Effective Home-School-

Community Relationships

Chapter 4
Working with Parents
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 it 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?
School Climate and Parent Attitudes
• Are schools inviting places for
parents?

• The Parents Tool Box

 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 and 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
32 percent
system; they don't know how to be involved
Lack of child care 28 percent
Parents feel intimidated 25 percent
Parents are not available during the time
18 percent
school functions are scheduled
Language and cultural differences 15 percent
Lack of transportation 11 percent
Parents don't feel welcome at school 9 percent
Other barriers 21 percent
 Breaking Down Barriers
• How to break the
barriers.
 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 parents 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 to are better. (Henderson and Berla)
• The family makes 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)
• 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.)
• 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

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
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

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

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

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

Collaboration 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 p.152
• 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 in PI
• Facilitator
• Teacher
• Counselor
• Communicator
• Program director
• Interpreter
• Resource developer
 Administrators Role
• School climate – atmosphere in school – reflects the
principal’s leadership style
– school spirit- enthusiasm, morale 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
– 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
• Back to school night • District or school
• Alumni events conferences
• Sharing reading • School projects
• Parent education • PTA
groups • Learning centers
• Parent networks
• Telephone tutor
• School-home activity
packets • Resource room
• School programs & • Libraries
workshops for • Summer vacation
parents activities
Parents as Partners in Education
at Home
• Reading programs
• Health programs
• Civic projects
 Early Contact
• Letters in August to parents
• Neighborhood visits
 Parents as Resources
• Book publishing
• Career day
• Talent sharing