POLICIES

The staff of University Prep Middle School is fully committed to creating multiple opportunities for all parents to participate in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of school programs, as well as being intimately involved in their own child(ren)'s education.

To that end:

1. University Prep Middle School staff has worked with parents to jointly develop the Parent Involvement Policy that describes the key activities and organizational structures that will build and maintain strong school-parent collaborations. This policy is was developed by the School Improvement Team and was based upon parent input obtained through our annual Parent Satisfaction survey and several focus group meetings. This plan will be reviewed annually as part of our Annual Report Meeting and our the Annual Title I Parents' Meeting and revisions will be made based upon parent input gathered during those meetings. The policy will be posted on our district website and distributed to parents of all parents at the first Learning Team Meeting of the Year.
2. To ensure that parents receive all necessary information regarding school programs and practices, grade level curricula and expectations, achievement goals, strategies and outcomes and ways to support student learning at home, the staff of University Prep Middle School will hold monthly Parents as Partners Meetings. Topics for these meetings will be based upon parent input gathered through a parent survey. These meetings will be organized to: provide parents with information/strategies/materials to help children reach academic benchmarks, to elicit parent concerns and suggestions, and to provide an opportunity for input into planning, implementation, and evaluation of school programs. These meetings are used as opportunities to distribute informational flyers and pamphlets that help support the instructional program at home. Similar information will be available in the school will be shared through the University Preparatory Middle School monthly newsletter. In addition, our Mobile Parent Resource Closet will be available at each Parents as Partners Meeting. This is our Parent Lending Library of supplementary math, language arts and parenting materials that parents can borrow to use at home.
3. The Principal of University Prep Middle School will convene a presentation of our school's Annual Report and an Annual Title I Parent Meeting. The Annual Report meeting will present information about the demographics of our school, the goals of our school, our improvement strategies and student performance outcomes. The Annual Title I Meeting, to which parents of all Title I students will be invited, will inform parents about Title I programs at our school and will gather parent input regarding program offerings and suggestions for the future. Information about Title I regulations, procedures, and parent involvement will be shared at this time. Multiple means will be used to invite parents to this meeting and to encourage their participation. At least two sessions of this meeting will be offered, one during school hours and one in the evening, to accommodate parents' different scheduling needs.
4. The University Prep Middle School community is committed to providing a safe, respectful and easy-to- access environment for all parents. We will take active steps to address parents; language, cultural, physical, sensory and scheduling needs. Parent Meetings will be scheduled at a variety of times to address the different schedules of families and steps will be taken to ensure accessibility for parents who may have a handicapping condition, which requires special accommodations. Community resources will be consulted to ensure a strong understanding of diverse cultures and strategies to implement to build and maintain a welcoming, respectful environment for all families. We will use the information gathered from these experts to provide appropriate professional development for our staff.
5. In addition to the group meetings described above, the staff of University Prep Middle School will schedule formal parent-teacher-student conferences (Learning Team Meetings) at least three times each year for every parent in the school. These meetings will be used to share information regarding student performance on standardized tests and daily work, to establish individual learning outcomes for each student that are consistent with MDE standards, and to identify specific learning strategies and activities for each student.Additional conferences will be scheduled on an as-needed basis to address academic, social and/or behavioral issues of concern to parents and/or teachers.
6. The Principal of University Prep Middle School will convene a School Improvement Team each year. This team, which will always include parent representation (including at least one Title I parent), will be responsible for collecting demographic, perception and achievement data, organizing reviews/analyses of the data, facilitating the development of improvement goals, objectives, and strategies and monitoring implementation of the School Improvement Plan.
7. The staff of University Prep Middle School will use a variety of strategies to keep parents abreast of their children's learning activities and progress towards grade level expectations. University Prep Middle School teachers organize at least three parent-teacher-student conferences (Learning Team Meetings) for each child each year. The purpose of these meetings is to develop individual Learning Plans for each child that describe specific learning goals, strategies and projects to address each student's learning profile and needs. These plans are developed by reviewing student assessment results in relation to grade level expectations and through discussion of each student's interests, learning styles, and progress. In addition, three narrative reports are sent home each year, one at the end of each trimester. Copies of standardized test results, such as MEAP results and Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test results are included with the narrative report letters. Parents are encouraged to communicate with teachers whenever they have questions, concerns or suggestions. They are provided with teachers' cell phone numbers and are welcome to stop by classrooms at any time. Meetings are routinely scheduled at parents' convenience.
8. University Prep Middle School understands the importance of family involvement. We have developed our School-Parent-Student Compact to help us clarify our collaborative relationship in service of student achievement. This compact is reviewed at each student's first Learning Team Meeting of the year, and all parties sign the compact at that time. The compact is reviewed annually by the School Improvement Team and is amended, as appropriate, based upon parent and staff input obtained through annual surveys. We will also provide our staff with professional development to build their capacity to work with parents as equal partners. Will we use all-staff professional development sessions, professional learning community study groups, and Rookie Induction programs to achieve this.
9. We will use a variety of methods to communicate with parents, including the following: U.S. mail, phone calls, email, web site, monthly newsletters, flyers sent home with students, and announcements posted in the building.

GIRLS

• Plaid Uniform Skirt
• Black Uniform Pants (no jeans or capris)
• Black Uniform Shorts
• White Uniform Blouse or White, Red, or Black Polo Shirt (Short or Long-Sleeved)
• Red of Black Uniform Cardigan Sweater (optional)
• Red or Black Uniform Sweater Vest (optional)
• ALL Black Dress or Casual Shoes (All Black Rockports are acceptable-no gym shoes)

BOYS

• Black Uniform Pants (no jeans)
• Black Uniform Shorts
• White Dress Shirt or White, Red or Black Polo Shirt (Short or Long Sleeved)
• Red or Black Uniform Sweater (optional)
• Red or Black Uniform Vest (optional)
• Black Belt ALL Black Dress or Casual Shoes (All Black Rockports are acceptable-no gym shoes)

All uniform items can be purchased at Schoolbelles Uniforms, 26050 Plymouth Road, between Beech Daly and Inkster Roads (phone - 313.937.0240 or 1.800.548.3883). Solid colored clothing is also available at many other stores such as J.C.Penney, Target, Wal-Mart, etc.

Any student out of uniform in any way or dressed in a manner deemed to be inappropriate will not be admitted to class. The parent/guardian will be called to either bring a suitable change of clothes or pick the student up.

University Prep Middle School asks each parent to actively support us with the uniform code.