Building Capacity for Parent Engagement

ESEA Requirements for Parent Involvement Each district and school receiving Title I funds shall: 1.Provide assistance to parents on understanding state assessments, Title I requirements, SES, school choice, etc. 2.Coordinate and integrate programs and activities with other programs 3.Ensure that information is in a format parents can understand 4.Provide other reasonable support for parental involvement activities that parents request 5.Educate school staff on the value and utility of the contributions of parents 6.Provide materials and trainings to help parents work with their children

Why worry about parent involvement? 30 years of research has consistently linked parent involvement to: –higher student achievement –better attitudes by students and more support for teachers by parents –lower dropout rates Parent involvement is a critically important piece to the school improvement puzzle.

Parent Involvement Helps ALL Students When families are involved in learning, the research shows, "students achieve more, regardless of socioeconomic status, ethnic/racial background, or the parents' education level." (Antunez, 2000)

What is Parent Involvement? Parental involvement includes parents’ involvement with their own children, involvement with parents of other children, and involvement with their children’s school.

What are some impediments to parent involvement in schools? Defining parent involvement too narrowly. Low expectations by school personnel for single parents, low income parents, Native parents, immigrant/refuge parents, etc. Teachers not prepared to involve parents in ways that facilitate school learning. Negative parental attitudes about school, often based on prior experiences.

Our challenge… How might we approach parent involvement in ways that overcome these impediments and include all families?

Thinking Mindfully About Parent Involvement What does it mean to think mindfully about parents and parent involvement? How will this process help us improve our outreach to and collaborations with the parents we are not reaching?

First, what is mindfulness? According to Ellen Langer (2000) it means: …“a flexible state of mind in which we are actively engaged in the present, noticing new things and sensitive to context.” When we are thinking “mindlessly,” about anything (a policy) or anyone (a parent) we are often stuck in single perspectives or mind-sets that we may have learned or experienced in the past.

Ritchart and Perkins (2000) note: “Mindfulness means stepping out of those grooves to explore new territory, and that can be difficult to do at times.”

Cultural pluralism requires mindfulness Cultural pluralism is “the notion that groups should be allowed, even encouraged to hold onto what gives them their unique identities while maintaining their membership in the larger social framework” (Gonzalez-Mena, 1997, p 9).

Starting with ourselves How has your own past and present personal and cultural experience influenced your view of the parent role in schools? Complete the handout: Beliefs

Some questions to consider: How did your parents see their role in the school? How would/did you see your own role as a parent with school aged children? Were our parents or grandparents comfortable talking with teachers or taking on a teacher role at home? What else were you and your children expected to do at home besides schoolwork?

Parental perspectives that may differ from your own: In many families and cultures it is the role of the parent to bring the child to school and the school does the academic teaching. When at home a child is expected to learn about building relationships within the family and community. Many other cultures would be hesitant to question school authority even if they disagreed with school practices.

Handout: Getting to Know Our Parents This handout can be given to parents at the beginning of the year. It can help you in starting a dialogue with parents about goals and better understand what parents see as your role and their role in the child’s learning.

How should we talk with parents? Dialogue vs. Debate According to Gonzalez-Mena, we should use dialogue. In dialoging, rather than trying to convince someone of our own viewpoint, we try to understand the other perspective. The idea is not to “win” but to find the best solution for all people involved. The Parent-Teacher Role Checklist

What are our conclusions about parent involvement? It is not just about helping with homework or attending school events. Parents need genuine, personal expressions of goodwill from school personnel within a non- threatening, positive, and supportive school climate.

Foundational Understandings All families, no matter their income, language, or culture, want their children to do well in school – and can make an important contribution to their child’s learning. (Anne Henderson, Beyond the Bake Sale) The strongest and most consistent predictors of parent involvement at school and at home are the specific school programs and teacher’s practices that encourage and guide parent involvement. (Epstein and Dauber)

How can we apply this information to our own work? Please write down one aspect of what was presented today (questions to ask ourselves and parents, a new idea, different approach to cultural competence) that might inform our work.

Resources Antunez, B. (2000). When everyone is involved: Parents and communities in school reform. In Framing effective practice: Topics and issues in the education of English language learners (pp ). Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education. Available online: Epstein, J. & Dauber, S. downloaded from in-Education.html#ixzz0VFfppQTH Sept. 4, in-Education.html#ixzz0VFfppQTH Langer, E. J. (2000) Mindful learning. Current directions in psychological science 9 (6), Gonzalez-Mena, J. (1997). Multicultural issues in child care. California: Mayfield Publications. Henderson, A., Mapp, K., Johnson, V., Davies, D. (2007). Beyond the bake sale, the essential guide to family- school partnerships. New York, NY: The New Press. McDermott, D. (2008). Developing caring relationships among parents, children, schools and communities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Press. Redding, Sam: Parents and learning. International Academy of Education – AIE, Brussels, Belgium. Ritchhart, R. & Perkins, D. (Spring 2000)). Life in the Mindful Classroom: Nurturing the Disposition of Mindfulness. Journal of Social Issues.

ANCHORAGE Alaska Parent Information and Resource Center Julie Jessal, Grant Coordinator 805 W. Third Avenue Anchorage, Alaska JUNEAU Alaska Parent Information and Resource Center Julie Staley, Project Director 210 Ferry Way Juneau, Alaska