As a parent of a student attending a Pinellas County Public School, you have the right to know the professional qualifications of the classroom teachers who instruct your child. Federal law allows you to ask for certain information about your child’s classroom teachers and requires us to give you this information in a timely manner if you ask for it. Specifically, you have the right to ask for the following information about each of your child’s teachers:

• Whether the Florida Department of Education has licensed or qualified the teacher for the grades and subjects he or she teaches.
• Whether the Florida Department of Education has decided that the teacher can teach in a classroom without being licensed or qualified under state regulations because of circumstances.
• The teacher’s college of major; whether the teacher has any advanced degrees, if so, the subjects and degrees.
• Whether any teachers’ aides or similar paraprofessionals provide services to your child and, if they do, their qualifications.

In addition, you have the right to be provided information on your student’s level of achievement on assessments like FCAT in reading/language arts, mathematics and science. This information will be available at your child’s school.

If you would like to receive any of this information, please contact your child’s school at 893-2780. You may call the school between 7:05 a.m. and 3:00 pm, Monday through Friday and ask to speak to Dr. Lowery, the Assistant Principal, regarding this request. An appointment will be made for you to come to the school to view this information.

It’s that time of year again, for revisions to be made to our Title I Annual Parent Survey.  All parents are invited to give input about the survey at our District Advisory Council (DAC) meetings.

The DAC meetings will be 9:00 a.m. on February 2, 2012 at Blanton Elementary, 9:00 a.m. on February 7, 2012 at Eisenhower Elementary, and 6:00 p.m. on February 9, 2012 at 6:00 p.m.

We value your input and hope to see you at one of our DAC meetings.

Title I is a federally funded program available to select schools, based on the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch. Title I funds are supplemental to district funds given to schools and are to be used to increase student achievement.

According to Federal Guidelines, all schools must hold an Annual Meeting. Often this meeting is held in conjunction with Open House early in the school year. Information is presented about the school’s Title I program, curriculum and plans for highest student achievement. Families learn about how Title I funds are used to enhance the educational program for their children.

In Pinellas County, Title I serves all students and families in eligible public elementary and secondary schools through schoolwide programs that provide additional instructional staff and other resources. Title I also allocates funds to provide equitable services for eligible students and their families in identified non public elementary and secondary schools in the district. For a complete list of Pinellas County schools served by Title I, visit the district website, www.pcsb.org.

Children do better in school when their parents/guardians are involved. Building home, school and community partnerships is an essential part of the Title I Program. One way to encourage this partnership is through the compact. A compact is a voluntary pledge that asks students, teachers, and parents/guardians to agree to work together so that children are successful in school. Signing the compact symbolizes that all agree to work together to ensure student success.

Additional Resources:

• Title I Annual Parent Meeting
• Back to School Night Handout
• Parental Involvement Plan
• Pinellas Reauthorization 5 Year Plan
• College Readiness Workshop - Nov 17th
• Title I Timeline
• Parent Empowerment Toolkit
• Title I Parent Empowerment Toolkit - Spanish
• Florida Parental Information & Resource Center
• Parents Right to Know