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Lyon County School District’s Parental Involvement Policy, IICD, recognizes involvement as key to academic achievement. Parents and community members are active participants in the educational process. As partners in education, frequent two-way communication is fostered. LCSD contracts with ConnectEd, a web-based communication system that allows the school to better relay scheduling of events, student absences and other important school information. Schools use ConnectEd to notify parents of emergency situations, upcoming events, student attendance, and to invite their participation. The Superintendent and District staff attended community meetings encouraging feedback and fostering positive working relationships. Additionally, Title I schools meet regularly to address parental involvement, providing parents with training workshops and ensuring that parents are involved in the development of each school’s parent involvement policy. The list of activities to encourage parental involvement in LCSD includes: Parent Summits, Parent Advisory Councils, disseminating information through brochures, holding parent-teacher conferences, conducting workshops for parents, sending home regular correspondence through newsletters and grade reports, providing families with support services, maintaining open and inviting facilities, and including parents in the decision making process as appropriate. LCSD recognizes the extreme importance of each parent’s role in the success of our students’ academic achievement and their ongoing learning. It is an expectation of LCSD that every teacher, during the first month of school, makes initial contact with the parents of their students to establish an effective school to home partnership.
The Lyon County School District (LCSD) website contains timely parent information and links for parents to reach individual school websites within LCSD. Parents and community members regularly participate and provide input to critical committees such as:
• Attendance Advisory Committee
• School Improvement Committee
• Career and Technical Education Committee
• Parent Involvement Committee (Title I)
• PTSA
Additionally, all parents may have access to their own child's grades, attendance, and school bulletin through LCSD's student information system known as PowerSchool. Parents are also encouraged to email administrators and teachers through PowerSchool as a method of keeping in touch with the educators in their children’s live.
District and school publications provide important information and a means to communicate with District personnel. LCSD, in compliance with Nevada Senate Bill 214 Section 17, provides the Nevada Code of Honor and the Educational Involvement Accord to parents. The Honor Code and Accord support state Parent Involvement Policies and the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Educational Involvement Accord and Student Code of Honor reinforce District expectations for student achievement and behavior.
Lyon County School District (LCSD) meets regularly with parent(s)/guardian(s) to gather feedback from parents, students and staff of individual schools on their feelings about its schools. Each site SIP team carefully addresses all relevant issues and action steps are added to each school’s SIP to incorporate strategies to address concerns. Parents are invited to sit on site improvement committees and to be involved in the school by participating in parent organizations, classroom volunteers and school activities. Parents are also an integral part of each site’s Parent InvolvementCommittee and assist in writing the Parent Involvement Policies. Additionally, parents serve on various committees, i.e. textbook adoption committees and sexual education committees. LCSD also created a survey for all community members to provide LCSD with input on the decisions related to pending budget reductions in the State of Nevada. That opportunity was made available through LCSD website and sent home to parents via email and through weekly student progress folders. Finally, LCSD hosted a Parent Summit and invited parents who attended to complete an online survey regarding the district strategic plan.
Lyon County School District (LCSD) has been actively developing partnerships with a variety of community and business organizations. One of the most comprehensive partnerships has been with Lyon County to provide afterschool tutoring at elementary schools in the Fernley, Dayton, and Silver Springs attendance areas. Starting with the 2010-2011 school year however, the County will no longer be able to provide these afterschool programs; thus, LCSD developed new partnerships with the Truckee Meadows and the Mason Valley Boys and Girls Club which allows us to continue to offer and expand the afterschool programs in those attendance areas. Another important partnership is that with the Western Nevada College (WNC). As part of the district’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program, LCSD and WNC have in place several agreements that provide our students the opportunity to earn dual credit in a wide variety of CTE courses. In addition, the CTE Advisory Committee is composed of students, parents, teachers and industry community members all working toward the common goal of improving and expanding the CTE program. Finally, several local Foundations, such as the Walmart Community Foundation and the Walker River Foundation, have been providing support to our schools and our students. Walmart recently gave Fernley Elementary School $2,000 towards the cost of a free Thanksgiving dinner for the families of that community. The Walker River Foundation recently helped the students at Yerington High School to purchase new band uniforms. LCSD values these partnerships and has established a priority to continue and further develop school and community partnerships throughout the coming year.
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