Transcript Slide 1
Research on Parent Involvement
Effects of Family and Parent Engagement
School attendance increases
Better attitudes about school
Discipline problems decrease
Children go on to higher education
Good Types of Involvement Programs
Emphasize academics
Monitor involvement at home
How to Involve Parents
Relationships are important: Build trust and respect
Benefits of Involving Parents
Educating children is a tough job – no one entity
can do it alone!
More can be accomplished as a team
Both parents and teachers experience “burnout” when all
pressures are placed on them
Establish an equal partnership so everyone participates to
help the child learn
Tension between Parents and Teachers
Parents are required to leave their child with a stranger all
day
Schools must work to overcome barriers
Difference of cultural backgrounds
Parents who do not speak English
Schools can take the first step to link parents into
education
School Resistance to Parent Involvement
Teachers are unsure of how to involve parents
Few opportunities to learn how to communicate with
parents
Isolationist view
Classrooms are private - only the teacher and students
belong inside
May need encouragement to invite parents in
More training must be provided on parent/teacher
communication
Avoiding Adversarial Relationships
Book: Including Every Parent, Patrick O’Hearn Elementary School
Set small goals
Improvement takes time and effort
Leadership of principal is key
‘Walk the walk’ of collaboration, communication, welcoming
Show willingness to communicate
Employ a welcoming philosophy
Examine school attitudes about parents
Offer training for parents showing them how to help their children
academically
Implications of Laws
No Child Left Behind and Put Reading First Initiative
Reading First was established as part of NCLB
Requires parent access to information
Only available in certain schools, but serves as model for all
Effective administrators have always involved parents; now
schools are accountable for parent involvement
Tied to funding
Adds level of accountability
Ensures that parents in failing schools have access to information
and services
Encourages rich partnership between parents and schools
Impact of Parent Involvement on Reading
Read Boston Initiative
Parents sign reading contract and read to kids 3-4 times per
week
Result: gains in reading scores
Literacy can be the key to involvement
Parents want to know how to help
Parent Involvement Under NCLB
Title I Schools must:
Inform parents of services, programs and progress
Offer school choice program
Policy emphasizes parental rights and responsibilities
Allows parents to be better informed
Encourages advocacy
Building Motivation for Partnerships
As a teacher/administrator
Share success stories with colleagues
Models, examples from other schools can prompt discussion
Teachers and principals with vision can bring about change!
As a parent
Research your child’s problem
Be informed
Engage in positive dialogue with school faculty
Video
Thomas Johnson School, Baltimore, MD
Children’s Literacy Initiative
Guidance and leadership from principal
Expected parent involvement
Early Literacy program requires involvement
Evident when parents are/are not involved
Parents of absentees are called/visited each morning
Message to parents: School matters!
Overcoming Excuses
Expect involvement both from parents and schools
Reflect on practices at home and school
Identify the factors that impact reading achievement
(positively and negatively)
Shared mission: Make reading a priority in school and at
home
Set clear goals, develop a plan
Analyze data
Create incentives for involvement
Partnership with public library – rewards kids for visiting
Self knowledge and examination of current system is
crucial for success
Involving Parents and the Community
Children are a community’s greatest resource
Call upon existing strengths within the community
Use data to influence involvement
Student surveys about reading habits at home
Advice for principals:
Examine school culture
Identify areas of strength and weakness
Capitalize on strengths and work to reduce barriers to
reading proficiency
Teachers
Find what works through research and experience
Examine practice within and across grade levels
Standardize practices
What works? What is based in research?
Get the rest out of the way
Encourage collaboration
Create opportunities for discussion
Set aside time during the work day to allow the staff to
discuss methods and coordinate vision
Encouraging Parent Involvement
Involve community organizations
Go where the parents are: church, grocery store, local businesses,
etc.
Establish ‘family room’
Supply books
Talk to parents
Offer workshops
Allow classroom observation
Share strategies both parents and teachers have found
Encourage communication of ideas
Makes parents feel involved and gives teachers valuable
information
Making it Work in Your School
Importance of building relationships
Hands-on approach effective in building trust
Home visits, direct contact with families
Reach out to parents
Schools can be intimidating for parents
Schools should take the first step in communication
Welcome parent ideas
Acknowledge parents’ unique knowledge about their child
View as whole-school approach, not just an add-on
Parent Views
Make sure parents are welcome in educational realm, not
just in school building
Classroom observation
True participation in learning
Many parents want to do more than help at fundraisers
Provide guidance for helping struggling readers
Be a model for parents
Show parents techniques to use at home
Invite parents to be engaged in content
Video
Mira’s Family, San Jose, CA
Foundation for reading success begins early
Everyday opportunities to learn concepts of print:
Grocery Stores
Shopping Lists
Letter magnets at home
Daily reading time
Child learns how books are used, how reading works
Message to child: Reading is a pleasure!
Ideas for Parents of Struggling Readers
Look to schools first
Talk with classroom teachers
Become informed on the reading process
Understand your role
Three aspects: coach, monitor, and advocate
Set TV limits at home
Provide good books
Follow child’s interests
Encourage reading throughout adolescence
Understanding the Parent Perspective
Parents need encouragement to become partners
Trained teachers and collaborative school community can
help bring parents in
Parents feel up against a system
May not understand it; feel that it doesn’t always work in
their child’s best interest
Need to learn the system and understand how to make it
work for their child
Engage parents in a dialogue
Provide models for the home/school relationship
Parents can serve as models for other parents
Tips for Parents
Know about your child, how things are going at school
Ask for specific information
Reading level, progress, screening information
Explanation of data
Ways you can help
Available services
Role of Parent in Early Intervention
Contact the teacher right away to discuss problems
Notice signs of struggles at home
Child avoids reading aloud
Child struggles to recognize common words
Provide a reading environment at home
Be a coach as the child learns how to read
Model at school
Often, parents of struggling readers had problems in school
themselves
Should be encouraged to take an active, positive role
Bringing Parents In
Give parents power
Involve them as a positive change agent
Organizations for parents
Parent Teacher Association
Institute for Responsive Education
Parents for Public Schools
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory
Parent liaison
Contact point between families and school
Set up workshops, create opportunities for parent
involvement
Can be less intimidating for other parents
Getting Information to Parents
Pass along information to parents from national
organizations
Tools, tips, resources
Find small instructional activities that kids can practice at
home
Speeds progress in school
Offers parents area of engagement that is purposeful and
that matters
Share with parents:
Child’s current reading level
Child’s expected reading level
Materials that parent can use at home to reinforce class
work
Video
Neile’s Family, Raleigh, NC
Phonemic Awareness
Knowledge that words are made of individual sounds
Parent involvement
Word games
Rhyming games
Reading with children
Helping Struggling Readers
Research is providing more information on how to help
kids
Communicate research-based methods to teachers
through professional development
Shift from seeing parent involvement as an add-on to a
whole-school improvement strategy
Make parents aware of their important role in literacy
development
Involving Experienced Teachers
Overcoming Resistance to Change
Provide professional development
Give everyone in the school responsibility to communicate
with parents
Teachers, aides, counselors, administrators, nurses
Administrator should set expectation, model strategies
Ease tension, anxiety about parent relationships
Provide information on how to conduct conferences
Teachers want a positive relationship with parents!
Talking to Teachers
Tips for Parents
Use data to discuss academic progress
Keeps focus on child improvement
Reduces sense of personal attack, blame
Use partnership language to build trust
Express willingness to help
Ask for strategies to use at home
Helping a Struggling Reader
without a formal reading program
Advocate for use of a formal reading program
Programs are research-based
Help teachers address all areas of reading development
Advocate for early literacy screening
Meanwhile…
Coach child at home, but advocate for change
Parents should supplement, but not replace, school curriculum
Become involved in the parent council at school
Organize with other parents to address concerns
Benefits of Student-Led Conferences
Portfolio works are selected by the student
Student reflects and communicates ideas
Parents and teachers join in discussion with student
Leads to self- advocacy later in life for the child
Articulation of goals
Understanding of progress
Involving Busy Parents
Information does not have to stay at school
Hold events at community locations: grocery store, nail
shop
Go where the parents are!
Make it easy for parents to attend events
Provide transportation, food
Encourage parents to make school a priority
Difficulty Communicating with a Teacher
Remain professional
Your child is watching the interaction and could suffer if it
is conducted poorly
Contact a school guidance counselor to mediate
Improve relationship with the teacher
Do not give up or go over the teacher’s head
If necessary, involve principal
Working with Non-Reading/Non-English
Speaking Parents
Have child read to parents for practice
Involve extended family
Grandparents, siblings
Use whatever reading material is in the home
Comic books, cookbooks
Provide audio-taped stories for child
Tell stories to children
You do not have to be a reader to encourage literacy
Encourage school to provide GED/ESL classes for
parents
Balancing Structured Curriculum and
Parent Concerns
Be creative
Find ways to integrate literature across content areas
Encourage reading at home
Use the school library for independent reading books
Encourage parents to take their children to public libraries
for reading at home
Working with Demanding Parents
Channel parent energy
Use parents as a resource for the school
Ask parents questions, make them partners
Simply asking a parent questions about their child can make
them feel useful and involved
Involve parents in a positive role in the school
Encourage them to serve on the parent council
Turn demanding parents into advocates for the school!
Final Thoughts
Parents are powerful
Village concept – engage community and families
Parent and schools working together can lighten the burden
and benefit students
Parents can demonstrate the value of literacy without
being a reading teacher themselves
Parents: Advocate for early literacy screening to avoid
reading problems later!
Thanks for watching!
For more information,
visit www.ReadingRockets.org!