How can we improve our Parental Involvement/Engagement efforts? Inform Involve Engage

According to NCLB A-1. What is parental involvement under No Child Left Behind? Parental involvement always has been a centerpiece of Title I. However, for the first time in the history of the ESEA, it has a specific statutory definition. The statute defines parental involvement as the participation of parents in regular, two way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring— that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning; that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school; that parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision-making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child; and that other activities are carried out, such as those described in section 1118 of the ESEA (Parental Involvement). [Section 9101(32), ESEA.]

What does the research tell us? The framework of six types of involvement helps educators develop more comprehensive programs of school-family-community partnerships. Each type of involvement includes many different practices of partnership. Each type has particular challenges that must be met in order to involve all families, and each type requires redefinitions of some basic principles of involvement. Finally, each type leads to different results for students, families, and teachers. Although all schools may use the framework of six types of involvement as a guide, each school must choose practices that will help achieve important goals and meet the needs of its students and families. TYPE 1--PARENTING: Assist families with parenting and child-rearing skills, understanding child and adolescent development, and setting home conditions that support children as students at each age and grade level. Assist schools in understanding families. TYPE 2--COMMUNICATING: Communicate with families about school programs and student progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications. TYPE 3--VOLUNTEERING: Improve recruitment, training, work, and schedules to involve families as volunteers and audiences at the school or in other locations to support students and school programs. TYPE 4--LEARNING AT HOME: Involve families with their children in learning activities at home, including homework and other curriculum-linked activities and decisions. TYPE 5--DECISION MAKING: Include families as participants in school decisions, governance, and advocacy through PTA/PTO, school councils, committees, and other parent organizations. TYPE 6--COLLABORATING WITH THE COMMUNITY: Coordinate resources and services for families, students, and the school with businesses, agencies, and other groups, and provide services to the community.

Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D. in sociology from Johns Hopkins University, is Director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships and the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS), Principal Research Scientist, and Research Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University. In 1995, she established the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS), which provides professional development to enable school, district, and state leaders develop research-based programs of family and community involvement. Dr. Epstein has over one hundred publications on family and community involvement including School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, Third Edition (Corwin Press, 2009), which guides partnership program development, and a textbook for college courses for future teachers and administrators called School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools, second edition (Westview, 2011). Among recent awards, she was named a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2009 and received the 2009 Elizabeth Cohen Award for Applied Research from AERA’s Sociology of Education Special Interest Group. Her current research focuses on how district and school leadership affects the quality of schools’ programs of family and community involvement and results for students. In all of her work, she is interested in the connections of research, policy, and practice. (For Dr. Epstein’s publications, see the Publications List in the section Research and Evaluation.)

Involvement or Engagement?

Informed, Involved or Engaged PolicyThe academic achievement of my child. Shared-decision making. Proceduresassisting their child’s learning. Growing and sustaining a positive school culture. Rules and Regulations their child’s education at home and at school. Collaboration, Community, Partnerships. Informed about Involved in/with Engaged in

What are others schools doing? provides practical ways to: Welcome parents as vital members of the school community Sustain ongoing communication with families Foster shared ownership of the educational process

THE BOOK GOES ON TO LAY OUT THE CHARACTERISTICS OF FOUR LEVELS OR TYPES OF SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS : 1. THE PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL 2. THE OPEN-DOOR SCHOOL 3. THE COME-IF-WE-CALL SCHOOL 4. AND THE FORTRESS SCHOOL THE AUTHORS OFFER WAYS TO ANALYZE THE DEGREE OF WHOLE-SCHOOL “BUY-IN” AND SUGGEST NEXT STEPS TO MOVE FROM LOPSIDED RELATIONSHIPS TO BALANCED PARTNERSHIPS. Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family/School Partnerships by Anne T. Henderson, Don Davies, Vivian R. Johnson, Karen L. Mapp, Vivian JohnsonAnne T. HendersonDon DaviesVivian R. JohnsonKaren L. Mapp Vivian Johnson

THIS BOOK OFFERS SUGGESTIONS SO SCHOOLS CREATE THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT MOTIVATE FAMILY INVOLVEMENT, AND ULTIMATELY CREATE FAMILY ENGAGEMENT. 101 Ways To Create Real Family Engagement by Steven M ConstantinoSteven M Constantino

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS ONLY VALUABLE IF AND WHEN IT ENHANCES YOUR PRACTICE.

WHAT ARE YOUR SUGGESTIONS FOR OUR NEXT CITYWIDE PD SESSIONS? CONTACT: AND SHARE YOUR IDEAS What are your suggestions for future parent coordinator training sessions?