Parent involvement results from actions taken by parents; parent engagement results from actions taken by the school. Parents can be involved in their child’s schooling by supporting their child’s education at home, by volunteering at school, and by providing feedback to the school . Parent engagement happens when schools make it as easy as possible for parents to get involved in the school.

You love IA and the school’s vision for holistic child development. After all, isn't that why you choose to send your children here? Parents can play an important role in maintaining the school culture we love and working to make IA even better!

Each year, schools face unique challenges that require them to evaluate the effectiveness of their programs. As the school’s “customers” parents have vital information to share. They observe what programs are working well for their children and which programs are not.

Schools often find that parent organizations are run by the same active set of parents who have the time and talents to help organize school events. However, these parents often do not represent the diversity of the student population. The LCAP should represent input from everyone so that all students at IA can succeed.

At IA providing the school with feedback about our programs is another way to be involved. Our school needs to hear from all families; in particular families that represent the student groups listed below who have special situations.

• English Language Learners
• Special Education Students
• Financially challenged families

Finally, decades of research suggests that greater parent involvement and support of the school predicts higher levels of student achievement (on multiple indicators such as test scores, grades, and mental health) as well as a strong school culture and climate.  Research shows it has many other benefits too, including the following:

• Improved In-School Behavior and Attitudes
• Greater Teacher Satisfaction and Improved Instruction
• Reduced At-Risk Behaviors
• Improved School Climate

By law, IA must educate parents about the LCAP and involve them in reviewing and developing the plan annually. Parents can use their knowledge of the school’s mission and experience with the school to suggest new goals, shifts in priorities, objectives, and areas in need of improvement.

IA is now holding LCAP meetings (see the weekly emails for dates/times) to involve parents in the review process.  A survey will be sent to parents this Spring. Anyone can  be involved. Contact the school Director Christine Kuglen at christine@innovationsacademy.org if you want to participate in the meetings, have questions about the LCAP, or want to provide input in a different way.

Want to learn more about the LCAP process? The PTA has helpful resources here to teach parents about the LCAP and explain the importance of their role in it.

n 2013-14, when it adopted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) for schools, California  changed the way it approached education policy and the financing of K-12 schools. The goal of the LCFF was to shift decisions about how to spend education funding from the State to the local, District level. The principle was that local schools and districts know best how to allocate the funds to meet the needs of their own student populations.

How can a large District monitor whether funds are being well spent or not? Determining what those local educational needs and priorities are and how the money is spent is an ongoing, joint planning exercise between the parents and the school district. The resulting document is called the Local Control & Accountability Plan (LCAP).

In the case of Innovations Academy (because we are an independent charter school), IA creates its own LCAP that is distinct from the one submitted by San Diego Unified School District, which authorizes our charter.

The LCAP is a 3-year plan that is reviewed and updated annually, and describes the following:

• Key goals  at Innovations Academy
• Specific actions (with expenditures) the school will take to achieve the goals
• Methods (metrics) used to measure progress

In addition, the LCAP must address the needs of a diverse student population. It must address the programs that serve a specific set of student groups which are currently defined as English learners (ELL), socio-economically disadvantaged students (Title 1), students with disabilities (SWD), historically marginalized racial/ethnic groups (including: African-American, American Indian/Native Alaskan, Asian, Filipino, or Hispanic/Latino). The school must also review the effectiveness of programs that serve students who are in foster care or are experiencing homeless.

Each LCAP must respond to the effectiveness of programs in 8 priority areas set by the State of California. These include basic school services, student achievement and outcomes, equitable access to a wide range of courses, school climate, safety and connectedness, and parent involvement/engagement.

Simply put, the LCAP is intended to be a comprehensive planning tool to help all students succeed. It is about “identifying needs” then describing “goals, actions, and services” to meet those needs. It should tell your school’s story about what, how, and why those priorities and goals were chosen, and explain how the milestones are being met.

The current IA LCAP is a three year plan from 2020-2023. This is an annual review. We are currently reviewing progress on goals and seeing if we would like to adjust any actions.

Next year (23-24) it will be time to decide: Do we want to keep these goals? Revise or add to them? Or toss them and start over? Read them over. What is your opinion?

#1 Use social emotional and academic assessment data to improve instruction for all students and provide targeted intervention for struggling students.

#2 All students will be engaged in academically challenging, inquiry-based learning within classrooms effectively managed by highly qualified teachers using intentionally designed behavioral interventions and supports.

#3 Provide high-quality, standards-aligned materials, resources and a facility to students and teachers to support their intellectual, physical, emotional and social well-being.

#4 Provide ongoing analysis, accountability and intervention support for chronically absent and tardy students and their families.

#5 Provide multiple engagement opportunities for parents through effective communication tools, parent participation opportunities and parent education.

Each year, an updated 3-year LCAP is submitted for approval by the IA Board and posted on our website. In Spring 2020, when the pandemic hit, the State delayed the requirement to submit an annual plan until June 2021. Instead, the State called for an alternative plan to be developed. This was called the Learning Continuity Plan or LCP. It was developed in September, approved by the IA board and submitted to the district. You may remember being asked to provide feedback on an LCP that addressed both the safety and instructional challenges of meeting all students’ needs through a hybrid instruction model. Now that the restrictions associated with the pandemic have ended, the LCAP process is back in motion.