Parent Improvement Plan

It’s widely recognised that the more involved parents are in their child’s education, the better the pupil performs at school. Whether, it’s just being aware of their progress and understanding their achievements or parents taking a more active role and becoming involved with the school itself.

Family involvement plays a major role when helping students prosper in the school setting. In order for children to be successful, as a teacher, we have to provide support to the parent’s to make an effort in wanting to play apart in that success. Communication plays a major part in the effective relationship between families and school. Giving the parents a sense of idea as to how their child is doing in school is built through the student’s academic needs.

Parent and Community involvement does not occur overnight. I feel that schools must make parent and community involvement a priority, valuing and accepting each other’s differences. Schools, families and communities must work together to support all students in a learning environment to ensure every student is a successful learner. Positive family and school involvement fosters a partnership among my school encouraging students to reach their highest potential academically and in life. Parent and community involvement does not mean stay-at-home mothers coming to school to help as needed, or a businessman stopping by to see events occurring on campus. The role of school, family and community involvement is a partnership incorporating goal-oriented activities for all grade levels linked to academic success and student growth.

Family involvement in education can help get families involved in school and knowing what their child is learning

Our program provides a great foundation in influencing children’s health, which in turn fosters important areas of development, which children need in order to grow healthy and ready to succeed in school. This involves a joint collaboration between the program, families and the community by providing essential services to the children that include a nutritional meal plan, health and related services such as screenings for children and services for children that are ill.

Probably one of the most important issues when it comes to Family/Community Partnership is trying to get the families/community involved in what we are doing. By engaging parents, it will help us to see what we are lacking and what we need to do in order to have our families fully engaged. I feel that if our families/communities are not engaged in our program then we need to reevaluate in order to encourage their participation. By reevaluating our program we can further access what we need to work on. If parents/communities feel that they are not valued as part of our team, they won’t engage in our program. Both the parents and the community play a big role in the education of our children. Parents are their first teachers and the communities have valuable resources for the children.

Parent involvement is key to a child’s academic success; this can be accomplished through the parent’s participation in an advisory council. A parent-teacher organization meets regularly to discuss the workings of the school and the parents that take part in the meeting are rewarded with a voice to make suggestions and give active feedback to the school. This enables parents and teachers to discuss matters dealing with the education of their child. Another council that advocates the voice of parents is the Mississippi Read

Academic scholars have noted that students who are thoroughly engaged are high academic achievers (Fullan, 2016). However, the subject of parent involvement has been introduced into the discourse over the past decades and now most educational leaders agree “ the closer the parent is to the education of the child, the greater the impact on child development and educational achievement” (Fullan, 2016, p. 158). As a result, the Ontario Ministry of education created Parents in Partnership: A parent engagement policy for Ontario schools. This policy is directly aligned with the ministry’s goal of creating and maintaining a welcoming and inclusive education system. The policy identifies parents as key individuals in education as they contribute to the work of educators, schools, and the community (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010). An investigation into the framework of the policy reveals the main actors, which are the parents; who are defined as caregivers, guardians, and parents, the government, school boards, teachers, principals, students, and the

The growth of the ELL student population has increased in all states over the last 20 years. However, ELL parents have difficulty obtaining information from their child's school or attempting to participate in school events. These barriers, which often include poor understanding of English, unfamiliarity with the school system, and differences in cultural norms and cultural capital, may limit parental communication and school participation. However, research shows that parents' participation in school events has a positive effect on improving student achievement and school attendance rate, regardless of socioeconomic background or ethnicity. It is, therefore, important to find practical ways to improve ELL parent involvement and student achievement.

Purpose of / Need for the Policy: Parental involvement is important for student success. High-quality education cannot be provided without involving parents in the learning process. When enrolling a student, parent sign a Contract of Excellence, committing to 40 parent hours each year, to help with their student’s achievement. The school will provide parent workshops, communication, clubs, and activities to coach, train, and empower parents so they can better assist their child’s quest of a first-rate education.

Parent involvement as a tool in intervention strategies is a resource that needs to be used more frequently when working with children with autism. The roll of the parent in autism interventions strategies such as Pivotal Response Training (PRT), allows the child the greatest form of reinforcement and interaction in that of their parent. This consistence resource needs to be utilized when implementing intervention strategies for a child with autism. The lack of verbal communication is strong among children with autism and many interventions focus on the ability to increase these skills. The study titled, "Pivotal Response Group Treatment Program for Parents of Children with Autism" written by Mendy Minjarez et al., focuses on 24 parents learning

Although it is important for families to be involved with their child’s school, school personnel should also strive to create a positive interaction with families of students. Carl Dunst (2002) states that school and parent collaboration is necessary, and if schools take on a more family-centered approach, it will help create a supportive environment and help to strengthen a family’s capacity to enhance and promote a child’s development and learning.

Teachers can increase parent participation in the child’s learning by, updating them in upcoming activities and events; so they can be included in their child’s education, stay informed in their child’s successes and concerns, participate in special events, and

More recently, the United States Department of Education, by submitting the 1996 proposal for National Education Goals, addressed the issue of parental involvement. The official U.S. government stood by the research of three decades that “parental participation in schooling improves student learning,” (U.S. Department of Education). Based on government research, family involvement programs don’t always need additional money to be successful, but leaders should stretch their own creativity to expand the programs that encourage community and family support. Parental involvement is found to be beneficial through high school, not stopping after elementary school, and parents that evolve as leaders should be encouraged to continue their role in their child’s education. The most successful parent leaders are found to play four roles in their child’s education: those roles are teacher, supporter, advocate and decision maker. The teacher-role supplements the child’s education at home, the supporter contributes his/her skills to the school, the advocate helps children receive fair treatment at home, and the decision maker participates in joint problem-solving with

Parental involvement in education is a vital essential for creating a cooperative environment for the student to thrive and succeed in. When a student knows that he or she is receiving support both inside and outside the school, the chances of that child becoming responsible for and active in their education are more likely. I know that there can be difficulties including parents for many reasons. Such parents may be too busy, uninterested or just feel helpless. However, as an educator, I will still have an obligation to reach out to these parents and assist them.