You asked about programs to get parents involved in their children's education.

SUMMARY

Many schools, districts, and advocacy groups are finding that involving parents in their children's education leads to greater student gains. The National Parent Teacher Association (PTA) created standards for parent and family involvement programs and suggests ways to involve families in education. The Chicago and New Haven school districts adopted report cards for parents that assess their involvement and acceptance of responsibility. Schools are creating resource centers and daily assignment books, organizing leadership conferences, sending teachers on home visits, and engaging in other activities in an effort to involve parents.

The Institute for Responsive Education issued a report entitled "Supporting Parents as Leaders," that details several districts' success in involving parents in their schools. We have attached a copy of this report for your reference. The U. S. Department of Education created an "Idea Book" entitled "Family Involvement in Children's Education: Successful Local Approaches" that is available on its website at www. ed. gov/pubs/FamInvolve/.

NATIONAL PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION

The National PTA's standards for parent and family involvement programs consist of six standards: (1) communicating, (2) parenting, (3) student learning, (4) volunteering, (5) school decision making and advocacy, and (6) collaborating with community. The association's website, www. pta. org, offers specific quality indicators and sample applications for each standard, as well as other recommendations for increasing parental involvement. We have attached additional information, including suggestions for developing a parent and family involvement policy, roles for teachers and administrators, and project ideas.

Communicating

For increasing communication between schools and parents, the PTA advocates using tools such as mail, telephone, fax machines, and e-mail. It suggests setting up automated phone systems to get information to parents, including daily assignments, attendance reports, parenting tips, and student achievement information. Schools can create class newsletters for parents with tips on helping children learn at home and ideas for fun family activities. They can also establish methods for parents to review their children's work on a regular basis, such as sending work home weekly in a folder with a place for parent comments on the front cover. The PTA recommends schools provide orientation programs and handbooks for parents that cover goals and expectations, ways to contact teachers and administrators, and other information on how parents can help their children succeed.

Parenting

The PTA stresses recognizing parents' cultural and ethnic differences and reaching out to all parents, not just those who attend parent meetings. It suggests scheduling a school event at least once a year featuring workshops given by professionals and local parent educators to help parents deal with parenting issues. Child-care and transportation should be provided to encourage parents and family members to participate. Schools can also develop "family kits" built around relevant themes with games, videos, conversation starters, and other tools for parents to interact with their children on a specific topic, such as setting family goals or developing house rules.

Student Learning

In order to foster learning at home, the PTA recommends using school newsletters to report research findings on how parent involvement can promote student success. Other sample applications include assigning projects that involve parents and family members, such as personal interviews on specific topics; providing information sheets to guide parents in helping students with a particular skill; and asking parents to take an active role in reviewing student portfolios. The PTA suggests helping parents understand how to help their children learn by teaching them how to ask useful questions and practice writing skills.

Volunteering

Volunteering is one of the best ways for parents to get involved in their children's education. The PTA emphasizes the importance of making parents feel welcome and valuable when they come to volunteer at a school or school event. In order to use volunteers effectively, schools should develop a survey to gather parent and family volunteer information, including specific skills and talents. The PTA recommends taking the time to train volunteers regarding school policies, routines, and procedures and giving clear instructions for volunteer tasks. In addition, the PTA suggests that schools invite parents to join their child for lunch whenever convenient and consider providing a free lunch during the school year.

School Decision-Making and Advocacy

The PTA urges schools to allow parents to participate as partners in making decisions that affect children and families. They should encourage formation of local PTAs or other parents groups, include parents on decision-making and advisory committees, and publicize successful changes that result from parent initiation and involvement. The PTA recommends that schools share annual reports of school performance and program information with parents at open meetings to review current progress and solicit input for future goals. They can also develop workshops and include parents in ongoing training on relevant topics, such as developing parents as advocates, mastering skills for supporting learning, identifying and supporting learning styles, resolving difficulties, and fostering student achievement.

Collaborating With Community

In addition to parental involvement, the PTA advocates schools forging strong partnerships with their communities. It suggests working with community partners to hold special events such as health fairs, technology nights, and other learning opportunities to inform parents and families about community resources and services. Businesses, community groups, and senior citizens can all contribute to students' success by volunteering, planning activities, and fostering student participation in community service.

PARENT REPORT CARDS

In the 2000-2001 school year, some Chicago schools began issuing report cards to parents as well as children. The report cards, called "Checklists for Success in Education," measured such things as student attendance and punctuality, parent involvement, and student health and safety. The brainchild of Chicago Public School Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Vallas, many schools chose to participate in the voluntary program. But Vallas left Chicago later that year to become CEO of Philadelphia schools in 2002, and while the program showed initial promise, Chicago has not continued it.

New Haven, Connecticut started a new accountability program for the 2002-2003 academic year. The first stage of the program took place on report card night in November 2002, when parents were asked to sign an accountability pledge. Early next year, the district expects to issue progress reports assessing parents' performance in meeting their basic responsibilities.

OTHER IDEAS FROM SCHOOLS AROUND THE COUNTRY

Orientation

At Westwood Elementary School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, parents and students are invited to school the afternoon before the school year starts to find their classrooms and meet their teachers. During the first few weeks, the school hosts an ice cream social for families new to the school and parents of kindergartners.

Reading Together

One school holds a R. I. S. E. (Reading Is Surely Enjoyable) in the Morning program in which parents sit in the school's hallway and read to a child or group of children. At the S. A. N. D. School in Hartford, Connecticut, parents and children read together in the morning in the Success For All parent reading program.

Assemblies

Westwood Elementary School invites parents to a school Rise & Shine assembly every Friday morning. The school showcases a different class each week, and every student in the class gets a chance at the microphone. The school also holds an awards assembly on the first Friday of each month.

Meetings and Conferences

Westwood Elementary School gets its students involved on PTA nights, through choir performances, art exhibits, and string quartets, in order to attract parents to the meetings. Belgrade (Montana) Intermediate School schedules parent-teacher conferences in the evenings to accommodate parents.

Electronic Communication

Many schools use the Internet to communicate with parents. Teachers at Goodwyn Junior High School in Montgomery, Alabama, use the Schoolnotes program at www. schoolnotes. com to post important messages and homework assignments and use e-mail to communicate with parents about issues relevant to their child. They find it is often more convenient than conferences or telephone calls.

Assignment Books and Planners

Students at Oak Hill High School in Hineston, Louisiana fill in assignment books daily that parents can look at for teacher comments on their progress. Westwood Elementary School uses assignment books for its fourth and fifth graders. Highland Elementary School in St. Louis, Missouri gives students daily planners, with space for comments by teachers and parents. Parents are expected to initial the planner every night. In this way, parents stay up-to-date on their children's work and can communicate any concerns to the teacher.

Frequent Progress Reports

One science teacher sends "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" progress reports to parents every two weeks. Oak Hill High School sends progress reports home every three weeks.

Newsletters

Teachers at Westwood Elementary School send home regular newsletters about classroom activities.

Classes, Workshops, and Conferences

The S. A. N. D. School recently began offering parenting classes to teach parents to use skills such as effective praise. The six-week program has already reached several parents, with additional classes planned for the future, including one in Spanish and another at night. A large school district in southern California holds an annual parent leadership conference, a day-long event in which hundreds of parents learn how to become partners in their children's education. In addition, the district sponsors monthly workshops on a variety of school and parenting issues, such as communication skills, anger management, strategies for supporting gifted students, and using technology to support student achievement.

Home Visits

In 1998, teachers at nine low-performing schools in California's Sacramento City Unified School District began visiting their students' homes. They went in pairs, bringing an interpreter or school nurse as necessary. They got to know parents, saw students in their home environment, and learned about their students' family. Teachers from one school also used the home visit to share information with parents about a school-wide restructuring effort designed to improve student achievement. At the end of each visit, they invited the families to come to a celebration at the school where staff would talk about the school improvement plan. After two months of home visits, 600 people came to a potluck dinner to hear about the plan. An elementary school teacher visiting the home of a student who was not reading at grade level showed his mother how to make sure her son understood what he was reading by asking questions or asking him to write something about a story. Since the home visits began, those nine schools have experienced greater parent participation, fewer behavior problems, and continuous improvements on statewide standardized tests.

Resource Centers

Resource centers can provide parents with books, videotapes, and other materials to help them understand their children. Kennedy Middle School in Enfield, Connecticut opened its resource center in 1999, using a grant from the Connecticut Education Association. The center is open during school hours and every other Thursday night. In addition to providing materials, the center also schedules special events, such as a presentation by a therapist who talked about the parents' role in helping a child deal with bullies. The center is part of the Home School Community Partnership, a national initiative to get parents and members of the community involved in schools. The National Education Association offers training and materials to help schools develop family, school, and community partnerships.

Involving Dads

Tincher Preparatory School, a public K-8 school in Long Beach, California, holds Dad's Doughnut Day every spring. Fathers and other significant men in students' lives come to school for coffee and doughnuts, then stay and visit their children's classrooms. Tincher also holds Mom's Muffin Morning, Grandparents Day, and a Power Lunch. Many schools find that involving fathers has a beneficial impact on their students, and the National Association of Elementary School Principals summarized such findings in a report entitled "Dads Make a Difference. " Schools have sponsored building projects and instituted food and games nights for kids and their dads to interact and learn together.

Online Resources

Education World offers many additional online resources about parent and community involvement. An extensive list is available in the online article "Parent- and Community-Involvement Strategies That Work. "

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