What
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“Promoting Success through Parent Involvement,” the title of the module that is available to your mentoring team as they work with new teachers in your building in the area of parent and family engagement, was selected to reflect not only the research found in A New Wave of Evidence, but also the personal beliefs of the Parent Information Resource Center (PIRC) Grant Staff at Area Education Agency 267 in Cedar Falls. Many years as classroom teachers have made it clear to the PIRC staff that students do better in school when their parents are involved. This may not seem like anything but common sense, yet it is far more. Hopefully, this will become apparent to those studying and using the module, which was designed byJulie Crotty and presented by Denise Schares and Ed Redalen at the Mentoring and Induction Institute on April 21, 2005.
The research serving as the foundation for this module was reviewed in A New Wave of Evidence. Many of these studies showed that students with involved parents are more likely to do better in school and in life. Increasing parent and family involvement in education may be an important strategy for addressing the achievement gap that has been growing wider in schools across the nation. In other words, helping parents and families to become involved in their children’s education may be a critical strategy for ensuring that “no child is left behind.”
Two key messages emerged that cut across all of the work focusing on promoting student success through parent involvement. These key messages are:
- the importance of respectful communication between home and school, and
- the positive impact of parents’ involvement in their own child’s learning.
“The Joining Process” serves as a conceptual framework for promoting parent involvement in the school. Through the three elements of “Welcoming, Honoring and Connecting,” solid relationships can be built between the home and the school, always keeping the focus on the child in the center. |
So What
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We now know that certain types of parent involvement are more valuable than others in terms of increasing student achievement. We know that parents, teachers, and administrators often hold beliefs and attitudes, either consciously or unconsciously, that may inhibit the development of positive partnerships between the home and the school. We also know that effectively engaging parents goes beyond the number of bake sales, open houses, or conferences that are held. Effective partnerships are built on positive relationships, and are based on a conceptual framework that can guide our thinking as we work to build those partnerships.
As you review this module for use with your mentoring and induction program, you may want to consider these questions:
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 Teachers/Caregivers should ask...
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- What are my beliefs/our new teachers’ beliefs/the mentors’ beliefs about parent and family involvement in increasing our students’ success in school and life? How are those beliefs aligned with the research on the connections of school, family, and the community with student achievement?
- How can our mentoring and induction leadership team most effectively present this information to our new teachers and their mentors?
- What follow-up opportunities do we want to provide to assure that the best practices identified in this work are implemented by our new teachers? By our mentors?
- How can we monitor the implementation of these best practices with our new teachers? And provide them the support they need to be successful with that implementation?
- What impact are those strategies having on our students’ success in school?
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Administrators should ask... |
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- What are my beliefs/our new teachers’ beliefs about parent and family involvement in increasing our students’ success in school and life? How are those beliefs aligned with the research on the connections of school, family, and the community with student achievement?
- How can I most effectively present this information to our new teachers and their mentors?
- What follow-up opportunities does our building want to provide to assure that the best practices identified in this work are implemented in our building?
- How can I monitor the implementation of these best practices in our building?
- What impact are those strategies having on our students’ success in school?
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Now What
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Teachers/Caregivers should... |
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Parenting Involvement Module for Mentoring and Induction Presentation:
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- Review regularly what best practices are in engaging parents and families in increasing student achievement.
- Review the research on the impact of school, family, and community connections on student achievement.
- Assess your new teachers’ engagement of parents and family.
- With other members of your mentoring and induction team, review the module carefully and determine how and when to present the information, as well as provide follow-up for implementation.
- Talk regularly with your new teachers about effective strategies for parent and family engagement.
- Advocate for strategies in your building action plan to increase practices in parent and family engagement that impact student achievement.
- Tie your discussions and expectations of parent and family engagement to the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria.
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Administrators should... |
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- Review regularly what best practices are in engaging parents and families in increasing student achievement.
- Review the research on the impact of school, family, and community connections on student achievement.
- Assess your building’s engagement of parents and family.
- With your mentoring and induction team, review the module carefully and determine how and when to present the information, as well as provide follow-up for implementation.
- Talk regularly with your new teachers as well as your entire staff about effective strategies for parent and family engagement.
- Include strategies in your building action plan to increase your practices in parent and family engagement that impact student achievement.
- Tie your discussions and expectations of parent and family engagement to the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria.
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Essential Learnings
- Programs and Interventions that engage families in supporting their children’s learning at home are linked to higher student achievement.
- The continuity of family involvement at home appears to have a protective effect on children as they progress through our complex education system
- Families of all cultural backgrounds, education, and income levels encourage their children, talk with them about school...
- Parent and community involvement that is linked to student learning has a great effect on achievement than more general forms of involvement...
- Programs that successfully connect with families and community invite involvement, are welcoming, and address specific needs of parents and community.
- Parent involvement programs that are effective in engaging diverse families recognize, respect, and address cultural and class differences.
- Effective programs to engage families and community embrace a philosophy of partnership...
Grades
 Birth to 5
 Elementary
Middle School
High School
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