Transcript English Language Learners:

Issues Among Parent
Involvement
 Parent
involvement among ELL populations
• 1. What are the barriers to parent involvement among ELL
populations?
• 2. What are successful parent involvement programs?
• 3. What can we do, as ELL teachers, to promote parent
involvement?
 English
Language Learners (ELLs) are
part of the fastest growing segment of
school age population
• 1989-1990: 2 million ELLs present in U.S. schools
• 2004-2005: 5 million ELLs present in U.S. schools
• In 2004-2005, ELLs represented 10.5% of total
public school population
(Arias & Morillo-Campbell, 2008)
 Nebraska
alone has experienced a 350%
growth rate in ELL student enrollment (2000)
• Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) 2009-2010
 Hartley Elementary: 310 total students-23% ELL students
 Holmes Elementary: 373 total students-34% ELL students
 Park Middle School: 859 total students-12% ELL students
 North Star High School: 1783 total students-7% ELL
students
(www.lps.org, Retrived November, 2009)
 When
parents are involved, students are more
likely to:
• Achieve higher grades and test scores
• Have better attendance records
• Complete homework more consistently
• Obtain higher graduation rates and greater
enrollment rates in post-secondary education, and
• Have better social skills and adapt well to school and
surroundings
(Antunez, 2000)
 Most
importantly, students achieve most when
the student’s family is able to:
• Create a home environment that encourages
learning
• Set reasonable, yet challenging expectations for the
children’s achievement
• Become involved in the child’s academic
development process
(Antunez, 2000)

Language skills: inability to understand the language
spoken at school

Parent Educational Level: the lack of previous
exposure to U.S. schools and limited educational
background
 Work Interference: conflicts between parent and
school schedules
 Lack of Communication: the lacking communication
between teachers, schools, and parents
 School and Parental Perceptions: Addressing and
accepting various cultural beliefs and values
(Arias & Morillo-Campbell, 2008)
 Better
our communication skills:
• Provide home-school coordinators or liaisons
• Initiate home visits by teachers
• All newsletters are to be sent home in native
languages
• Create a multilingual homework line
• Support the strengths of ELL parents, not their
perceived failings
(Antunez, 2000)
 School
and Parental Perceptions
• Acknowledge and accept parent’s and student’s
cultural values
• Incorporate family, cultures, and community into
the curriculum
(Antunez, 2000)
 Logistics
• Adjust meetings to accommodate parents work
schedules
• Provide child care to facilitate parental
attendance at school functions
• Arrange transportation to facilitate parent and
student involvement in school functions
(Antunez, 2000)
 Perseverance
in Maintaining Involvement
• Keep ideas new and fresh
• Allow parents time to adjust; however, continue
to be understanding and accepting of each ELL
family’s background
• Be consistent with approaches, programs, and
communication
(Antunez, 2000)
 Traditional
Model
• Offers suggestions for how parents can support
student academic development
 Non-traditional
Model
• Attempts to develop a reciprocal understanding
of schools and families
(Arias & Morillo-Campbell, 2008)
 Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
• “provides parents and families with a powerful voice
to speak on behalf of every child while providing the
best tools for parents to help their children be
successful students.”

Three main principals proposed for building
successful partnerships between parents and
schools:
• Raising awareness
• Take action
• Celebrate success
(www.pta.org, Retrived November, 2009)

The Georgia Project, Whitfield County, GA
• “…As they explored the problem further the group discovered that no
‘one-size-fits-all’ solutions were available…” (Narcisse, 2007 qtd by
Montgomery, 2008)
• “…parent participation rose from one percent in 1996 to 95% in 2006.”
(Narcisse 2007 qtd by Montgomery, 2008)

Latino Outreach: The School Connection, March 2008
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7OYQFU6gB0&feature=related

National Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
• http://www.pta.org

National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs
• http://www.pta.org/programs/invstand.htm

Family Resource Center Coalition of Nebraska, Inc.
Suite 410
5109 West Scott Road
Beatrice, NE 68310
Phone: (402) 223-6040
Fax: (402) 223-6043
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Website: http://www.frccn.org/

Nebraska Parent Information and Resource Center (PIRC)
Suite 200
215 Centennial Mall South
Lincoln, NE 68508
Phone: (402) 677-2684
Toll-Free: (877) 843-6651
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.NebraskaPIRC.org/
 “Too
often we focus on what is lacking in
children’s home environment rather than
on the potential resources that might
exist in them.” (Diamond, Wang, & Gomez, 2004)