Improving Family Involvement to Increase Student Achievement for Every child

1. Improving Family Involvement to Increase Student Achievement for Every child 2008 Special Education Directors’ Conference Merle Siefken, M.A., M.Ed., Director Yvonne Janvrin, M.S., Assistant Director Illinois Statewide Technical Assistance Center for Parents Building Parent and Educator Partnerships Across Illinois www.pepartnership.org

2. Outcomes • The participant will gain an awareness and understanding of research and best practice relating to family engagement • The participant will be able to apply best practice in creating an action plan for effective family engagement

3. No Child Left Behind requires schools to develop ways to get parents more involved in their child's education and in improving the school. Extrinsic Factors P.L. 108-446 states that parents and schools should be given expanded opportunities to resolve their disagreements in positive and constructive ways… … educators and parents have the necessary tools to improve educational results for children with disabilities by supporting system improvement activities; coordinated research and personnel preparation; and coordinated technical assistance…

4. No Child Left Behind requires schools to develop ways to get parents more involved in their child's education and in improving the school. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) NCLB requires states, districts and schools to develop ways to get parents more involved in their child’s education and in improving their child’s school. For example, both Title 1 districts and schools must have written policies on parental involvement and provide this information to parents.

5. NCLB Suggested Activities • Conduct workshops for parents. • Communicate with all families. • Organize volunteers • Improve homework completion to increase achievement • Involve parents in decisions. • Involve businesses and community partners

6. IDEA Requirements (P.L. 94-142/P.L. 105-17) Ensure that educators and parents have the necessary tools to improve educational results for children with disabilities. Inform parents regularly of their child’s progress toward the annual goals. At the discretion of the parent or agency, other individuals who have knowledge or expertise about the child can participate in the IEP Team meeting. In developing the IEP, the team shall consider the strengths of the child and the concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child. Involve parents of children with disabilities in the design, evaluation, and, as appropriate, implementation of school-based improvement plans. Beginning at age 14, a statement of the transition service needs focused on the child’s courses of study must be in the IEP.

7. ISBE Policy The State Board of Education recognizes that a child’s education is primarily the responsibility of the family and that this responsibility is shared with the school and the entire community. The Board believes that meaningful family support, both for individual students’ learning and for the work of the school in general, is critical if students are to achieve their potential. The State Board believes that schools must create an environment that is conducive to meaningful participation by families, community members, business and governmental agencies. Clearly, educators must welcome the involvement of family members and be receptive to their participation if this interaction is to have the desired results. Further, schools have a responsibility to seek out and enter into partnerships with other members of the community, both in order to bring additional resources to bear on the educational process and in order to meet the needs of students that affect their ability to learn. Schools also need the support of other members in the community, including businesses, governmental agencies, and a wide range of community-based organizations. These various entities have considerable scope for affecting the lives of individual students and their families, for broadening the resources available to schools, and for supporting the educational endeavor in both tangible and intangible ways. A strong community commitment to education is important if schools and students are to do their best work. Parents and other family members should take responsibility for helping students to be effective participants in their own schooling. They can do this specifically by providing a home atmosphere conducive to studying, by expressing to children the importance of education, and by cooperating with teachers and school administrators in matters relating to their students. Families in diverse communities have widely differing needs which must be met in order to foster maximum student achievement, calling for equally diverse family and community involvement initiatives. In order to be successful, these initiatives must be designed at the local level by educators, family members, and the many interested parties in business, government, and community-based organizations.

8. ISBE Policy • The State Board of Education also has a role to play in fostering wider and more substantive family and community involvement. It will therefore be the policy of the Board to: • Disseminate information on the importance of family and community support for education, as a means of increasing awareness and commitment among the various segments of the community. • Provide guidelines to encourage and assist local school districts and schools to develop their own family/community responsibility policies. • Support resources, assistance, and learning activities for parents to enable them to carry out their responsibilities as parents of individual students, as well as active members of the broader community. Such activities could include volunteering and participating in decision-making activities such as policy formation and curriculum development. • Provide technical assistance to schools to enable them to form more effective partnerships and bring community resources to bear on family needs related to student learning. • Seek training (both pre-service and in-service) for teachers and administrators that will enable them to engage the support and cooperation of parents of parents from a variety of backgrounds. • Seek federal and state funding to assist local schools, parents, and communities in this initiative.

9. Intrinsic Factors Why are we educators? What motivates us about learning? What do we want for each child in our classroom? What do we want for our child? What is our moral compass?

10. Research Nothing Motivates a Child More… “The research is abundantly clear: nothing motivates a child more than when learning is valued by schools and families/community working together in partnership…These forms of [parent] involvement do not happen by accident or even by invitation. They happen by explicit strategic intervention.” --Michael Fullan (1997a, pp.34-48). Broadening the concept of teacher leadership. In S.Caldwell (Ed.), Professional development in learning-centered schools. Oxford, OH: National Staff Development Council. Home Factors… Account for 49% of the Influence on Student Performance… In October 2001, Stephanie Hirsh, in the National Staff Development Council publication, Results writes, “According to research by Ron Ferguson, home and family factors…account for 49% of the influence on student performance…” Hirsh continues, “This important position of influence is why family involvement is addressed in the NSCD Standards for Staff Development…educators will benefit from staff development that helps them gain the knowledge and skills aligned with the specific outcomes they want for parents and their children.”

11. Research • …increase student achievement, improve attendance and behavior… • Research strongly supports school-parent partnerships as effective in improving school climate and student performance. According to a comprehensive survey of 85 research studies cited in two National PTA publications, National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs (1998), and Building Successful Partnerships: A Guide for Developing Parent and Family Involvement Programs (2000), the influence of parent involvement is profound and provides comprehensive benefits for students, families, and schools when parent and family members become participants in their children’s education and lives. Research shows that: • Students with involved parents – no matter what their income or background – are more likely to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more. • Partnership programs can increase student achievement, improve attendance and behavior, and promote positive social skills. • When partnership practices are tightly linked to school goals, families become involved in ways that directly assist students’ learning and success.

12. Best Practice: Keys to Successful Partnership • The School, Family, Community Partnerships (SFCP) framework, a research-based methodology developed by Dr. Joyce Epstein, Professor of Sociology, and Director of the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Epstein’s framework is grounded in over 20 years of research. Goal-oriented Plans for Partnerships are developed to enhance family engagement which supports student achievement. Activities are centered on six identified types of involvement. The six identified types of involvement are: • Parenting, • Communicating, • Learning at Home, • Volunteering, • Decision Making, and • Collaboration with the Community.

13. Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Best Practice: Six Types of Involvement PARENTING: Help all families establish home environments to support children as students; develop parenting skills for all age levels; support basic family needs. COMMUNICATING: Communicate with families about school programs and student progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications. VOLUNTEERING: Improve recruitment, training, work, and schedules to involve families as volunteers and audiences at school or in other locations to support students and school programs. Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

14. Type 4 Type 5 Type 6 Best Practice: Six Types of Involvement LEARNING AT HOME: Involve families with their children in learning activities at home, including homework and other curriculum-related activities and decisions. DECISION MAKING: Include families as participants in school decisions, governance, and advocacy through PTA/PTO, school councils, committees, and action teams. COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITY: Coordinate resources and services for students, families, and the school with businesses, agencies, and other groups, and provide services to the community. Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

15. Type 1 Best Practice: Results PARENTING: Help all families establish home environments to support children as students; develop parenting skills for all age levels; support basic family needs. • Parents: • Self-confidence about parenting • Knowledge of child and adolescent development • Adjustments in home environment as children proceed through school • Awareness of own and others’ challenges in parenting • Feeling of support from school and other parents • Teachers: • Understanding of families’ backgrounds, cultures, concerns, goals, needs, and views of their children • Understanding of student diversity • Respect for families’ strengths and efforts • Awareness of own skills to share information on child development Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

16. Type 2 Best Practice: Results COMMUNICATING: Communicate with families about school programs and student progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications. • Parents: • Understanding of school programs and policies • Monitoring and awareness of child’s progress in subjects and skills • Responses to student problems • Ease of interactions and communications with school and teachers • High rating of school quality • Teachers: • Diversity of communication with families • Ability to communicate clearly • Use of network of parents to communicate with all families • Ability to understand family views and elicit help with children’s progress Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

17. Type 3 Best Practice: Results VOLUNTEERING: Improve recruitment, training, work, and schedules to involve families as volunteers and audiences at school or in other locations to support students and school programs. • Parents: • Understanding of the teacher’s job • Confidence about ability to work in school and with children • Awareness that families are welcomed and valued • Use of school activities at home • Enrollment in programs to improve own education • Teachers: • Understanding of how to use volunteers • Involving families who do not volunteer at home • Awareness of parents’ talents and interests in children • Individual attention to students because of help from volunteers Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

18. Type 4 Best Practice: Results LEARNING AT HOME: Involve families with their children in learning activities at home, including homework and other curriculum-related activities and decisions. • Parents: • Knowledge of how to support, encourage, and help student at home each year • Discussions at home of school, class work, homework, and future plans • Understanding of instructional program and what child is learning in each subject • Appreciation of teacher’s skills • Awareness of child as a learner • Teachers: • Respect for family use of time outside of school • Respect of family diversity for learning • Use of parents as first teachers • Satisfaction of family involvement and support at home Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

19. Type 5 Best Practice: Results DECISION MAKING: Include families as participants in school decisions, governance, and advocacy through PTA/PTO, school councils, committees, and action teams. • Parents: • Awareness of school, district, and state policies • Input on policies affecting children’s education • Ownership of child’s education • Understanding of child as a learner • Satisfaction in being heard • Teachers: • Awareness of perspectives of families in policy development and school decisions • Acceptance of equality of family representatives of school committees and in leadership roles • Satisfaction of family participation in shared responsibilities Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

20. Type 6 Best Practice: Results COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITY: Coordinate resources and services for students, families, and the school with businesses, agencies, and other groups, and provide services to the community. • Parents: • Knowledge and use of local resources to increase skills and talents or to obtain services • Interactions with other families in community activities • Awareness of community’s contributions to school • Participation in activities which strengthen the community • Teachers: • Knowledge and use of community resources to enrich curriculum and instruction • Skill in working with mentors, business partners, community volunteers, and others to assist students and teaching practices • Knowledge of referral processes for families and children with needs for specific services Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

21. NCLB and the Six Types of Involvement • Conduct workshops for parents. (Parenting) • Communicate with all families. (Communicating) • Organize volunteers. (Volunteering) • Improve homework completion to increase achievement. (Learning at Home) • Involve parents in decisions. (Decision Making) • Involve businesses and community partners. (Collaborating with the Community)

22. IDEA Requirements and the Six Types of Involvement Ensure that educators and parents have the necessary tools to improve educational results for children with disabilities. (Parenting) Inform parents regularly of their child’s progress toward the annual goals. (Communicating) At the discretion of the parent or agency, other individuals who have knowledge or expertise about the child can participate in the IEP Team meeting. (Volunteering) In developing the IEP, the team shall consider the strengths of the child and the concerns of the parents for enhancing the education of their child. (Learning at Home) Involve parents of children with disabilities in the design, evaluation, and, as appropriate, implementation of school-based improvement plans. (Decision Making) Beginning at age 14, a statement of the transition service needs focused on the child’s courses of study must be in the IEP. (Collaborating with the Community)

23. The ISBE Policy and the Six Types of Involvement • Disseminate information on the importance of family and community support for education, as a means of increasing awareness and commitment among the various segments of the community. • Provide guidelines to encourage and assist local school districts and schools to develop their own family/community responsibility policies. • Support resources, assistance, and learning activities for parents to enable them to carry out their responsibilities as parents (T-1) of individual students, as well as active members of the broader community. Such activities could include volunteering (T-3) and participating in decision-making (T-5) activities such as policy formation and curriculum development. • Provide technical assistance to schools to enable them to form more effective partnerships and bring community (T-6) resources to bear on family needs related to student learning (T-4). • Seek training (both pre-service and in-service) for teachers and administrators that will enable them to engage the support and cooperation of parents from a variety of backgrounds. • Seek federal and state funding to assist local schools, parents, and communities in this initiative.

24. What Do You Know about Family Engagement? • The participant will gain an awareness and understanding of • research and best practice relating to family engagement. Partnerships contribute to good schools and successful students. ?

25. Applying what we have learned: • The participant will be able to apply best practice in creating an • action plan for effective family engagement. What has worked in your district or school to engage families? For our remaining time, we will use the Six Types of Family Involvement to create an Action Plan for Partnerships.

26. Applying what we have learned: CASE STUDY: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Staff brainstormed the activities on the following slide for each Type of Involvement. Our job is to create a One-Year Action Plan to address the school improvement goal of IMPROVE READING ACHIEVEMENT for students with an IEP.

27. Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Application: Six Types of Involvement PARENTING: Workshops for parents on various ways to read aloud with young children. COMMUNICATING: Parent-teacher-student conferences on reading goals and on reading progress. VOLUNTEERING: Reading-partner volunteers, guest readers of favorite stories, and other organized, ongoing read-with-me activities. Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

28. Type 4 Type 5 Type 6 Application: Six Types of Involvement LEARNING AT HOME: Weekly interactive reading homework activities for all students to read aloud for a family partner, show links of reading and writing, and other reading activities. DECISION MAKING: Provide students and parents with a list of books available at the local library based on readability and theme. COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITY: Donations from business partners of books for classrooms, for the school library, or for children to take home. Reprinted with permission: Epstein, J. L., Sanders, M. G., Simon, B. S., Salinas, K. C., Jansorn, N. R., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2002). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (Second Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

29. Creating an Action Plan for Family Engagement

30. School Goal Action Plan for Partnerships

31. Your Next Steps? • How might the research-based approaches to partnerships that we discussed today benefit your district and schools? • What 3 actions will you take to use the information from today’s sessions? • How might ISTAC and NNPS assist you with your plans for partnership? • Illinois Statewide Technical Assistance Center: www.is-tac.org • Parent & Educator Partnership: www.pepartnership.org • National Network of Partnership Schools: www.partnershipschools.org

32. Commitment

33. Identify District Facilitators for Partnerships • What do District Facilitators do? • Provide training to School Improvement Teams to help them understand the framework of the six types of involvement and to use the framework to write One-Year Action Plans for improving partnerships • Help schools tailor practices of partnership to reach specific school improvement goals, such as improving attendance, achievement, behavior, and a school climate of partnership • Help schools focus on meeting specific challenges that affect the success of their practices of partnership • Help schools assess the results of their practices of partnership in activity-specific and annual evaluations • Conduct quarterly cluster meetings that bring small groups of schools’ SFCP leaders together to share best practices and to discuss problems and solutions • Meet individually with principals at the start of the school year to clarify the work of the facilitator and how the principal will support partnership work • Conduct End-of-Year Celebration Workshops with all schools to celebrate progress, share problems, and continue planning • Conduct other activities to assist partnership development, such as presentations to teachers, families, groups of principals, superintendents, the school board, other district leaders, parents, or other groups interested in improving partnerships • Meet with district administrators to discuss their expectations for the program, for facilitators, and to clarify how they will encourage principals to support the work of their schools’ family engagement initiative

34. Contact Information Illinois Statewide Technical Assistance Center for Parents Parent & Educator Partnership 25 S. Washington Suite 106 Naperville, IL. 60540 Toll free: 877/317-2733 Fax: 630/428-4055 Merle Siefken: msiefken@sased.org Yvonne Janvrin: yjanvrin@sased.org

35. Acknowledgement Information in this PowerPoint has been adapted from: Epstein, J.L., Sanders, M.G., Simon, B.S., Salinas, K.C., Jansorn, N.R., & Van Voorhis, F.L. (2002). School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action, second edition., Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.