Parent Involvement

My Parent Involvement Philosophy; parent involvement is crucial force in children’s development, learning, and success at school and in life. Parent involvement means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities including ensuring that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning; parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school; and parent involvement and communication is crucial to a classroom. (Module 2: What is Parent Involvement? Project)

An obstacle I have witnessed in my school is the lack of parental involvement. Throughout this year, I believe the parents' investment in their children education has been disheartening. I can say in my own classroom, nearly one-third of student’s parents have no idea how they are doing in school academically. About one-sixth of student’s parents don’t sign daily agendas or notes that are sent home. Only about one-fifth of parents consistently attend school programs. My biggest concern is that too many parents are disengaged. Parent involvement can indeed make a difference in a child’s education. Students would perform better academically and behaviorally if their

Student and families can have collaborative partnerships with educators, by having contact and involvement opportunities created by the school that build connections with parents. Creating and involving parents in meaningful roles within the school can strengthen this partnership. Opportunities for parents and students need to be created by educators that will allow parents to show their interest in their child (Amatea, 2013). California Department of Education advocates with policies and laws to support parent involvement to support student’s academic success. Federal and state laws play a role in linking families and schools together to build and strengthen social, emotional, and academic growth of children (Amatea, 2013).

According to Michael Seville, a writer for Eutopia Magazine, “… parental involvement is a key ingredient in how well a student learns.” The idea of parental involvement in their school is not a concept exclusive to charter schools. There are many traditional public schools that are launching programs to do just that. In Saratoga, California, an elementary school has made it mandatory for parents to volunteer and attend a seven-session STEP (Systemic Training for Effective Parenting) class. This class is designed to help improve the parent’s usefulness when they appear in class. According to the principal of the McAuliffe Elementary, Michael Kalb, even single working parents are able to find a few hours a month to help out, even if it is in the evening. Since the inception of this program, teachers have noticed more cooperative behavior of their students and a willingness that was not present before. These types of programs could be and should be incorporated into any traditional public school in any part of the country and would create a synergy within the school of parents, teachers, and students.

Additionally, parent involvement is also an important factor that contributes to how well students do in school and whether or not they graduate. According to the Michigan Department of Education, “decades of research show that when parents are involved students have higher grades, test scores, graduation rates, better school attendance, increased motivation,

Parent involvement in schools is positive to the extent that the child is encouraged and getting help on their homework when they need it. If the child is neglected the influence that they need from their parents, they would think that there would be no use to study and get good grades. The letter from a ”Concerned Mother” and the article, ”In Defense of Helicopter Parents” by Lisa Belkin from the New York Times, show evidence of parent influence being beneficial to a child. The influence of parents will help encourage their children to not give up, causing their determination to grow. Parent involvement from an early age will affect how they grow up academically.

Others have looked at parental involvement under a more community based approach. According to Galligher, Bagin, and Kindred (1997) parent involvement is a systematic, continuous, two-way communication between an education organization and the public. The most widely accepted definition from Epstein (1995) defined parent involvement as “...communication between school personnel and parents about their children” (p. 703).

Parent engagement in schools is a shared responsibility in which schools and other community agencies and organizations are committed to reaching out to engage parents in meaningful ways, and parents are committed to actively supporting their children’s and adolescents’ learning and development. This relationship between schools and parents cuts across and reinforces children’s health and learning in multiple settings—at home, in school, in out-of-school programs, and in the

The types of good involvement are the types that help out the child in school, with homework or volunteering time with the class. However, when parents are not involved, it is a difficult time for the child (parent involvement, 79). It was anticipated that adult engagement would be certainly affiliated to preliteracy development (Parent involvement, 78). There are times when the parents want to be involved, but do not have the time to be involved when they have long work hours or cannot help the child due to transportation issues. The school systems are trying to fix this issue, by having phone conversations with the parents and asking them to help at home with tasks that are being done at school, and offering volunteering other individuals to help and send notes home to help the parents and the

This parent involvement policy has been mutually created by Austin’s High School and the parents of its students pursuant to Title I.

Only two types of parent involvement had significant effects on academic achievement in the main

Parents play a pivotal role in the academic success of students. Therefore, it is important for educators to provide frequent opportunities for collaboration with families so they can support student learning at home. Additionally, regular communication with parents helps them understand the educational programs in school so they can monitor student progress and advocate for their child’s needs.

When it comes to parent’s involvement, I believe the biggest reason for them not involved is the lack of communication between parents, students and teachers when the start middle school. In elementary school, the parent is the advocate for their student while being concern about their academic experience, but as the student becomes more independent, the parent takes a step back and allows the student to voice their concerns in their education. Another reason parents are not involved with their students education is they inability to understand what is needed in order for them to succeed. Sadly, a lot of parents do not have the accurate education to show their student the importance of education, therefore, they within themselves do not view

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.

nineteenth century (Wallace). “Parent Involvement” and “parent participation” are nebulous terms because there is an array of parenting behaviors that this could include (Hickman). Either way you define it, parents must get involved. What many parents consider ‘being involved’ varies from family to family. No one is better placed or more qualified than parents to make a difference in their child’s academic and lifelong education (Bourquin). Parents are the vast resource that must be tapped to increase student learning (Hickman).