The Importance Of Epstein Parent Involvement In School Activities

There are many ways for parents to actively participate in their student’s education. Scholastic.com recommends including tips for helping parents get involved. In this 6th grade classroom, each EC parent will receive a copy of their child’s IEP goals, along with the date of their annual review and re-evaluation date, if applicable to this school year. Parents are asked if there is a preferred day of the week and time to best schedule future IEP meetings. Attached to this information will be contact information for both co-teachers including email address, school phone number, planning time and a calendar denoting the designated monthly parent-teacher conference days and times. Additional components of the parental involvement piece to Curriculum Night includes an invitation to join our PTO, sports schedules, and information about proctoring. Parents are also encouraged to occasionally eat lunch with their child in the school

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.

Mrs. Alice McLoughlin-Doro is a Special Education teacher at Downers Grove South High School in Downers Grove, Illinois. The community is known for its excellent school districts. According to the 2010 census there were 47, 833 people living in Downers Grove with approximately 19,000 households and 13,000 families. The racial makeup of the school was reported to be 88% White, 3% African American, 5% Hispanic, 0.2% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 5% Asian, and 1.6% from two or more races. About 1.7% of families were below the poverty line. The school district report card reports the following racial/ethnic background for the school: 68.1% White, 10.3 African American, 11% Hispanic, 7.3% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, and 3.2% two or more races. The elementary schools, middle schools, and high school all perform very well academically receiving above state average scores on standardized tests. She has been working there for 10 years and is currently a Case Manager of 17 students, all with an IEP, all with different needs and goals in the LD department. She co-teaches two general education classes in English intervention, all freshman. Although she is a Special Education teacher, she works with all the students. She also teaches a READ 180, Tier 3 reading and english intervention. This is where we will be focusing on for this

Parental involvement is essential for the school’s effectiveness. We see ourselves as partners of the family, reinforcing parents' efforts to guide the intellectual, emotional and spiritual development of their children. We offer seminars and classes for personal enrichment of parents as they strive to become even more the kind of person they want their children to

Promoting school-community relations with Hispanic parents begins with identifying the barrier that prevents involvement or engagement is school issues. Those issues can include lack of knowledge on American schooling, transportation issues, limited English spoken, or problems with work or childcare availability. Once these barriers can be broken, an aggressive approach can be initiated to close the academic gaps many English Language Learners are facing. Zimmerman (2011) states the six strategies for enhancing Hispanic parent involvement include; "remove language barriers between the parents and the schools, address economic obstacles that hinder parental involvement, schedule activities to make transportation easier for parents, empower and

Miss Kane’s first grade class at Lutie Lewis Coates Elementary School (also known as Coates Elementary) has twenty students and seventeen of them are considered English Language Learners (ELL) (E. Kane, Personal Communication, October 4, 2016). This is very frustrating for both Miss. Kane and her students because it is very difficult to communicate with many of her ELLs. Out of Miss Kane’s twenty students eight students are Hispanic, five Indian, five Black, and three White. Miss Kane’s class is very diverse and this allows students to feel more accepted because not all students are similar. Coates Elementary as a whole is very diverse: Asian 28.86%, Black 18.26%, Hispanic 37.32%, and White 12.08% (Fairfax County Public Schools, 2015). Miss Kane’s classroom reflects similar diversity as Coates Elementary does. Both Miss. Kane and the Coates staff really show their appreciation for diversity and attempt to treat all children equally giving all students equal opportunity. Coates Elementary is a Title I school; about fifty percent of students receive free and reduced lunch (Fairfax County Public Schools, 2015). This school was placed in the center of poverty and many of these students who participate in the free and reduced lunch program are English Language Learners.

Jose Rodriguez is the Director of Parent and Community Engagement at UnidosUS, and oversees UnidosUS’s Padres Comprometidos parent engagement program that is implemented across twenty-four states. The goal of Padres Comprometidos is to ensure that the Latino families can navigate the US public school system to support their children's academic success. With over thirty years of experience as a K -12 teacher, coordinator, and consultant, Jose has assisted school districts in the areas of English language acquisition and parent engagement. A fifth generation American, Jose grew up in a rural community in South Texas, where the home language and culture were nurtured and maintained. Upon entering school Jose was immersed in an English only environment

Currently, I am student teaching at Alfred E. Zampella PS #27 School in the district of Jersey City. The school is located in a busy city, next to John F. Kennedy St. which is especially busy in the morning and during rush hour. This results in several late students on a day to day basis. On the other hand, this school is also highly accessible and as a little over a thousand students. The school has grade levels from kindergarten to 8th grade, and has a mix of general, special, and inclusion education classrooms. Typically, families that enroll their students into this school are of lower-middle socio-economic class, and tend to be majority Hispanic, Indian, and African American, with few Caucasians and Asians. This school provides a variety of special programs for their ESL students and special need students. Students may be offered speech language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, ESL programs, reading recovery, and counseling.

Hemet Unified School District strives to be the premier choice school in the valley by meeting the needs of all our diverse learners and stakeholders. The Hemet principals all utilize the continuous improvement cycle with their leadership teams in order to increase student learning/outcomes. Hemet Unified is creating various ways to increase parent participation through the development of a Community Parent Center which will utilize the African American Advisory Committee, the Bilingual Parent Liaisons, Parent Advisory Committee and the Parent Coordinator to better meet the diverse needs of our learners and their families.

Herndon serves a diverse population of students. All parents want expect their children to succeed. Herndon welcomes all. The staff appreciates diversity and involves all parents. Herndon High, a Kids At Hope school, creates a welcoming atmosphere by involving activities for all six frames of family involvement. The school organizes quarterly meetings for parents along with monthly PTSA meetings, to help parents share effective parenting strategies and develop positive relationships with students. Herndon High school publishes newsletters, sends kit messages, holds KAH community events, sends grades home, connects through Blackboard parent view, hosts honor roll breakfasts, conducts international nights, builds connections with business, and community partners and celebrates students

Lastly, the districts community outreach programs for the amount of ELs in the district is outstanding, with one-on-one meetings and communication, the families are constantly kept in the loop and current with their student’s learning. Along with that, the school also provides summer camp for ELs and additional supports. There are no improvements that I would suggest to this portion of the program at this time.

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.

The following five ways are, “1.Connect with ELL students’ families, 2. Ensure the effective communication of important school information, 3.Tailor your approach to the family’s cultural traditions, 4. Get parents involved in school activities, and 5. Formulate a plan to encourage parental engagement” ("Five Ways to Engage Parents of ELL Students", 2013) Now let’s break down each step so we can fully understand if these steps are efficient. Number 1: Connect with ELL students’ families- Build a partnership by learning about parent’s cultural traditions and mutual respect. Number 2-Ensure the effective communication of important school information- Make sure to present all school’s schedules and important school information in their native language. By doing this you are making sure the correct information is being passed along. Number 3: Tailor your approach to the family’s cultural traditions- Make sure the cultural norms are embraced. That way both viewpoints are valid and will contribute to the success in their child’s education. Number 4: Get parents involved in school activities- By getting the parents involved you are relaying a message of the importance their personal role in the child’s education. Number 5: Formulate a plan to encourage parental engagement- “Education is everyone’s business, not just that of educators. Encouraging the contributions of ELL families is one more way to help schools work for the betterment of the entire community” ("Five Ways to Engage Parents of ELL Students",

In order to encourage parents to be involved in their child’s school and education schools could offer orientations that focus on multicultural education and how it is incorporated. Library books, articles, and videos about multicultural education should be made available to all parents and family members of the ELL students. There should also be some type of bulletin board made available to families that has notes about upcoming events, workshops, English language classes for adults,

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.