, we translate letters and flyers into native languages to accommodate their needs. The staff makes an effort to communicate with parents in a format and language that is free of educational jargon and that is easily understood. We communicate through frequent flyers, monthly calendars, classroom newsletters, and breakfast, and lunch menus.

back to top