Effective Home-School-Community

Relationships
Where can anyone find an opportunity to impact a
child’s world as easily and as well as in a school
or home, leading children to discover their own
distinct way to grow and develop.

Know you what is to be a child?...

It is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness, to

believe in belief; it is to be so little that the elves
can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn
pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses,
lowness into loftiness, and nothing into
everything, for each child has its fairy godmother
in it own soul. -Thompson, 1988, p. 300.
 Why?
Why don’t schools involve
parents?
 PARENT RESPONSES TO SCHOOLS
 Parents who avoid schools like the plague
 Parents who need encouragement to come
to school
 Parents who readily respond when invited
to school
 Parents who are comfortable and enjoy
involvement in school
 Parents who enjoy power are overly active
 PTA Study: Barriers
BARRIERS PERCENT
Parents do not have enough time 89 percent
Parents feel they have nothing to contribute 32 percent
Parents don’t understand; don’t know the system; they don’t know how to 32 percent
be involved
Lack of child care 28 percent
Parents feel intimidated 25 percent
Parents are not available during the time school functions are scheduled 18 percent
Language and cultural differences 15 percent
Lack of transportation 11 percent
Parents don’t feel welcome at school 9 percent
Other barriers 21 percent
 What do you think?
Williams (1992) found:

 86.8% of teachers believed they

needed parent-involvement training

 92.1% of principals believed they

needed parent-involvement training
 What do you think?
Harris & Associates (1987) found:

 75% of the teachers wanted parent

involvement

 74% of the parents said they wanted

to be involved
 TEACHER-PARENT RELATIONSHIPS
 MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: An Examination
of School Leadership (2005)

 9 of 10 new teachers say it is “very important” to

work with parents when educating their children…
 1 of 4 teachers finds working with parents “very
satisfying”
 7 of 10 parent’s see their child’s teachers as
“adversaries)
 What do you think?

Who is responsible for

initiating and fostering
parent-teacher interaction?
 What do you think?
Epstein, 1986; and Epstein & Dauber 1991:

 Found that teachers who were leaders in parent involvement

practices enabled ALL parents, regardless of parent’s
educational levels to be involved.
 Found that teachers who DID NOT involve parents had
attitudes that stereotyped less-educated single parents and
low socio-economic parents.
 Why Parents Should
 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 are better. (Henderson
and Berla)
 The family makes a critical contributions to student achievement from
pre-school through high school. A home environment that encourages
learning is more important to student achievement than income,
education level or cultural background (Henderson and Berla)
 Why Parents Should
 In 1994, the College Board found that 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.
 When children and parents talk regularly about school, children
perform better academically. (Aston & McLanahan, 1991; Ho & Willms,
1996; Finn, 1993)
 Why Parents Should
 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. (Finn, 1998)
 Parents who read to their children before they enter school give their
children a boost toward reading success. Talking to children about
books and stories read to them also supports reading achievement.
(Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 1996. Developing Engaged
Readers in School and Home Communities. Rahway, N.J.: Author.)
 Why Parents Should
 The earlier that parent involvement begins in a child’s educational
process, the more powerful the effects. (Kathleen Cotton and Karen
Reed Wikelund. “Parent Involvement in Education, “Research You Can
Use. NW Regional Educational Laboratory.)
 Positive results of parental involvement in their children’s schooling
include improved achievement, reduced absenteeism, improved
behavior, and restored confidence among parents in their children’s
schooling. (Institute for Responsive Education. The Home-School
Connection: Selected Partnership Programs in Large Cities.
Boston: Author.)
 SIX TYPES OF SCHOOL FAMILY
1. Parenting: Families must provide for the health and safety of children,
and maintain a home environment that encourages learning and good
behavior in school. Schools provide training and information to help
families understand their children’s development and how to support the
changes they undergo.
 SIX TYPES OF SCHOOL FAMILY
2. Communicating: Schools must reach out to families with information
about school programs and student progress. This includes the
traditional phone calls, report cards, and parent conferences, as well as
new information on topics such as school choice and making the
transition from elementary school to higher grades. Communication must
be in forms that families find understandable and useful for example,
schools can use translators to reach parents who don’t speak English
well and it must be two-way, with educators paying attention to the
concerns and needs of families.
 SIX TYPES OF SCHOOL FAMILY
3. Volunteering: Parents can make significant contributions to the
environment and functions of a school. Schools can get the most out of
this process by creating flexible schedules, so more parents can
participate, and by working to match the talents and interests of parents
to the needs of students, teachers and administrators.
 SIX TYPES OF SCHOOL FAMILY

4. Learning at Home: With the guidance and support of teachers, family

members can supervise and assist their children at home with
homework, assignments and other school-related activities.
 SIX TYPES OF SCHOOL FAMILY

5. Decision-making: Schools can give parents meaningful roles in the

school decision-making process, and provide parents with training and
information so they can make the most of those opportunities. This
opportunity should be open to all segments of the community, not just
people who have the most time and energy to spend on school affairs.
 SIX TYPES OF SCHOOL FAMILY

6. Collaborating with the Community: Schools can help families gain

access to support services offered by other agencies, such as
healthcare, cultural events, tutoring services, and after-school child-care
programs. They also can help families and community groups provide
services to the community, such as recycling programs and food
pantries.
POSSIBLE ROLES FOR PARENTS

 Parents as teachers of their own children

 Parents as spectators
 Parents as temporary volunteers
 Parents as volunteer resources
 Parents as employed resources
 Parents as policy makers
 TEACHER’S ROLE
 Facilitator
 Teacher
 Counselor
 Communicator
 Program director
 Interpreter
 Resource developer
 ADMINSTRATOR’S ROLE
 School climate-atmosphere in school-reflects the principal’s
leadership style
 school spirit-enthusiasm, moral builder, autonomy, enabler,
etc.
 leadership as program designer-if principal recognizes
importance of PI, then…
 parent-principal relationship-opens the doors for many different
parent involvement activities
 ADMINSTRATOR’S ROLE
 program coordinator-teachers may develop creative,
innovative PI for their classroom, but much of this requires
principal’s support
 leadership role in developing site-based management,
advisory councils, and decision-making committees
 Ways to Enhance SHC Relations
 School atmosphere and acceptance of parents
(Does anyone notice you when you enter the school?)
 Open door policy (Come when you want to discuss a problem
with your child?)
 Parent Advisory Councils (Does school have a PAC and who
serves on PAC?)
 Site-Based Management (Are parents involved?)
 Family Center (Is there a room for parents?)
School Activities & Resources
Parents as Partners in Education at Home
Early Contact
Parents as Resources