The relationship between the child and their family, school, teacher, and community can change the way
the student learns and views him or herself and their education. Make an effort to connect with your
community and have support from friends, neighbors, family, and schools.
Parent/family involvement in a child's education is crucial. The foundation for good parent-teacher
relationships is frequent and open communication. Both teachers and parents share the responsibility for
creating such a foundation. There are several strategies here for both parents and teachers to establish a
climate conducive to open communication. There is also a ground-breaking policy brief that examines the
role of school districts in promoting family engagement by Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) and the
National Parent-Teacher Association. Download the PDF of Seeing is Believing: Promising Practices for
How School Districts Promote Family Engagement.
According to the National Education Association, the reasons why family involvement is so important are:
- When parents are involved in their children's education at home, they do better in school. And when parents
are involved in school, children go farther in school — and the schools they go to are better.
- The family makes critical contributions to student achievement from preschool through high school. A home
environment that encourages learning is more important to student achievement than income, education level or
cultural background.
- Reading achievement is more dependent on learning activities in the home than is math or science. Reading
aloud to children is the most important activity that parents can do to increase their child's chance of reading
success. Talking to children about books and stories read to them also supports reading achievement.
- When children and parents talk regularly about school, children perform better academically.
- Three kinds of parental involvement at home are consistently associated with higher student achievement:
actively organizing and monitoring a child's time, helping with homework and discussing school matters.
- The earlier that parent involvement begins in a child's educational process, the more powerful the effects.
- Positive results of parental involvement include improved student achievement, reduced absenteeism, improved
behavior, and restored confidence among parents in their children's schooling.
Teachers can: Visit our Teacher Resources page for more ideas.
- Let parents know how and when they can contact the school and the teacher. As early in the school year as
possible, teachers can explain that: (1) they can be reached at specific times or in specific ways; (2) they can be
contacted directly as questions or concerns arise; and (3) they have given a lot of thought to their teaching
philosophy, class rules, and expectations. In addition to personal interaction, teachers often use newsletters or
letters home to provide this information to parents, perhaps including a phone number and, if available, an
electronic mail address by which they can be contacted Some teachers encourage two-way communication by
including in newsletters or letters home a short survey about children's interests or parents' hopes or
expectations for the school year.
- Practice an open-door, open-mind policy. Teachers can invite parents to visit the class at any time that is
convenient to the parent. When they visit, parents can monitor their child's perceptions of a situation and see for
themselves what the teacher is trying to achieve with his or her students.
- Elicit expressions of parents' concerns and interests in preparation for parent-teacher conferences. Some
schools organize parent-teacher meetings to discuss their goals early in the school year. On these occasions,
teachers can ask parents to share their main concerns and goals for their child. Brief questionnaires and
interest surveys also provide good bases for meaningful discussions in parent-teacher conferences.
- Involve parents in classroom activities. Teachers can let parents know how they can be helpful and solicit
parents' assistance with specific activities. The more involved parents are in what goes on in the classroom, the
more likely they are to understand the teacher's goals and practices.
Families also have an important role in fostering open communication between themselves and teachers.
Parents and Families can: (Visit our Family Resources page for more ideas)
- Introduce themselves. A good time to contact your child's teacher is during the first week of school. This gives
you an opportunity to meet one another when neither has any complaints. Parents can contact teachers and let
them know when they can be reached most easily, daytime or evening, to discuss their child's classroom
experience, and how they would prefer to be contacted (telephone, email, letter, etc.).
- Be involved in classroom and school activities at whatever level work and family responsibilities allow. If parents
cannot volunteer or go on field trips, they can let the teacher know that they are interested in helping in other
ways with a special display or some activity that can be done on an occasional weekend, for example. They can
let the teacher know that they have skills that they would be willing to share even if they are not sure how they
can be useful in the classroom. Or, they can let the teacher know that special circumstances (an extremely ill
parent, or an especially demanding job, for example) prevent them from being formally involved, but that they
are always interested in how their child is doing and would welcome communications about their child on a
regular basis, not just when there's a problem.
- Initiate regular contact. Parents need not wait for the teacher to call them; they can contact the teacher at times
the teacher has indicated are convenient.
- Be involved in homework activities and help with homework. Make sure your child has adequate space and
supplies to complete their homework and projects. Teach them how to organize their school work and set out
clothing and backpacks the night before school so nothing is forgotten.
- If you feel your child might need additional support in some subjects, use online resources to supplement their
studies with worksheets or hands on activities that might help them learn an especially difficult topic. Check out
ABCTeach for thousands of printables or even make up your own.
I encourage families to take more responsibility for their children's education and be collaborative partners
with the schools their children are attending. As an involved parent, with support from my child’s school
and teacher, I can supplement the curriculum my children are currently learning with hands on,
interactive lessons in the real world that my children can relate to and learn from. If I feel my child is
interested in a subject that has not been covered deeply enough at school, or if I feel like contributing more
information to a subject than the school has time for or if I feel strongly about a certain topic and want to
interject my opinion, I can take my children on our own "field trips" to learn more.
I think even parents whose children are going to public school should be homeschooling (teaching at
home), because being taught in a classroom is being taught out of context. The most effective way for a
child to learn is to learn a subject that they have initiated interest in and to see the subject and experiment
with it in it's context. 2 + 2 = 4 on a piece of paper is much different than, "If you have 2 pokemon cards and
I give you 2 more, how many do you have?" Until there is context, they are just memorizing data. The
context of the information in most cases is how it fits in the real world. Things learned in the real world
make sense to us. The real world provides real education, which prepares one to think critically, argue
effectively, and find the skills to pursue our calling in life. It prepares us for self-reliance, not for
dependency on other’s approval. Education is the responsibility of the family and the community as well as
the school.
Visit The National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education for great resources, ideas, and links.
Also, the Harvard Family Research Project has many documents regarding family involvement.
Project Appleseed has a wonderful parent agreement and toolkit for getting parents involved.
Visit the California PIRC for their Parental Involvement Survey and the National Standards for Family-
School Partnerships or other important facts about our schools.
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