Title I, Part A Parent and Family Engagement, 2018-2019. Research Educational Program Report
Author: Houston Independent School District (HISD), Department of Research and Accountability
Date: 2020-04-08
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,Federal Legislation,Educational Legislation,Poverty,Low Income Students,Parent School Relationship,Public Schools,Urban Schools,School Districts,Barriers,Enrollment,Race,Ethnicity,Parent Surveys,Parent Participation,Family School Relationship,Family Involvement,Parents as Teachers

The Title I, Part A program (Title I) is legislation included in the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA), the latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Title I, Part A was designed to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and achieve, at a minimum, proficiency on challenging state academic achievement standards and assessments. The program's goal is accomplished by providing supplemental funding for educational programs to Title I, Part A schools, which have high percentages of students living in poverty. This 2018-2019 report describes the level of parent and family engagement coded in Chancery at Title I schools within the Houston Independent School District (HISD). It also summarizes parents' responses to the 2018-2019 HISD Title I, Part A Parent and Family Engagement Survey. Key findings include: (1) Data obtained from the 2018 Fall Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) revealed that 190,946 students had enrolled in the 253 HISD Title I, Part A program campuses as of the October 26, 2018 snapshot; (2) HISD had a cumulative parent and family engagement rate of 53.2 percent in 2018-2019; a 4.6 percentage-point increase from the 2017-2018 school year (48.6%); (3) The North and West School Offices had average engagement rates that exceeded the district rates in all seven Chancery engagement categories. Conversely, the Achieve 180 School Office had rates that fell below the district in all seven engagement categories; (4) Parents and guardians of children enrolled at HISD Title I schools participated in a variety of activities during 2018-2019. Families were more likely to participate in conferences when compared to other engagement opportunities offered by their child's campus; (5) The three primary barriers to participation in school engagement activities identified by survey respondents were: (1) conflict with work or personal schedule (57.1%); (2) childcare or care of a family member (24.1%); and (3) unawareness of an event or activity (17.8%). Respondents who indicated that they were either American Indian (28.0%), English learners (15.9%), and/or did not complete high school or receive a GED (19.2%) indicated the lack of transportation presented more of a barrier than their unawareness of an event or activity; and (6) The three primary areas survey respondents indicated that they needed assistance from the Title I campus to help their children's learning at home included: (1) helping their children with specific subjects/course skill areas (51.9%); (2) providing textbooks to support learning at home (41.7%); and (3) helping their children on tests (40.5%). Recommendations for improvement are provided.