1. Parental Involvement Jerrick L. Terry

2. Benefits of Parental Involvement for Children  Make greater gains in reading  Have a more positive attitude about school  Have higher attendance  Have better homework habits  Make better home-school connections  See parents as important part of education Source: Adapted from School and Family Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools, by J.L. Epstein, 2000, Boulder, Co: Westview.

3. Benefits of Parental Involvement for Parents  More willing to help students at home with their homework  Have more positive attitudes toward involvement at school  Tend to rate teachers higher  Support teachers’ efforts more consistently  More familiar with what children are being taught  Understand better the functioning of the school and its programs  Have more confidence in their parenting skills  Have more understanding of child growth and development Source: Adapted from “Parental Involvement: It’s Worth the Effort,” by D. Eldridge, 2001, Young Children 56 (4), pp. 65-69.

4. Benefits of Parental Involvement for Teachers  Have more time to spend with individual children  Appreciate parents’ involvement  Respect parents’ time ad abilities  Are more respected and appreciated by parents  Feel more comfortable having parents involved in school Source: Adapted from “Parental Involvement: It’s Worth the Effort,” by D. Eldridge, 2001, Young Children 56 (4), pp. 65-69.

5. Community Involvement We can divide the types of community involvement into three broad categories: 1)Community Participation 2)Community Control 3)Community Education

6. Administrator’s Role Five aspects of school-parent interaction are affected by this leadership (Berger, 2011). 1)Spirit 2)Program Designer 3)Principal-Parent Relationship or Director-Parent Relationship 4)Program Coordinator 5)Leadership

7. Teacher’s Role In order for teachers to engage parents in the education process, they must develop sociocultural consciousness. In other words, they need to understand the inequities in society (Villegas & Lucas, 2007).

8. Parent’s Role Within each school, parents may assume a variety of roles. Most commonly, parents observe what the school does with their children in the educational process. They may also assume other roles (Berger, 2011).

9. Strategies For Encouraging Parents “HOW WAS SCHOOL TODAY?” “…..fine.” Perhaps your child is a “talker.” If not, you may be becoming a little frustrated with the answers “good,” “fine,” or “o.k.,” to the questions you ask your child about his/her experience at school each day. The Montessori classroom environment may require some specific questions to help your child open up and process his or her day. If “fine” is a typical answer from your child, you may try asking some of these questions this month and see if it helps. Were you a helper on the helper chart today? If so, which one? What did you do? Do you remember any lessons that Mrs. Terry showed you or the class today? What was your favorite “work” that you did today during “work time?” Where did you go for “Specials” class today? (Art, P.E., Music, Library, T.A. Special) What did you do? Pre-K only: What did you do during “Special Pre-K time today?” Did you and your “big buddy” do anything together today? Kindergarten only: Did you finish your work contract today? What were some things you did that were on your contract? Who is your “little buddy?” How did you help him/her today? Did you help any another Pre-K today? Did you have “Special kindergarten time” this week? What did you do? Hope this helps! Mrs. Terry

10. Home Involvement  Home Activity Packets  Bear’s Adventure (Stuffed Teddy Bear)  Reading at Home  Early Communication in Beginning of Year 1) Letters in August 2) Neighborhood Visits 3) Picnics

11. Want Ad (English)

12. Want Ad (Spanish)

13. Conclusion Parent involvement fosters interest and support of children’s education. To meet the challenges facing families in today’s rapidly changing society and to avoid the potential ill effects, parents should provide learning opportunities for children in the home, become more involved in their children’s schooling, form partnerships with their children’s teachers, and participate in parent education (Elison & Jenkins, 2008).

14. References  Berger, E. H. (2011). Parents as partners in education: Families and schools working together (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.  Coleman, M., & Wallinga, C. (2000). Connecting families and classrooms using family involvement webs. Childhood Education, 76(4), 209-214.  Department of Education, (1994). Strong Families, Strong Schools: Building Community Partnerships for Learning. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.  Eldridge, D. (2001). Parent involvement: It’s worth the effort. Young Children, 56(4), 65-69.  Eliason, C., & Jenkins, L. (2008). A practical guide to early childhood curriculum (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.  Epstein, J.L. (2000). School and Family Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools. Boulder, Co: Westview.  Fantini, M.D., Loughren, E.L., & Reed, H.B. (1980). “Toward a Definition of Community Education,” Community Education Journal, pp. 11-33.

15. References (Cont’)  Hoover, S., & Achilles, C.M., (1994). “What Does One Look Like: A School and Community Approach,” Community Education Journal, ERIC Document Number ED 366065.  Lundgren, D., & Morrison, J.W. (2003). Involving Spanish-speaking families in early child education programs. Young Children, 58 (3), 88-95.  Riojas-Cortez, M., Flores, B.B., Smith, H.H., & Clark, E.R. (2003). Cuemtame un cuento: Bridging family oral traditions with school literacy. Language Arts, 81(1), 62-71.  Riojas-Cortez, M., & Flores, B.B. (2009). Supporting preschoolers’ social development in school through funds of knowledge. Journal of Early Childhood Education Research, 7(2), 185-199.  Thompson, J. (2004). Strategies to increase parent involvement that really work! CEC Today, 11(2), 8.  Walker-Dalhouse, D., & Dalhouse, A.D., (2001). Parent-school relations: Communicating more effectively with African American parents. Young Children, 56(4), 75-80.