Federal and State Programs Focus on Family Involvement Effective Ways to Involve Parents

1. Federal and State ProgramsFocus on Family InvolvementEffective Ways to Involve Parents Presented by Margaret Shandorf

2. Research shows • No matter the socioeconomic status, when parents are involved students are more likely to: • Earn better grades • Obtain better test scores • Pass courses • Be promoted to the next grade • Attend school regularly • Have better social skills • Adapt to change • Graduate

3. Not only are the students impacted • Parents become empowered • Teacher morale is improved • Student performance increases • The community is strengthened

4. Common Forms of Parental Involvement • School volunteers • Members of school and district councils • Communication between teachers - parents • Participation at events, trainings and activities • Parent- teacher conferences • Support from the community • Strategies that assist student learning at home • Effective homework practices

5. Change Needs to Happen If a school operates under archaic belief systems in its approaches to family involvement, we will never raise the bar.

6. Six Types of Parental Involvement Based on the Work of Joyce Epstein • Parenting • Communicating • Learning at Home • Volunteering • Decision Making • Collaborating with Community

7. Parenting Page 8 - 176 Ways to Involve Parents • Schools help families and caregivers understand the growth and development of their children through: • Parenting and child rearing skills • Understanding child and adolescent development • Establishing age and grade appropriate home conditions that support children as students • Families provide information to schools so educators and administrators can better understand families’ backgrounds, cultures, and goals for their students

8. Parenting - Sample Activities • Host family learning workshops on topics suggested by parents, held at times and places easily accessible to all parents and providing childcare • Provide families with information on child development • Provide families with information about developing home conditions that support school learning • Arrange support groups for families with special interests and needs • Provide guidance to parents with transitioning children from middle and high school levels

9. Communicating Page 79 - 176 Ways to Involve Parents • Encourages families to provide reactions, ideas, and preferences to the school as well as ask questions about student progress and school programs • Promotes school-to-home and home-to-school communications about the district, school, classroom programs and student progress • Communicating shows: • Cooperation between school and home. • Students that their parents and teachers are working together to help them succeed.

10. Communicating - Sample Activities • Schedule parent-teacher conferences to establish student learning goals for the year • Send home positive messages about students • Make home visits • Involve families in student award and recognition events • Encourage and make provisions for staff members to communicate with parents about their children’s progress several times each semester

11. Learning at Home Page 72 - 176 Ways to Involve Parents • Students are the primary participants in learning at home activities as their homework is essentially their responsibility • Families can enhance the impact of learning at home through their involvement with: • Information and ideas about the academic work their children do in class • Coordinating what is happening in the classroom with activities at home • Guidance in helping children with homework • Ongoing communication with the teacher

12. Learning at Home - Sample Activities • Have specific goals and activities that keep parents informed and involved in their children’s homework • Offer learning activities and events for the whole family • Invite parents to utilize the school resource room and media center • Help parents understand student assessments and student performance measures • Involve community and business partnerships to provide resources and services to support student learning

13. VolunteeringPage 18 - 176 Ways to Involve Parents • Families are encouraged to share their time and talent to support the school, classrooms, teachers, and their children • Volunteers tell students, faculty and the community that parents care about the school and its students • Volunteering can take place in many areas of the school • Helping in the library, computer room, family room, resource room or lunch room • Assisting with after school programs or field trips • Attending student performances, extra curricular activities, assemblies, celebrations and other events

14. Volunteering - Sample Activities • Gather information about the level and frequency of family and community members participation in school programs • Offer youth service learning opportunities for students who want to volunteer in the community • Assist school staff to learn how to work with parent and community volunteers • Acknowledge volunteers on an ongoing basis by recognizing them as volunteer of the month and spotlight them in the school newsletter • Host a program to recognize your school volunteers

15. Decision Making Page 89 - 176 Ways to Involve Parents • Parents must have an active voice when it comes to decision making at the school. • Parents who are involved as stakeholders create feelings of ownership of the school’s programs and activities. • Having the opportunity to give valuable input will impact all children.

16. Decision Making - Sample Activities • Encourage parents to attend school improvement team meetings and give input • Develop the Family Involvement District Policy with direct input and discussion with parents • Develop the School’s Policy/Plan and Compact with direct input from the parents • Support parents in their roles and responsibilities as they give input on various school based committees such as SAC • Parents have the opportunity to learn and discuss topics as they are involved in school trainings and Parent Universities

17. Collaborating with Community Page 66 - 176 Ways to Involve Parents • Communities have a significant role to play in the education, development, and well being of students • Identify and integrate community resources that support school programs and student achievement • Encourage and support networking between schools, community groups, organizations, agencies and parents

18. Collaborating with Community- Sample Activities • Provides information and recommendations about services available for families in the community • Encourage local civic and service groups to become involved in schools in a variety of ways including mentoring students, volunteering, speaking to classes, and helping with fundraising events • Encouraging the support of local businesses, mentors and volunteers to enhance student work skills • Opening of school buildings for use of the community beyond regular school hours

19. Measurement of Effectiveness of Family Involvement • Family Involvement needs to be measured on an ongoing basis to show the effectiveness of family involvement practices, strategies, trainings, events, and activities through evaluations • Samples of evaluations are: surveys, pre and post tests, needs assessments, discussion group notes, SAC minutes, Family Involvement Surveys and parent-teacher conferences • Parents and school staff should discuss the evaluation results and look at the data to determine if the family involvement opportunities are effective • The evaluation process increases the effectiveness of family involvement as it addresses the needs of the school in a continuous manner

20. Title I Annual Meeting Requirement • Preferably held at the beginning of the school year to explain: • The Title I Program • How Title I students will be assessed • How parents will be kept informed • Parental involvement opportunities • Required documentation of the meeting includes: sign-in sheets, agendas and meeting minutes which must be kept for audit purposes

21. Parental Involvement Policies • Each school must write a District Family Involvement Policy and School Policy/Plan with parent input • District Family Involvement Policy must be addressed every two years • Must have an annual review of School Policy/Plan with parent input

22. School- Parent Compact • Each school must have a written school-parent compact • Compact must have parent input • Compact must be distributed to all parents • Compact must be discussed with parents and a signed document must be collected • Compact must be updated annually

23. Questions, Suggestions, Comments Margaret Shandorf Federal and State Programs Phone 963-3843 (PX) 43843