BRIGHTEN ACADEMY POLICY MANUAL

Please click below to download Brighten Academy's Policy Manual and School-Wide Positive Behavior Plan ammendment. From time to time, various policies are added and the policy manual will be updated at that time. There will be a date below of the last time it was updated for your reference. Updated 8-8-08


Policy Manual, Please click here to download.

School-Wide Positive Behavior Plan, Please click here to download.

PARENT AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Following is our framework for building family and community involvement at Brighten Academy. 

Active Support of Their Child’s Learning

  • Workshops designed for parents and family members providing a variety of different methods they can use to assist their child’s intellectual and social development.
  • Brighten Academy will organize regular student performances during and after school hours to attract parents and others into the school.
  • Parents will work with staff to devise, implement, and modify strategies for children that exhibit inappropriate behavior.
  • Parents will participate in an initial orientation during which they will receive detailed information on student learning outcomes, accountability measures, educational program, and our philosophy. We will also discuss volunteer opportunities.
  • Parents will play a central role in the development of the Individual Learning Plan for their child.
  • Parents will be involved in semester conferences to monitor the Individual Learning Plans of their children. On a semester basis, the parents, student, and educator meet to review student progress. Input from other members of the teaching staff is utilized, and the Individual Learning Plan is revised as needed.


Communication Mechanisms

  • Brighten Academy will link parents to school by utilizing a variety of media and technologies to communicate with families, community members, and students. Monthly classroom and school wide newsletters will be utilized to keep all informed of upcoming events and school policies.
  • Teachers in grades K-4 will utilize homework sheets, and students grades 5-8 will be required to use an agenda to effectively manage time and assignments. We also plan on utilizing a school website and email to keep all parties informed at any given time of the day.
  • Teachers will communicate frequently with parents via notes, positive phone calls, e-mails, class newsletters, and routine reports on student progress.
  • Regular parent/teacher/student conferences will facilitate open communication between parents and teachers regarding students’ progress.
  • The school will reach out to parents of students who have limited English proficiency and provide support via translators so that the parents may become actively engaged in their child’s school experience.
  • The staff will provide support mechanisms to parents who have barriers that impede them from being involved in their child’s education.

Volunteering at the School

  • Brighten Academy will hold focus groups of parents to determine ways they want to be involved, barriers to involvement, and strategies to overcome those barriers.
  • Brighten Academy’s Parent Covenant will be built upon flexible definitions of parental involvement built upon the real life work and family schedules of parents. This agreement describes the shared responsibility for their child’s learning outcome.
  • Brighten Academy will use parents as educators and substitute teachers.
    Brighten Academy will have a well-organized volunteer program incorporating best practices in volunteer management.
  • Parents will be given an opportunity to develop and assist with efforts to fundraise and plan activities for the children.
  • All prospective volunteers will be required to fill out a volunteer application and provide proper identification.
  • Parents who are involved in the school will be fingerprinted and have a background check to ensure safety for our students and staff.

Learning at Home

  • Brighten Academy will provide parents a list of materials needed for schoolwork and instructions on how to establish an appropriate learning environment at home.
  • Brighten Academy students will be encouraged to read each night and parents will be asked to verify through a daily reading log.
  • Information on specific techniques parents can use to raise academic achievement and personal competence of their children will be sent home on a regular basis via Brighten Academy’s monthly newsletter.

Involvement of Parents in School Governance

  • As stated in Brighten Academy’s Governing Model, the Governing Board will consist of a majority of active parent representatives.
  • Focus groups will be conducted for parents to help them build action plans around implementing their involvement at school.
  • Governing committees will be formed for parents and teachers to become involved in issues such as publicity, enrollment, curriculum/instruction, volunteers, fundraising, extra-curricular activities and other areas of need.
  • Parents will be invited to Brighten Academy Board meetings.
    Parents will be involved in school improvement project teams.
  • Anonymous surveys of parents will be conducted at least once a year to gather feedback on school policy and operations, the effectiveness of the educational program, and to listen to other parent concerns and comments.

Community Collaboration and Staff Development

  • The staff will receive in depth formal training in working effectively with each other, parents, and the community as we implement the Connections educational model to build unity.
  • Teachers and staff members will be required, in their job descriptions, to encourage and facilitate parental and community involvement and participation.
  • Faculty members will be asked to learn about the customs and traditions of specific cultures represented at the school.
  • Cultural heritage surveys and community inventories will be developed.
  • Brighten Academy will seek to use community and parent mentors in all areas of instruction and social development.
  • The school will incorporate community resources into authentic learning experiences for the children.
  • The school will support and participate in community activities.
  • The community will be invited into the school regularly as participants in the learning experience.
    Members of the community will be a part of the Governing Board.