Increasing Parental Involvement

Increasing parental involvement is frequently cited as a goal of administrators, teachers, and parent organizations. In a recent survey conducted by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, 83% of respondents said the lack of parental involvement is a serious issue in the public schools in their community. School councils, parent organizations, and schools should work together to address this issue. Partnerships between parents and teachers will increase student achievement and promote better cooperation between home and school. Federal law recognizes parental involvement as an important component in school improvement and student achievement. No Child Left Behind specifically defines parental involvement and has state, system, and school level requirements for policies involving parents of Title I students. The requirements do not apply to schools not receiving Title I funds, but they are a good model for building an involved parental community. Guidance on the parental involvement requirements was issued in April 2004 and can be found at http://www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/parentinvguid.doc.

The first step is to focus the goal. “Increasing parental involvement” is more a general term than a specific goal. There is no one, magic way to do it. It takes creativity, clear goals, and various approaches. Parental involvement should be the result of a partnership between families and the school rather than an initiative. Each should be a meaningful resource for the other. Planners have to decide what kind of involvement they want to increase: 1) parental support in home-based activities such as homework, attendance, or reading; 2) parental attendance at school events such as parent organization meetings, parent-teacher conferences, or events; or 3) parental participation in school operations and policy such as volunteering in the school, serving on school and district committees, assisting with parenting classes, or advocacy efforts. Some parents want to be supportive of their child’s education but involve themselves no further in the school. Some parents are willing to go further and volunteer their time at the school. Other parents choose to serve in leadership roles. Developing appropriate strategies requires that specific goals be set. A goal of increasing the number of parents reading with their student each night would require a different strategy than a goal of increasing the number of parents volunteering as reading tutors.

The second step is to look at what is already in place. Consider what is already in place at your school that can or should include parents. There are usually whole school activities such as Earth Day or reading a particular book. Grade-level and classroom activities offer a variety of opportunities in and out of school. There are also specifically-focused activities such as Math Superstars, the school council, and school committees. What efforts are already being made to inform and include parents? Which efforts are successful? What changes are needed? What is the district parental involvement policy? Survey administration, teachers, and staff for their attitudes about parental involvement, training needed to work with parents, and specific tasks for volunteer activities. Parents should also be surveyed to determine their needs and interests. Keep in mind that the goal is to build a partnership between the families and the school.

Then, build from what you have. The school council, parent organization, and school should develop a long-term plan that integrates all activities into one cohesive parent involvement plan. Once the long-term plan is in place, write a detailed one-year plan for the year’s work. To be successful and sustainable, this is a process that must engage participants rather than be mandated. Teachers must be part of the planning and implementation process. Research suggests the essential element to improving parental involvement in any category is not the specific strategies used but the implementation of the chosen strategies.