David W. Dillard AVCTC

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Parent Community Involvement

• David W. Dillard AVCTC

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Why Involve Parents and the Community

• Parent involvement is required under Title I,
  NCLB, Missouri MSIP, and a host of other laws
• Research shows that increased parental
  involvement increases academic achievement
• Many parents demand it
• Parent support and community partnerships are
  good for the school
• Schools need political support (bond issues)
• Its just a good idea

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Community Relations

• Really talking about two different groups to
  achieve the same goal
• Parents
• Specific groups (Title, Spec. Ed.)
• Grade Level
• Community
• Groups and organizations
• Voters
• Community members

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Qualities of Effective PR Planning

• Comprehensive Reaching out to all families, not
  just those most easily contacted, and involving
  them in all major roles, from tutoring to
  governance.
• Well-Planned Specific goals, clear communication
  about what is expected of all participants,
  training for both educators and parents.
• Long-Lasting A clear commitment to the
  long-term, not just to an immediate project.

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Planning

• Remember, there is no "one size fits all" answer
  to partnerships. Identify, with families, the
  strengths, interests and needs of families,
  students, and school staff and work from there.
• Set clear and measurable goals based on family
  and community input.
• Develop a variety of outreach mechanisms to
  inform families, businesses, and the community
  about family involvement policies and programs.
  These can include newsletters, flyers, personal
  contacts, slide shows, videotapes, local
  newspapers and cable TV, web sites, and public
  forums.
• Provide a varied menu of opportunities for
  participation geared to the diverse needs of
  families, including working families. Schedule
  programs and activities flexibly. Recognize that
  effective family involvement takes many forms
  that may not necessarily require parents'
  presence at a workshop, meeting, or school.

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Planning

• Ensure that families and students have complete
  information about the standards students are
  expected to meet, examples of student work that
  meets these standards, and understanding of how
  students will be assessed. For example, hold
  curriculum nights to feature the standards and
  exhibit student work. Provide workshops about the
  state's testing program, with a chance for
  parents to take the test.
• Ensure that families and students have access to
  information about nutrition and health care,
  after-school programs, and community service
  agencies.

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Planning

• Find positive messages to send to all families
  about their child on at least once a month.
• In addition to parent-teacher conferences, offer
  regular opportunities for families to discuss
  their children's progress, raise concerns, and
  work as partners with school staff to solve
  problems that arise. To promote student success,
  create a support team for each student and
  include a family member.
• Involve families in evaluating the effectiveness
  of family involvement programs and activities on
  a regular basis and use this information to
  improve them.

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Planning

• Make sure that family members acting as
  volunteers in the school have opportunities to
  help teachers in meaningful ways such as
  assisting with instructional tasks and
  administrative functions. In addition to being
  tutors and classroom aides, family members might
  speak to students about their careers, explain
  customs from their cultural traditions, or
  demonstrate a special skill.
• Provide professional development opportunities
  for educators and families to enable them to work
  together effectively as partners in the
  educational process.

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School Policies should recognize the following

• The critical role of families in their children's
  academic achievement and social well being.
• The responsibility of every school to create a
  welcoming environment, conducive to learning and
  supportive of comprehensive family involvement
  programs that have been developed jointly with
  families.
• The need to accommodate the diverse needs of
  families by developing jointly, with families,
  multiple, innovative, and flexible ways for
  families to be involved.

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School Policies should recognize the following

• The rights and responsibilities of parents and
  guardians, particularly in their right to have
  access to the school, their child's records, and
  their child's classroom.
• The value of working with community agencies that
  provide services to children and families.
• The need for families to remain involved from
  preschool through high school.

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Good school policies should -

• Outreach to ensure participation of all families,
  including those who might lack literacy skills or
  for whom English is not their primary language.
• Recognition of diverse family structures,
  circumstances and responsibilities, including
  differences that might impede family
  participation. Policies and programs should
  include participation by all persons interested
  in the child's educational progress, not just the
  biological parents.
• Opportunities for families to participate in the
  instructional process at school and at home.
• Opportunities for families to share in making
  decisions, both about school policy and
  procedures, and about how family involvement
  programs are to be designed, implemented,
  assessed and strengthened.

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Good school policies should -

• Professional development for all school staff to
  enhance their effectiveness with diverse
  families.
• Regular exchange of information with families
  about the standards their children are expected
  to meet at each grade level, the objectives of
  the educational programs, the assessment
  procedures, and their children's participation
  and progress.
• Links with social service and health agencies,
  faith-based institutions and community groups to
  support key family and community issues.

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Assessing Present Practices

• What partnership practices are currently working
  well at each grade level?
• Which partnership practices should be improved or
  added in each grade?
• How do you want your school's family involvement
  practices to look three years from now?
• Which present practices should change and which
  should continue?

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Assessing Present Practices

• Which families are you reaching and which are
  hard to reach?
• What can be better done to communicate with the
  latter?
• What costs are associated with the improvements
  you want?
• How will you evaluate the results of your
  efforts?
• What opportunities will you arrange for teachers,
  parents, and students to share information on
  successful practices in order to strengthen their
  own efforts?

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Student Benefits

• The studies have documented these benefits for
  students
• Higher grades and test scores.
• Better attendance and more homework done.
• Fewer placements in special education.
• More positive attitudes and behavior.
• Higher graduation rates.
• Greater enrollment in postsecondary education.

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School Benefits

• Schools and communities also profit. Schools that
  work well with families have
• Improved teacher morale.
• Higher ratings of teachers by parents.
• More support from families.
• Higher student achievement.
• Better reputations in the community.

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Parent Benefits

• Parents develop more confidence in the school
• The teachers they work with have higher opinions
  of them as parents and higher expectations of
  their children, too.
• Parents develop more confidence not only about
  helping their children learn at home, but about
  themselves as parents.
• parents often enroll in continuing education to
  advance their own schooling.
• Improved view of the school

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Activities I

• Parent-Student-School Compact

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Activities II Service Learning

• Community activities - Work with community
  agencies
• Kiwanis
• University of Missouri Extension (4H)
• East Mo Action Agency
• Iron County Library
• Police, Sheriff, Ambulance
• Chamber of Commerce
• County Health Department
• Baptist Home, Meadowbrook Nursing Home, Degonia
  Senior Citezen Center
• Relate curriculum to community

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Activities II Service Learning

• Relate curriculum to community
• 4th Grade makes holiday cards for senior citizens
• HS Government class develops community action
  plans
• Graphic Arts Class maintains community web page
• HS FACS senior citizens parties and cards

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Activities II Service Learning

• Welding class makes signs for the Chamber of
  Commerce and bleachers, picnic tables, basketball
  goals for the Sports Complex

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Activities III Volunteering

• Assist in reading program
• After school activities
• Classroom activities
• Technology assistance
• Tutoring
• Need to develop guidelines
• Policies

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Activities IV Newsletters

• Lets do homework
• Reading assistance
• Math assistance
• General news
• Events
• Human interest
• Recent accomplishments

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Activities V Family Nights

• Make them fun and educational
• Offer when parents can get there
• Invite other family members
• Think about providing daycare if the event is for
  the parents
• Specific nights for parent-child activities
• Parenting education
• Homework assistance
• Whats happening/coming
• Explain reforms

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Activities V Family Nights

• Specific activities
• Reading/math activities games
• Reading together
• Children read to their parents
• Build-a-book www.readinga-z.com

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Activities VI Adult Classes

• Short-term, low cost
• Topics
• Technology computers
• Homework assistance for children
• Reading math in the home
• Health topics
• Consumer education
• Topics based on community surveys

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Activities VII Other Ideas

• Review of student testing and scores (individual
  and composite)
• Events
• Develop a Home-School handbook with suggestions
  and activities for parents to use at home (this
  could be grade-level /or building)

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Activities VIII Other Ideas

• Parent-teacher Conferences
• Webpage
• Homework hotline
• Parent phone calls
• Home visits (PAT, Early Childhood, Even Start)
• Newspaper articles (21st CCLC will have a weekly
  section for 4H and K-Kids)
• Open-House/Technology Nights

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School Climate Key Points I

• Parent/Community School relationship is
  reciprocal
• Keep it positive
• Engage parents in decision making
• Accommodate parents work schedule
• Be accessible

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School Climate Key Points II

• Develop a shared responsibility for student
  learning
• Creation of more opportunities for students
• Develop connection between school curriculum and
  the real world

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School Climate Key Points III

• Express the value of learning
• Raise the bar for student expectations
• Share higher standards with parents
• Encourage reading at home parent and child time
• Parents should realize that their participation
  is critical
• We are doing this for the students

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http//www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/hyc.html
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Books in the Helping Your Child Series

• Helping Your Child Be Healthy and Fit
• Helping Your Child Get Ready for School
• Helping Your Child Learn History
• Helping Your Child Learn Math
• Helping Your Child Learn Science
• Helping Your Child Learn Responsible Behavior
• Helping Your Child Learn to Read
• Helping Your Child Use the Library
• Helping Your Child Succeed in School
• Helping Your Child With Homework

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Easily reproducible two-page fact sheets from the
Learning Partners Series

• Being Responsible!
• Get to School Safely!
• Let's Be Healthy!
• Let's Do Geography!
• Let's Do History!
• Let's Do Math!
• Let's Do Science!
• Let's Get Ready for School!
• Let's Read!
• Let's Succeed in School!
• Let's Use the Library!
• Let's Use TV!
• Let's Write!
• Let's Do Art!

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http//www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/LearnPtnrs/index.ht
ml
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http//www.projectappleseed.org/chklst.html
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http//www.connectforkids.org/resources3139/resour
ces_subject.htm?doc_id82761
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http//www.ncpie.org/
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http//www.schoolsuccessinfo.org
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Tool Kit
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Process for Developing Community Involvement

• Develop a committee, focus team, or assign the
  duty to someone
• Review school policies and set the climate
• Assess where your school/district is currently at
  in working with parents and the community

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Process for Developing Community Involvement

• Committee Who Why?
• Review What policies do you have?
• Assess current status?

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Process for Developing Community Involvement

• Develop a written plan to strengthen
• Set goals This will set the answers for the
  next steps. It all depends on what you (your
  school wants to achieve)
• Locate resources
• Develop partnerships
• Develop school policies
• Plan and establish activities