Title I, Part A Parent and Family Engagement, 2017-2018. Research Educational Program Report
Author: Houston Independent School District (HISD), Department of Research and Accountability
Date: 2019-02-20
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Elementary Secondary Education,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Parent Participation,Family Involvement,Disadvantaged Schools,School Districts,Enrollment Trends,Incidence,Minority Groups,African Americans,American Indians,Parents with Disabilities,Barriers,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 2017-2018 report, describes the level of parental and family engagement coded in Chancery at Title I schools within the Houston Independent School District (HSID). It also summarizes parents' responses to the 2017-2018 HISD Title I, Part A Parent and Family Engagement Survey. Key findings include: (1) Based on students' Title I participation status, data obtained from the 2017 Fall Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) revealed that 195,868 students had enrolled in the 255 HISD Schoolwide Title I, Part A program campuses as of the October 27, 2017 snapshot; (2) HISD had a cumulative parent and family engagement rate of 44.7 percent in 2017-2018; a 4.2 percentage-point decrease from the 2016-2017 school year (48.9%); (3) The North Schools Office had average engagement rates that exceeded the district rates in all seven Chancery engagement categories. Conversely, both the Achieve 180 and Superintendent's Schools Offices had average engagement rates that fell below the district in six of the seven engagement categories; (4) Parents and guardians of children enrolled at HISD Title I schools participated in a variety of activities during 2017-2018. However, families of children enrolled at underperforming schools, Black or African American families, American Indian families, and parents/guardians with disabilities were more likely to experience either lower levels or less positive experiences regarding engagement at their children's Title I campus; (5) Districtwide, the three primary barriers to participation in school engagement activities identified by survey respondents were: (1) conflict with work or personal schedule (48.8%), (2) childcare or care of a family member (21.5%), and (3) unawareness of the activity. The only exceptions were among respondents who indicated that they had a disability or had children enrolled at Superintendent's schools; specifically, limitations due to their disability and lack of transportation presented more of a challenge than lack of awareness and care of a family member, respectively; and (6) Districtwide, the three primary areas that 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 (50.6%), (2) helping their children on tests (38.3%), and (3) providing textbooks to support learning at home (36.8%). Respondents who identified themselves as either American Indian, Black or African American, or with a disability were more likely to report that they needed assistance from Title I campuses to help their children with social skills and peer pressure, compared to the provision of textbooks. Recommendations for improvement are provided.