SISI - Standards and Indicators

Standard 4 - Learning Environment - School Culture
4.1b Leadership creates experiences that foster the belief that all children can learn at high levels in order to motivate staff to produce continuous improvement in student learning.
4.1g Teachers communicate regularly with families about individual students' progress (e.g., engage through conversation).
4.1i Multiple communicatin strategies and contexts are used for the dissemination of information to all stakeholders.

Standard 5 - Learning Environment - Student, Family and Community Support
5.1a Families and the community are active partners in the educational process and work together with the school/district staff to promote programs and services for all students.
5.1c The school/district provides organizational structures and supports instructional practices to reduce barriers to learning.

Scenario

Damon is ten years old and a fifth year primary student at Beaver Falls Elementary School. This once bright-eyed, little boy who enjoyed school is now becoming extremely frustrated and beginning to act out. After the divorce of his parents, Damon’s mother began working a part-time job in order to supplement her income. This left Damon under the supervision of his seventeen year old brother Danny who had dropped out of school after being harassed by other students regarding his learning disabilities. Although Danny is home with Damon in the evenings, he does not assist him with homework completion. In addition, Danny also allows Damon to stay up past his bedtime, which usually means that he falls asleep on the couch watching television. Therefore, Damon is often late for school or he comes to school tired and tends to doze off after lunch.

Damon’s mother, also a high school drop out, is aware of the problems he is having in school. She is concerned about her child and has high hopes for him. She is told about the problems that Damon is experiencing, but does not know what to do to change the situation. Unfortunately, she begins to avoid the teachers because she feels they do not understand her family’s situation and blame her for Damon’s problems.

Many children face similar circumstances that Damon is experiencing. He is already spending an extra year in the primary program, but is still struggling academically. His academic challenges and lack of direction at home leave him frustrated and overwhelmed thus causing him to get attention any way he can. The problems he is facing have the potential to escalate the behavior issues; therefore, the eventual possibility of becoming a high school dropout increases.

How can what seems to be an unbridgeable gap between Damon’s home and school be effectively addressed? How has the gap been created? Is the parent unwilling to be involved with Damon’s education or is the school uninviting? It is essential that schools recognize these critical questions and begin to bridge the gap, reaching out so that all students like Damon and their families feel a part of the learning community.

Introduction

The involvement of parents and family members in the education of their children both at school and in the home is supported in the research as one of the real keys to achieving success in schools. “ Programs designed with strong parent involvement produce students who perform better than otherwise identical programs that do not involve parents as thoroughly, or that do not involve them at all.” A New Generation of Evidence: The Family Is Critical to Student Achievement, Anne Henderson and Nancy Berla (1995). Henderson goes on to say that the schools that relate well to their communities have student bodies that outperform other schools. Children, whose parents help them at home and stay in touch with the school, score higher than the children of similar aptitude and family background whose parents are not involved. Schools where children are failing improve dramatically when parents are called in to help”. Parents’ attitudes and expectations toward education can be as important as explicit teaching activities. Parents encouraging and providing a place to study, establishing structured routines, monitoring television, discussing school events, and modeling good work ethics are things that can render high impact on their child’s academic success.

Parent/Family involvement in education will not in isolation radically improve schools and save all children from dropping out of school. The problem facing public schools is far too complex and encompassing. However, based on research, we do know that parent/family involvement is a dimension of enormous potential that has long been ignored and has not received the attention and respect it deserves. “Parents and families are important to children-children need role models, encouragement, and indications from influential adults that school is important, worthy of attention and viewed as a vital part of life”. (Rioux, Berla Innovations in Parent and Family involvement, 1993, p. 3).

Parent/Family involvement in schools requires a partnership. Successful partnerships view student achievement as a shared responsibility, and all stakeholders including parents, administrators, teachers, and community leaders, play an important role in supporting children’s learning and keeping children engaged in the learning process. Dr Joyce Epstein, Co- Director of the Centers on Families, Communities, Schools and Children’s Learning, John Hopkins University, concludes, “that there are many reasons for developing school, family, and community partnerships. Successful partnerships can improve school programs and school climate, provide family services and support, increase parents’ skills and leadership, connect families with others in the school and in the community, and help teachers, students, and others view one another as partners in education. However, the main reason to create such partnerships is so that all children succeed in school and in later life.” Several factors must be considered when building partnerships. Job and family demands leave parents with little free time. Single- parent families and those with two working parents have become the norm. Often the parents who stay away tend to be members of racial and ethnic minorities, have less income, and are less at ease with the English language. Schools bear the responsibility to reach out to all families but especially to those families that have children that are most at risk for academic failure and unsuccessful progress toward graduation.

Research findings indicate that the following actions must be taken at the school level in order to improve family-school connections and family involvement programs.

1. Schools must write and adopt a policy that outlines their commitment to family involvement
2. Schools must develop a comprehensive program for family and school partnerships.
3. The administration and the teachers must make a commitment to emphasize family involvement as a benefit to students and implement their program.
   Step by step guidance can be found in the following resources: National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs, National PTA and National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education.

Family involvement in the schools can neither be seen as a quick fix nor a luxury; it is a fundamental point of a healthy school system (Henderson, 1987). The array of services and programs schools are expected to provide to meet the needs of students within the classrooms require additional financial and human resources. Dr. Epstein has identified six types of parent involvement. For the purpose of this resource guide we will address the following types of family involvement:

1. Parenting
2. Family and School as Communicators
3. Families as Volunteers and Supporters
4. Families as Learners
5. Families as Decision Maker and Advocate
6. Collaborating with Community

Parental involvement in education is critical to academic success. Consider that these statistics:

• 91% of children's time from birth to age 18 is spent outside of school
• 70% of the waking hours of school age children are spent outside of school (All parents are teachers: Review research, n.d., Chapter 1)

When schools and families are working together, families are involved, children earn higher grades, complete more homework, display better attitudes, complete high school at greater rates, and are more likely to enroll in higher education. Evidence of these facts are so great that increasing family involvement is an important goal for Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and required by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA). This is an important goal for schools. Student achievement is viewed as a shared responsibility between families and schools, with schools providing the opportunites and support that parents need. (Funkhouser & Gonzales, n.d., p. 1)

Return to Top

Strategies

Based on Epstein’s research and the Loucks & Loucks (1990), model selected strategies are provided for review that will promote family involvement and address each type of family involvement. A more comprehensive list of strategies that address each type of family involvement can be reviewed in the following two resources.: National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs, National PTA,  and Keys to Re-engaging Families in the Education of Young Adolescents by Loucks & Waggoner (1998).

Type I-Parenting

Parents and families are a child’s first teacher and a child’s life support system. Therefore the most vital support a child can receive comes from the home. The home learning environment has been cited as a point of importance when discussing dropout prevention. Overt modeling of the importance of education, provision of youth activities, appropriate household chores, and including children in family decision making promotes students motivation to learn. The major emphasis of home learning activities in grades four through eight include helping parents:

• Become partners with teachers in encouraging children with their homework;
• Interact with their children at home to support school goals and programs;
• Understand early adolescence and middle grade programs; and
• Assist children with decisions that affect their own and the families futures (Epstein & Salinas, 1990).

Sample Practices and Activities:

• Establish policies that support and respect family responsibilities, recognizing the variety if parenting traditions and practices within the community’s cultural and religious diversity.
• Link parents to program and resources such as the Family Resource Youth Services Centers and other community agencies to provide needed support systems.
• Find out which ethnic groups are represented in your school or program. Provide translation and other support services when needed to these families. Be sensitive to cultural differences, and find appropriate ways to communicate acceptance and respect. Cultural fairs or other activities to celebrate specific ethnic holidays or traditions may help students, parents and family members develop a sense of belonging.
• Designate an area in your school or community for parents and family members to call their own to support them with information, resources, and training that will help them in supporting their child’s education.
• Develop “ family kits” built around relevant themes with games, videos, conversation starters, or other tools with which parents are able to interact with their children on a specific topic. For example, a kit could be built around the theme of developing personnel family goals.

Type II-Family and School as Communicators

Communication is the foundation of developing a strong partnership. When parents and educators communicate effectively, positive relationships develop, problems are more easily addressed, and students make greater progress. Middle and high schools often vary in the forms, frequency, and content of communications they use with families. This can greatly effect how families receive information and whether the information sent home, can be understood by all families. Effective communication consists of strategies for encouraging clear two-way communication between the school and the home.

Sample Practices and Activities:

• Use a variety of communication tools on a regular basis, seeking to facilitate two-way interaction through each type of medium. Such as phone calls, letters, electronic mail, and newsletters.
• Make all communications easy, simple, and direct. Keep in mind that many families may have language barriers both because of literacy or lack of knowledge of the English language. Use pictures, short words and whenever needed, translations. Know your audience. When referring to the family remember that there are all types of families; single family, stepfamily, foster, blended, multi-generational.
• Schedule parent/student/teacher conferences regularly and provide instruction to staff on how to make conferences valuable and non-threatening. Including the student in the conference gives them a sense of motivation and responsibility for their own learning
• Provide special information sessions at various times to assist families with clear guidelines and information about selected curricula, courses, events such as science fairs or class trips.
• Develop a policy that encourages families to visit the school and classrooms. Take special care to ensure that all staff, including secretaries and maintenance people, understands they are in the service business. A smile and helping hand can go a long way in keeping the doors of communication open.
• Create special opportunities for families to visit the school, observe classrooms, and ask questions after the visit. Friday coffee with the principal, family, grandparents, or friend luncheons are possible events that bring families into the school.
• Establish a routine method for parents to review their children’s work on a regular basis.
• Create a “Homework Hot Line” where parents can hear assignments and record their questions after hours for a response from the school the following day.
• Organize class parent, block parents, telephone trees, or the equivalent of a “welcome wagon” to provide a contact person and information to families who transfer in to a middle/high school any time during the school year.

Type III-Families as Volunteers and Supporters

When parents volunteer, both families and schools reap benefits from their efforts. Studies have concluded that volunteers express greater confidence in the schools where they have opportunities to participate regularly. In addition, assisting in school programs or events and activities communicates to a child, "I care about what you do here.”

Sample Practices and Activities:

• Create opportunities for parents who can not volunteer during the school day to have other options to volunteer before and after school, drop-in programs or at home support activities. Provide working families an opportunity to provide support through offering Saturday or take-home projects such as painting games on black top, cutting out materials, and building backdrops for a play
• Survey families at the beginning of each year to identify ways in which they would like to help at the school.
• Host an orientation session for each type of volunteer group. At that meeting establish conditions for volunteer participation. Provide a handbook when possible that includes the guidelines as well as other helpful information. Also solicit leadership from the group so that it can function without the administrator’s constant guidance. The leader from each volunteer group could then make up a volunteer council or care committee which could meet regularly to deal with concerns or changes needed.
• Make opportunities available so all students can experience having their family as part of an audience. Avoid programs that feature only the “stars.” e.g. Schedule more talent shows, or talentless shows, academic improvement events, school plays, intramural athletic events, thematic unit culminating activities
• Provide special events that require family participation, e.g. read-along night, game night, science fair workshop, creative writing workshop, or multicultural night.
• Provide numerous social events, e.g. school picnics, spaghetti dinners, talent shows, fall fests,
• Develop a community “buddy” program for at risk students. Many civic clubs have improving education as their goal – ask them for assistance.
• Parents or community volunteers can make cassette tapes for students to real along when their science or social studies books are at a reading level that is beyond their current reading skills (Epstein & Connors, 1995).

Type IV-Families as Learners

Parents are their child’s first and best teacher. Schools can assist parents and family members in developing new skills in areas requested by parents. Families from all socioeconomic and educational backgrounds can benefit from opportunities to improve their skills. The school should ensure that parents understand the skills needed for their child to pass each course and what the parent can do to support their child. It must be clear that the school does not expect families to “teach” the course but to encourage, listen, react, praise, guide, monitor, and discuss the work the student brings home.

Sample Practices and Activities:

• Sponsor regular workshops/universities on topics that have been identified by parents that will support their child’s academic and social development. In addition provide opportunities for parents to obtain an education through GED or family literacy program.
• Develop a calendar of events of seasonal activities, places to visit, and things to do for families and their children. Include activities that promote family-child interaction that is unhurried and pleasant for both (National Education Association).
• Invite families to join in field trips and send home pre and post trip, discussion questions. Go over the questions with the children to ensure they understand so that language and literacy barriers at home will not interfere with this activity.
• Provide a family/child suggested TV viewing list with suggestions to promote family discussion about the programs viewed.
• Provide a reading, math or science fair at school where projects are displayed and explained by students.
• Provide a place and time when families can meet in small groups to discuss common parenting concerns. Families of children experiencing difficulty may he specifically targeted for conversations in which the school counselor or social worker serves as facilitator.
• Regularly assign interactive homework that will require students to discuss and interact with their parents about what they are learning in class.
• Enlist the aid of bilingual key communicators for non-English speaking families. Provide appropriate English as a second language programs or alter learning experiences that have been traditionally available only in English. Look for the assets and strengths of each family and build on those.

Type V-Family as Decision Maker and Advocate

Studies have shown that schools where parents are involved in decision-making and advocacy have higher levels of student achievement. Schools and programs that actively enlist parent /family participation and input, communicate that parents/families are valued as full partners in the educating of their children. For a school to be most effective it is critical to have a collaborative decision-making process on issues from curriculum and course selection, to discipline policies and over –all school reform measures. The Kentucky Education Reform Act (1990) (Internet Resources of Information on the Kentucky Education Reform Act) supported this concept by establishing through statute, parent participation on the School Based Decision Making Councils and on Family Resource Youth Services Center Advisory councils.

Sample Practices and Activities:

• Include parents from all racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and other groups in the school to ensure that there is equitable representation in decisions made.
• Encourage the formation of PTAs or other parent groups to identify and respond to issues of interests to parents.
• Provide training for staff and parents on collaborative partnering and shared decision making.
• Locate a suggestion box or identify some manner in which families can voice their concerns, complaints and ideas.
• Create councils/committees for families to offer input into area of concerns and school policies through curriculum advisory committees, school activity committees, family advisory groups and other organized groups. Develop a policy for family involvement in decision-making roles. Outline a procedure whereby families can get involved in productive and effective ways. Ensure that families receive appropriate skills building training as needed to be effective.
• Develop and provide legislative training for families.

Type VI-Collaborating with Community

When schools and communities work together, both are strengthened in synergistic ways and make gains that outpace what either entity could accomplish on it own:

• Families access community resources more easily;
• Businesses connect education programs with the realities of the workplace;
• Seniors contribute wisdom and gain a greater sense of purpose; and ultimately,
• Students serve and learn beyond their school involvement.

Sample Practices/Activities:

• Distribute information regarding cultural, recreational, academic, health, social, and other resources that serve families within the community.
• Develop partnerships with local business and service groups to advance student learning and assist schools and families.
• Disseminate information to the school community, including those without school-age children, regarding school programs and performance.
• Invite the senior citizens to participate in mentoring and/or tutoring students at risk for academic/social failure.
• Solicit local businesses to give released time for families to be involved in their child’s education and/or provide technical resources.
• Measure the outcomes of the family and community connections with schools to capture the full picture of these connections and their results.

Additional Strategies:

Home Visits

One of the most effective strategies for schools to consider and implement has been home visits, mentioned briefly as a Sample Practice. It is a strategy that can have a major impact and warrants further discussion. Home visits can bridge the gap between home and school and help facilitate parent and teacher relationships. These visits can provide the teacher with much needed insight to enhance the child’s in-school education. Kyle, & McIntyre (2000) have created excellent guidelines for home visits.

Other challenges to be considered and addressed as they relate to family engagement are:

• support from administrative leadership,
• affirming diversity and changing of family structures,
• the need for systemic support, and
• teacher preparation in how to be an effective partner with families.

Administrative Leadership

The principal or program director plays a major role in making family involvement a reality. The climate in a school is created by the tone of the office staff and administrators. If the principal or program director collaborates with parents, educators or others, the staff will more likely do the same. Without administrative leadership, long-term progress in family-school partnerships are difficult to achieve. However, when family involvement becomes a mutual program goal, and families, educators, and administrator’s work together as a team to develop an effective family involvement plan, significant progress is noted.

Affirming Diversity and the Changing of Family Structures

Programs serving families must be aware and sensitive to the changes in our society. The values, attitudes, manners, and views of all populations represented in the school community should be respected and honored. (Golan & Peterson, 2002). In addition, not only is there a need to serve culturally diverse populations, but there is a need to be sensitive and supportive to the continually changing family structure. Single-parent families are on the rise as well as a number of grandparents who serve as primary caregivers to their grand children. Both of these family structures have very different issues that will need to be considered.

Systemic Support

Systemic support is a must if family involvement traditions and habits are to be transformed. Adequate support from the education authorities outside of the school is critical to ensure positive changes. Proactive family involvement policies and practices at the district, state, and national levels are prerequisite. Principals and educators need to know their leaders are willing to support and encourage them as they seek to implement change. For further discussion review: Golan & Peterson's (2002), An Action Guide for Community and Parent Leaders.

Teacher Preparation

Finally, the last challenge to consider is that few teachers receive adequate preparation in how to partner with parents. Teachers receive very little instruction during their education related to parent involvement. No state requires a separate course in parent involvement for teacher licensure. Therefore, it is important to provide teachers in-service related to family involvement and other professional development opportunities.

Return to Top

Barriers

According to Loucks, and Waggoner (1998) there are three groups of families identified as being “hard-to-reach.” They are families who (1) have low self-esteem, (2) do not realize the importance of their role in a child’s education and (3) are overwhelmed just trying to meet the basic needs of the family. Hard-to-reach families are those who have not initiated contact with the school and who have not responded to three invitations from the school to work together with them on the child’s education (Olmsted, 1991).

Engaging Families

Engaging families in effective ways requires confronting the barriers that have previously prevented positive interaction and the building of a partnership between home and school. A few of the barriers identified in Loucks, et al. (1998) are discussed and strategies to address barriers noted.

Family Involvement Barriers and Keys to Overcome Them

1. If the family has a lack of transportation, or child care, provide them with transportation, child care
2. If the family lacks “teaching skills”, provide daily, routine (home) activities, and training sessions.
3. If the family is overwhelmed by basic needs and limited resources, provide information about community services, and make referrals if appropriate (Family Resource Youth Services Centers can assist with this effort).
4. If a family experiences language difficulties, translate materials, or have person
   (e.g. Non-English-speaking illiterate) who speaks same language make telephone calls, home visits.
5. If a family has difficulty with their employment schedule conflicting with the school's, schedule breakfast meeting, evening meeting, or setup meeting at place of employment.
6. If the family experiences of alienation toward schools, teachers, and administrators, ask involved family to initiate contact; involve community or church leader as intermediary.

Additional Strategies:

One of the most effective strategies for schools to consider and implement has been mentioned briefly as a "Sample Practice", but is a strategy that can have a major impact and warrants further discussion. Home visits can bridge the gap between home and school and help facilitate parent and teacher relationships. These visits can provide the teacher with much needed insight to enhance the child’s in school education. Kyle, and McIntyre (2000) have created excellent guidelines for home visits. To view the document in full go to the CREDE Web site.

Other challenges to be consider and addressed as it relates to family engagement are:

• support from administrative leadership,
• affirming diversity,
• changing of family structures,
• the need for systemic support,
• and teacher preparation in how to be an effective partner with families.

Administrative Leadership

The principal or program director plays a major role in making family involvement a reality. The climate in a school is created by the tone of the office staff and administrators. If the principal or program director collaborates with parents, educators or other staff will more likely do the same. Without administrative leadership, long-term progress in family-school partnerships are difficult to achieve. But when family involvement becomes a mutual program goal, and families, educators, and administrators work together as a team to develop an effective family involvement plan, significant progress is noted.

Diverse Society

Programs serving families must be aware and sensitive to the changes in our society. The values, attitudes, manners, and views of all populations represented in the school community should be respected and honored (Golan, and Peterson, 2002). In addition, not only is there a need to serve culturally diverse populations but also there is a need to be sensitive and
supportive to the continually changing family structure. Single-parent families are on the rise as well as a number of grandparents who serve as primary caregivers to their grandchildren. Both of these family structures have very different needs that should be considered.

Systemic Support

Systemic support is a must if family involvement traditions and habits are to be transformed. Adequate support from the education authorities outside of the school is critical to ensure positive changes. Proactive family involvement policies and practices at the district, state, and national levels are prerequisite. Principals and educators need to know their leaders are willing to support and encourage them as they seek to implement change. For further discussion review: An Action Guide for Community and Parent Leaders at the Public Education Network.

Finally, the last challenge to consider is that few teachers receive adequate preparation in how to partner with parents. Teachers receive very little instruction during their education related to parent involvement. And no state requires a separate course in parent involvement for teacher Licensure; therefore, it is important to provide teachers in-service related to
family involvement and other professional development opportunities.

Disempowering Professional Behavior

This behavior is marked by disrepect for mother's [parent's] views, a focus on the deficit of children, and consistent discounting of cultural differences characterized by parenting styles. Harry, Allen, and McLaughlin (1995) described disempowering professional behavior in their study (p. 365). The study found that, "Despite current perceptions of low levels of participation by African-American parents, the data show consistant efforts by families to support their children's schooling, eventually giving way to disillusionment with the separations created by special education placements and the lack of avenues for parental influence." (p. 364). The parents reported in the study that they felt a "welcoming and open atmosphere" in the preschool classroom but this feeling dimished in the higher grades (p. 370). In special education, a parent's main avenue of advocacy is formal conferencing (IEP meetings [in KY, ARC meetings]).

The researchers in this study describe five aspects of these meeting that deter parent participation:

• Late notice and inflexible scheduling of conferences-parents were often not consulted about their availabilty for conferences and there was reluctance to adjust meeting times to fit the parents' schedules.
• Limited time for conferences
  Emphasis on documents rather that participation-parents admitted that they often didn't understand the documents but felt they should just sign the paperwork and receive the information.
• The use of jargon-Parents relied on teacher interputation without fully realizing what terms meant.
• The structure of power-
  • Parents were intimidated by number of professionals.
  • Kindness of professionals deterred parents from expressing dissatisfaction.
  • The power of the group opinion, using their combined power and knowledge, overpowers the parent's dissenting opinion.
    • The group actively combined their expertise to obtain parent consent.

Futhermore, the study indicated that professional role identification seemed to be the dominant ethic driving the way most educators interacted with parents, regardless of race. There was sometimes a "we against them" attitude. Also, the study inferred that low income, African-American parents were at a "double deficit" because of the deficit view of children in special education and that "longstanding societal view" is that the African-American family is largly dysfunctional (p.374).

Other Barriers

Funkhouser, et al. (n.d.) discussed that lower-income less well-educated parents participate in their children's education than higher-income parents with higher education levels. Their document is arranged around providing strategies to overcome the following barriers:

• overcoming time and resource constraints;
• providing information and training to parents and school staff;
• restructuring schools to support family involvement;
• bridging school-family differences; and
• tapping external supports for partnerships.

Return to Top

Resources

Kentucky Resources

Division of Student Family, Community Support Services
Kentucky Department for Education
Contact person: Dr Angela Wilkins, Division Director
502-564-3678
awilkins@kde.state.ky.us

Kentucky Coalition of School Volunteer Organizations
Lilly Sullivan
10112 Leitchfield Road
Cecilia, KY 42724
270-862-2014
Lillsull5@aol.com

Kentucky Community Education Association
Patty Crittenden
700 Leslie Avenue
Frankfort, KY 40601
502-875-1481
pcritten@franklin.k12.ky.us

Kentucky Family Resource Youth Services Centers (FRYSC)
Promotes, identifies and coordinates resources for children and their families.
Contact person: Dr. Sandy Goodlett, Executive Director
Cabinet for Families and Children
Linda Robinson, KDE Liaison
(502)-564-3678
Currently there are 774 centers in the state of Kentucky. schools. The FRYSC Regional Program Managers are divided in ten regions and are a valuable resource that can be contacted for model sites in their region as it relates to Family/Community involvement. To review the Region Program Managers information go to http://www.kde.state.ky.us/osle/frysc/default.asp.

Kentucky Kin-Care Program
Bill Montgomery, coordinator
Office of Aging Services
275 East Main Street
Frankfort, Ky 40601
502-564-6930
E-mail: bill.Montgomery@mail.state.ky.us
This projects mission is to provide leadership in responding to issues that relate to over 62,000 grandparents who are raising grandchildren: to develop support groups to enable persons facing similar problems to cope through the sharing of experiences and to assist in identifying needed resources.

Kentucky PTA
P.O. Box 654
Frankfort, Ky. 40602
502-564-4378
Sharon Barker, President, Ky-office@pta.org

 

Parent Leadership Associates
Kentucky Prichard Committee/KSA-Plus Communications collaboration
Bev Raimondo Director Parent Leadership Associates
859-233-9849
raimondo@prichardcommittee.org
Adan Kerman-Schloss
President KSA-Plus Communications
adam@ksaplus.com
703-528-7100
http://www.plassociates.org/
Parent Leadership Associates offers a wide range of customized consulting and training services, plus easy to understand materials that help parents better understand how to improve schools.

Parent Resources Centers
Jan Richards, consultant
Division of Exceptional Children
KY Department of Education
502-564-4970
Jrichards@kde.state.ky.us

General Resources

All Parents are Teachers: Review Research (n.d.). Retrieved on October 28 from http://www.parenting.umn.edu/apat/RR/Other/rr01-c05.html

Building Successful Partnerships: A Guide for Developing Parent and Family Involvement Programs. Bloomington, IN: National PTA National Educational Services.
This practical focuses on ways to implement the six National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs.

Decker, L. E., Gregg, G.A., & Decker V. A. (n.d.). Teachers Manual for Parent and Community Involvement. Fairfax, VA: National Community Education Association.
Phone: 703-359-8973
This resource provides teachers with information on the important role that the classroom teacher plays in parent and community involvement efforts within the education setting.

Denn, R. (2002, March 15). Black parent’s fragile link to schools
[Electronic version]. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved on October 28 from http://www.seattlepi.com/

Druin, G., & Butler, J.A. (n.d.). Effective schooling practices and at-risk youth. What research shows, topical synthesis #1. School Improvement Research Series. Retrieved on August 28, 2002, from Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory Web site:
http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/1/topsyn1.html

Epstein, J.L. (1988). How Do We Improve programs for parent involvement? Educational Horizons, 66, 58-59.

Epstein, J. L. (1987). Toward a theory of family-School connections: teacher practices and parent involvement across the school years. Berlin, NY: Aldine DeGruyter.

Epstein, J.L., & Connors, L.J. (1995). School and Family Partnerships in the
Middle Grades. In Rutherford, B. (Ed.). Creating Family/School Partnerships (pp. 137-167). Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association.

Epstein, & Salinas (1990). ERIC Clearing House on Urban Education. Retrieved on December 14, 2002, from http://eric-web.tc.columbia.edu/families/strong/references.html

Funkhouser, J. E. and Gonzales M.R. (n.d.). Family involvement in Children’s
Education: Successful Local Approaches: An Idea Book [Electronic version].
Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Education, Office of Education Research and Improvement. Retrieved October 29 from http://www.ed.gov/pubs/FamInvolve/

Golan, S. & Peterson, D. (2002). An action guide for community and parent leaders. Washington, DC: Public Education Network Retrieved from http://www.PublicEducation.org
Phone: 202-628-7460
This resource provides a comprehensive reference guide that will assist every community and parent leader in using No Child Left Behind to create strong partnerships with schools.

Harry, B., Allen, N., & McLaughlin, M. (1995). Communication versus compliance: African-american parents' involvement in special education. Exceptional Children, 61 (4), P. 364-377.

Henderson, A.T., & Berla, N.(1995). A new generation of evidence: The family is critical to student achievement. Washington, DC: Center for Law and Education.

How can I help my child? (2002, October). Retrieved December 14, 2002, from
American Federation of Teachers Web Site: http://www.aft.org/erd/corner.htm

Kyle, D., & McIntyre, E. (2000, October). Family visits benefit teachers and families-and students most of all (Practitioner Brief #1). Retrieved on October 28, 2002, from Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence Web site: http://crede.ucsc.edu/products/print/pract_briefs/pb1.shtml

Loucks, H. E., & Waggoner, J. E. (1998). Keys to reengaging families in the education of young adolescents. Columbus, OH: National Middle School Association.
This publication focuses on strategies for engaging families in the education. Adolescents but are valuable for all grade levels. Information provided in this resource is easily accessible and practical for teachers, parent coordinators, and individual serving in related roles.

The National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE)
Washington, DC 20036
202-822-8405
http://www.ncpie.org
This organizations provides many resources that addresse a wide variety of
Issues related to parent /family involvement based on years of research. A
resource guide can be reviewed at http://www.ncpie.org/Resources/parents.html

National Dropout Prevention Center
Clemson University, 209 Martin St.
Clemson, SC 29631-1555
864-656-0136
E-mail: ndpc@clemson.edu
http://www.dropoutprevention.org/

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.  http:www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/health.htm 
This resource offers health and education information for parents.

National standards for parent/family involvement programs, (1998). Chicago, IL: National PTA. Retrieved from http://www.pta.org.
E-mail: info@pta.org
This resource was developed by the National PTA in cooperation with education and parent involvement professionals through the National Coalition for Parent Involvement In Education. Building upon the six types of involvement identified by Joyce L. Epstein, PhD of the Center on School Family and Community Partnerships at John Hopkins University, National PTA created program standards for excellence. It offers many strategies to address each type of parent involvement.

The Partnership for Family Involvement in Education
U.S. Department of Education
Washington, DC 20202-8173
800-872-5327
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OIIA/pfie/

Promoting involvement of recent immigrant families in thei children's education (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gse.harvard.edu/~hfrp/projects/fine/resources/research/golan.html

Rich, D. (2002). Parent power. Retrieved on December 14, 2002, from the National Education Association Web Site: http://www.nea.org/parents/ppower.html
This is a booklet of home learning recipes that are designed to boost learning in reading, writing, math, and science and also foster the broader skills, including responsibility, perseverance, teamwork and problem solving.

Schargel, F.P. & Smink, J. (2001). Strategies to help solve our school dropout problem. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.
Phone: 914-633-0551
http://www.eyeoneducation.com
This book examines the 15 research-based strategies that address the dropout issues identified by the National Dropout Center at Clemson University. Chapter 4 specifically discusses Family involvement.

Why parent involvement is important (n.d.). Retrieved on December 14, 2002, from Kentucky Department of Education Web Site: http://www.kde.state.ky.us/comm/pubinfo/parents/docs/important.asp

Return to Top

Key Words

Parent involvement, family involvement, family engagement, community involvement, home-school partnerships, types of parent/family involvement, parenting, volunteers, decision makers, advocates, communication, communicators, partnerships, support, benefits , family involvement policies, community resources, family and community connections

Return to Top