Family Engagement in Education

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Family

Engagementin Education

Seven Principles

for Success


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Family Engagement in EducationSeven Principles for Success 1

Acknowledgements

W e would like to thank the leaders rom the charter schools across the nation whowe interiewed or this study1. Without their willingness to share their stories, thisguidebook would not oer the richness and authenticity aorded by their experiences.

This guidebook on amily engagement was written by researchers rom the Uniersity

o Southern Caliornias Center on Educational Goernance (CEG). CEG combines

research aimed at building new theories about what makes schools work with action

research and dissemination actiities to spread best practices broadly and deeply. With

this guidebook, we aim to proide useul inormation to the many educators and amily

members across the country who seek ways to work together or the mutual benet o

students, amilies and communities.

The guidebook was created as part o a three-year initiatie, the National Resource

Center on Charter School Finance and Goernance (NRC). The NRC was established

in all 2006 with unding rom the U.S. Department o Educations Oce o Innoation

and Improement (Grant No. U282N060012). The NRC is a collaboratie eort among

USCs Center on Educational Goernance, The Finance Project and WestEd. We thank

the department or its support and acknowledge that the contents o this guidebookdo not necessarily represent the policies o the U.S. Department o Education;

endorsement by the ederal goernment should not be assumed.

We would also like to thank Eileen Ahearn rom the National Association o State

Directors o Special Education, Alice Miller rom the Caliornia Charter Schools

Association and Joe Nathan rom the Center or School Change or proiding insights

and additional examples o amily engagement practices to include. Their eedback

helped strengthen the guidebook in numerous ways and we are grateul or their passionand expertise.

We dedicate this book to the school leaders eerywhere who inuse amily engagement

as undamental to the success o their schools, and to the amily members whose time

and dedication contribute to improing public education.

Joanna Smith, Ph.D., Chuan Ally Kuzin, Kris De Pedro and Priscilla Wohlstetter, Ph.D.

Center on Educational Governance, Rossier School of Education

University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Calif.


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Introduction

F amilies hae helped schools and students in schools across the nation in a numbero ways. Family members help in classrooms, in the school oce, and on eld trips.They tutor students, act as mentors, and translate materials or other amilies. They

raise unds or the school, help write grants, and organize actiities to promote the

school in the community. In the charter school arena, amilies hae helped write charter

applications and sere on charter school goerning boards.

As a school leader, you may be trying to gure out how to engage parents and amilies

in authentic, mutually benecial ways at your school. Doing so has been shown to hae

a range o positie outcomes or students, their amilies, and the schools. Research has

ound that when amilies are inoled with their childs school, the school outperorms

similar schools without amily engagement; teacher morale improes; amily members

rate teachers more highly; and the school has a better relationship with the community2.

IMPROvED

REDUCEDStudent eects Family eects School eects

Dropout rates

Retentions

Special-education

placements

Reluctance to approach

school or needs

Feelings o us s. them

Need to nd olunteers or

school actiities

Student benefts Family benefts School benefts

Grades

Attendance

Attitude/behaior

Homework completion

State test results

Ability to sel-regulate

Social skills

Sel-ecacy

Empowerment

Communication

Collaboration

Ability to problem-sole

Sta morale

Parent Engagement


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Smith, Kuzin, De Pedro and Wohlstetter4

Despite the numerous benets o amily engagement, barriers continue to exist,

particularly or urban, low-income, immigrant, minority and working-class amilies.

Language barriers, work schedules and a sense o disenranchisement hae generally

resulted in lower leels o engagement by working-class parents in urban schools; in

particular, those rom ethnic and racial minorities. At the same time, research shows the

best predictor o urban amily inolement at the K8 leel is what the school does to

promote this inolement. Knowing what to do will help educators be more eectie in

promoting amily engagement.

The growth o the charter public school moement has been seen as an opportunity or

parents and amilies to play a more central role in their childs education. In 15 o the 41

states with charter school legislation, the opportunity or enhanced parent and amily

participation is one purpose behind the adoption o the charter school law. In addition,

many state charter school laws include additional proisions around parent engagement,

such as:

Requiring signatures rom a certain percentage o parents in order to conert a

traditional public school to a charter public school;

Requiring eidence o parent support during the application phase;

Including parent engagement plans in the charter application;

Requiring the schools to be in regular communication with parents;

Giing enrollment preerence to students whose parents were actie during the

application phase;

Requiring schools annually to assess parent satisaction with the school;

Giing parents a ote on decisions related to school closure; and,

Requiring the schools goerning board to include parents.

Although these laws would seem to acilitate amily engagement, a recent study ound

that many charter school leaders struggle to engage amilies, despite the legislatieintent and their own hopes3. With these challenges in mind, and the many benets

associated with amily engagement, researchers rom the Uniersity o Southern

Caliornias Center on Educational Goernance interiewed leaders rom 18 charter

schools across the county with notable amily engagement practicesnominated by the

authorizers who oersee the schoolsin order to identiy strategies or how to inole

amilies in meaningul and inclusie ways.

All school leaders interiewed were rom charter schools, but many o these strategies

are applicable to traditional public schools as well as to independent schools. The aim

o proiding the best educational opportunities or all students is uniersal; nding new

ways to engage amilies can help schools attain that goal. Further, many schools hae


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strong participation rom a small number o amilies: the strategies included here can

help schools moe rom ad hoc inolement to a robust and meaningul set o structures

and processes that enable amily engagement. As you consider your plans and ideas, you

can learn rom others experiences to help guide your practice.

Beore we begin, it is important to note that the term amily engagement

encompasses a wide range o actiities conducted at the school, at home and in the

community and is oten called parent or amily inolement. We use the term amily

engagement to include anything that better prepares students to learn, and amilies and

schools support o that learning.

The school leaders we interiewed reported a range o amily engagement actiities,

but elt that more important than any specic actiity were the strategies used to oster

high leels o participation. Rather than adopting a i you build it , they will come

approach, the school leaders in our study attributed their success to their methods o

making parents and other amily members eel welcome at the school, proiding multiple

opportunities or amilies to get inoled, and enabling participation rom amilies who

juggle the many responsibilities and pressures o work and amily. This guidebook

ocuses thereore on strategies or engagement, not specic actiities.

Specically, this guidebook explores the ollowing seen amily engagement principles:

These principles emerged rom our interiews with leaders rom charter schools around

the countryand we know they work because they come straight rom the schools

that use them. We hope their experiences help you create opportunities to engage the

amilies o all children at your school in meaningul eorts to benet children, amilies,

schools and communities.

Principle One: Be Prepared

Principle Two: Be Respectul

Principle Three: Be Specic

Principle Four: Be StrategicPrinciple Five: Be Flexible

Principle Six: Be Creatie

Principle Seven: Be Collaboratie


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Principle One

Be Prepared


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Be Prepared

T he rst step in ostering amily engagementis understanding that the school can hae amajor positie impact on participation. For example,

Minnesota New Country School in Henderson, Minn.

starts eery school year with indiidual student-

amily-aculty conerences to plan or the upcoming

year, to learn more about the student and amily, and

to insure that the ery rst contact between home

and school is a positie one. Questions asked in these

conerences include:

What are major things the student and amilya.

did in the summer?

What is one thing the student wants to learnb.

this coming year?

What is a major priority or the amily, in termsc.

o what this student needs to work on in the

coming year?

What is one thing that the amily can do to helpd.the school?

Starting o by building rapport between the school and

amily helps establish a spirit o collaboration. Some

amilies ace numerous challenges when it comes to

getting inoled, howeer. Schools should be prepared

to meet and address these challenges. Preparation or

amily engagement includes the ollowing strategies:Address language barriers;

Proide amilies with resources and

support; and,

Utilize a amily coordinator.

Many schools communicate primarily in English, while

their students amilies may not. Language barriers

are one o the most common hindrances to parent

engagement, but also one o the easiest to bridge.

Translating materials sent home into the amilies

Address LanguageBarriers


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natie language and proiding translators or school

meetings is an easy yet powerul solution. Family

members, teachers, or een students can act as

translators, minimizing the cost to the school. As one

principal reported, We hae a newsletter that goes

to the parents once a week, which is translated into

six languages. Another principal described the use o

headsets during school meetings so that interpreters

can do real-time translation. Other schools tailor

their oicemail messages and e-mails to the amilies

natie languages.

Addressing language barriers not only ensures better

communication but also allows dialogue between the

school and amilies about how best to support student

learning. At the beginning o the school year, Donoghue

Elementary Schools sta conducts a needs assessment

and an asset assessment with amilies. Not only do they

nd out what they can do to support the amilies but

they also learn ways in which amilies can support theschool. Similarly, other charter schools surey parents

(in the parents home language) at the start o the year

to determine their aailability in order to plan meetings

and actiities.

Once you are able to communicate better with parents,

you may nd some struggle to meet their childrensbasic needs. In response, seeral o the schools we

studied oered wrap around serices. [I amilies]

hae housing needs or ood needs, we proide them,

said the leader o a charter school started by a social

serice proider. Some schools hold discussions on

topics releant to amilies needs, such as qualiying or

home loans, setting up a college saings plan, resum

writing, interiewing skills, disciplining children, and

creating the necessary enironment at home or

homework. As one principal noted, Wee ound that

just haing a space where parents can communicate

Provide Families with

Resources and Support


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their needs with other parents has been a really

ital resource. This also helps the amily members

become more comortable in their childrens school

enironment, encouraging their engagement and

increasing their sel-ecacy.

Seeral schools oer GED, English as a second language,

college-credit and parenting classes or amilies ater

school hours. One principal described a book study

created by the school that ocused on parenting

techniques: We hae gotten one o our Hmong sta

people who will be acilitating the Hmong group, and

well also hae a group thats in Spanish, and an English

group, and were going to be oering seeral nights

when amilies can come in to discuss arious portions o

the book. Another principal described the opportunity

or networking: So many new amilies hae moed

into the neighborhood, and so the school has really

become a hub to answer questions like, How do I nd

a good grocery store? What are the child care optionsater the school day? Seeral schools in the study also

proide transportation to school meetings and oer

child care and meals to increase the accessibility o

engagement opportunities.

Proiding amilies with resources and support can

be acilitated by utilizing a amily coordinator. Familycoordinators, also called amily liaisons, come in arious

maniestations. Some schools include in their operating

budget a designated sta member to sere as the point

person between the school and amilies. Other schools

nd a olunteer who is willing and able to sere in

that role. One school in our study splits the position

among teachers and assigns bilingual teachers to

amilies with specic language needs in order to proide

support accordingly.

Utilize a Family

Coordinator

We have gotten one of our

Hmong staff people who will

be facilitating the Hmong

group, and well also have agroup thats in Spanish, and

an English group, and were

going to be offering several

nights when families can

come in to discuss various

portions of the book.


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Question: What is the family coordinators role in facilitating familyengagement at your school?

A: In the past, parents were

able to get together once

a month, but we really elt

like it was important to hae

somebody on our sta who

was a parent who could

be the liaison between the

school itsel and the parents.

So last year we budgeted

a position or a parent

coordinator.

A: Our parent coordinatorhas been essential in

that it is somebody who

can relate to parents,

who understands that

some parents need to be

working, that they may

not be able to make it [to

school eents] and who

can accommodate that.

A: I know its a luxury to hae somebody whose sole position is

dedicated to parent engagement, but its great to hae somebody

who part o their time can be dedicated to that, to really getting

parents inoled, and somebody who is a parent hersel, who can

relate to the diculties and challenges that parents are acing.

A: The parent coordinator really acts

as an adocate or parents to come

and be part o their kids education by

encouraging parents to olunteer at

the school. We hae a lot o school-

wide eents that happen during the

day and in the eenings where we need

a lot o olunteers, and so the parent

coordinator does a lot o outreach to

parents to get them to come in and

olunteer or those eents. And that

person does a lot o communication:

newsletters and things like that that go

home to amilies.

A: She is a critical link to the amilies,and shes critical in helping us to build

relationships with them. The parents

all trust her and loe her; shes been

working in that position since we

started this school in 2002, and so that

is one o the reasons why parents eel

comortable being inoled.


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Generally speaking, the purpose o a amily coordinator

is to be the bridge between the school and amilies by

actiely seeking parent input and participation rather

than hoping parents will approach the school on

their own. This persons responsibilities may include

conducting a needs assessment, creating aenues or

amily members to get inoled at the school, tracking

participation, and creating opportunities to meet the

needs o both the school and the amilies. In order

or the amily coordinator to be eectie, he or she

must understand the community being sered and be

committed to building lasting relationships with amilies.

Seeral schools we studied noted that the importance

o the amily-coordinator role merits inesting in

comprehensie, ongoing training so that they are

eectie communicators with amilies and hae a clear

understanding o their role.

In some cases, schools opt to hae room parents in

addition to or instead o a amily coordinator. Roomparents are more directly connected with the needs o

one classroom; they may be present in the classroom

or a ew hours a week or help out daily. As one

school leader described, Something that wee tried

to start this year is room parents, and its just an idea

o haing parents in each classroom that teachers can

really reach out to in order to help build the culture o

the classroom.


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Spotlight on Room Parents

The principal at Dolores Huerta Learning Academy described the approach o haing

room parents at their school:

Q: Tell me about room parents at your school.

A: We call them parent leaders and we hae them in all grades, K8. The parent

leaders in each classroom are in charge o collaborating with the teacher. I its

a lower grade, say K3, the parent leaders help prepare the snacks, they help

the teachers with eld trips, they organize bake sales, and one parent leader in

each classroom participates and collaborates with the rest o the parents in the

classroom. Eery classroom has a monthly meeting to talk about dierent issues

they hae in the classroom, so we encourage our parents to be leaders in each

classroom: Thats why we call them parent leaders.

Q: Is there more than one parent leader per classroom?

A: We limit it to two parents per room. Sometimes we hae three or our and its

hard to manage. Eerybody wants to be a leader!

Q: How oten do the parent leaders change?A: It changes eery school year, or i its needed in a particular classroom, say the

other parents not able to participate any more, then we change during the school

year, but we try to keep the parent leaders or a year.


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Principle Two

Be Respectul


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Be Respectul

Many schools, especially in urban areas, sere diersestudent populations. Their amilies hae a ariety ocultural backgrounds. Oten these amilies speak a language

other than English in the home, celebrate unique cultural

traditions, and hae arious leels o access to proessional

and nancial opportunities. In order to acilitate their

engagement, school administrators and sta should be

aware and respectul o potential cultural, socioeconomic

and linguistic dierences. When schools respect amily

backgrounds, they create a link between school and home.

Schools in our study acilitate respectul relationships with

amilies primarily through our strategies:

Hae an open door policy;

Reach out to high need amilies;

value amilies cultural backgrounds; and,

Utilize amily input.

A common barrier to participation rom some amilies is

the perception that student learning is solely the domain

o school personnel. Some amilies hold a cultural

perspectie that they should deer to the teacher in all

academic matters. Other amilies deelop the eeling

through preious school experiences that classrooms

are simply o limits to isits or obserations. Family

members who struggled themseles as students mayiew their childs school as a place where they are

unlikely to t in or eel welcome.

Schools can remoe these inisible barriers between

amilies and the school by welcoming amilies while

respecting their attitudes and belies. One principal

stressed, Parents are encouraged to come sit in a

class and obsere. Not only does this allow amily

members to watch their children participate in

classroom actiities, it proides them inormal ace-

to-ace interactions with teachers and administrators.

Have an OpenDoor Policy


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This can help wary parents become more comortable

establishing long-lasting relationships with school

personnel, as well as other amilies. Thus, as amily

members become more comortable naigating their

school community, they are more likely to participate in

school eents. As one principal noted, The one thing

that we tell all o our parents is ater the third time

youe come to obsere, were gonna put you to work.

Some school personnel mistakenly beliee that a amily

which does not respond to requests rom teachers is

simply uninterested in their childs education. In these

cases, school personnel may not realize the possible

socioeconomic and linguistic barriers to participation.

For instance, some amilies do not hae phone lines

due to limited nancial circumstances. Some parents

do not read or write in their natie languages, while

other parents work multiple jobs or hours that make

attendance at eents during business hours dicult.Whether or not a amily member eels comortable

participating, the logistics may be extremely challenging.

To address this challenge, some schools utilize home

isits as a way to reach high need amilies. One

principal commented, We do home isits since there

are a handul o amilies that are hard to communicate

with due to certain barriers that they ace. In anothercase, teachers at a Chicago area school isit amilies

ater school and on weekends to share their childs

success with them, to help them deelop strategies to

assist their children with homework assignments, and

to encourage them to participate in school actiities to

support their childrens academic achieement.

Home isits establish a link with high need amilies,

who otherwise may nd any engagement with the

school dicult. A home isit also demonstrates that

each amily is an integral part o the school community

Reach Out to High

Need Families

A home visit demonstrates

that each family is an

integral part of the school

community and showsthat the school is willing

to put in the extra effort

to include every family

in its childs education.


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Supporting English Language Learner Families

English Language Learners, the largest growing segment o the student population, hae

increased in all states oer the last 20 years. To better integrate these amilies, schools can:

Support the implementation o traditional parent engagement programs that are

culturally releant and linguistically appropriate;

Fund the implementation o non-traditional parent engagement programs that

refect a reciprocal engagement in the school/parent community;

Support the proessional preparation o teachers who can identiy community

unds o knowledge or curricular deelopment and school outreach;

Support community-based education programs that inorm parents about

school alues and expectations and work with parents to help them become

adocates or their children.

Source: http://epicpolicy.org/publication/promoting-ell-parental-inolement-challenges-contested-times


and shows that the school is willing to put in the extra

eort to include eery amily in its childs education.

This gies amilies the understanding that their

engagement is a necessary part o a successul and

thriing school community.

The schools in our study recognize dierse cultural andlinguistic backgrounds as aluable resources. These

resources can be used toward students academic

achieement. One principal noted that natie language

instruction is essential or success in our increasingly

global society. Thus, the school runs a home language

deelopment program through which students acquire

a second language. To acilitate this program, the school

hired and trained members o the parent community

to become home language tutors. According to the

principal, The home language program is an important

component o our amily inolement, not only that wee

Value Families CulturalBackgrounds
http://epicpolicy.org/publication/promoting-ell-parental-involvement-challenges-contested-timeshttp://epicpolicy.org/publication/promoting-ell-parental-involvement-challenges-contested-times


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brought on and hired parents and amily members, but

also in that the program itsel alues the home culture

and the home language. In states where there is a

moement away rom bilingual education towards English

immersion, the tacit message can leae non-English

speaking amilies with the expectation that their children

should leae their home language and culture at their

doorsteps. A home language program and other parent-

run resource programs communicate the opposite, that

home language and home culture are alued and seen as

resources that can help improe student outcomes.

The needs o dierse student bodies can oerwhelm

schools i they beliee they hae to take on the

challenge by themseles. In contrast , some schools in

this study hae actie amily groups that meet weekly or

monthly to assess school needs and determine how they

can contribute. For example, at Community Montessori,

amily members can sere on one o six dierentcommittees, including publicity and acility management.

The school oers parent workshops and trainings

specic to the committee on which they sere.

At another school, the principal reported that the

school created parent groups to address specic school

or amily needs. One group o parents meets regularly

to talk about, plan, and make suggestions to schoolpersonnel regarding the transition rom elementary

to middle school. Another group o parents tackles

the arious needs o their special education students.

A uture parent group will address the challenges that

their children ace in math.

These need-oriented groups oer amily members a

chance to orm relationships with other amilies. In

addition, it helps amilies see more clearly their role as

problem solers in their school community.

Utilize Family Input

The home language program

is an important component

of our family involvement, not

only that weve brought onand hired parents and family

members, but also in that the

program itself values the home

culture and the home language.


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Principle Three

Be Specifc


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Be Specifc

S chools should not assume that amilies know howto get inoled; parents oten need ideas or whatthey can do to support their childrens education. The

schools we studied made explicit the amily engagement

expectations through three main strategies:

Incorporate amily engagement into the

schools mission;

Proide amily orientations; and,

Utilize parent contracts.

As noted earlier, seeral state charter schools laws

include increasing parent engagement as one purpose

o the law. Similarly, seeral o the study schools

mission statements mention the importance o amilies

and community. For example, Erie Charter Schools

mission includes the desire to oster a community

where students, parents and educators work togetherto deelop children who are condent in their culture

and ethnic origin, bi-literate in Spanish and English.

Community Montessoris mission notes the aim o

proiding amilies a ehicle to learn cooperatiely, hae

un, and promote peace with their children. Donoghue

Elementarys mission includes the goal to proide

academic and social support by oering community

programming or student and amilies beyond theschool day.

Many school leaders we interiewed emphasized the

importance o proiding a amily orientation beore

their child begins at the school. This orientation oten

includes the mission and philosophy o the charter

school, the academic program, and non-academic

aspects o the school. At the San Carlos Charter

Learning Center, new amilies are paired with current

amilies or a buddy system. Eery amily has

Incorporate FamilyEngagement into theSchools Mission

Provide FamilyOrientations


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another amily to turn to with questions and to guide

them through the orientation process. Students are

also paired with buddies to help them acclimate to

the school.

A detailed orientation proides amilies not only with

an understanding o the mission and operations o the

school but includes them as partners in their childs

education. One school leader said, We really eel like

thats a big part o our success, parents really talk on

and on about how welcome they eel, about how we

meet parents exactly where they are, and nd ways

that they can be engaged in educating their kids. Some

schools create a catalog o opportunities or amily

engagement, which is shared at this orientation.

A parent contract is an agreement between the school

and the amily that outlines the expectations or amily

engagement. While some contracts include schoolsresponsibility towards amilies, most detail what amilies

are expected to do to support their child and the

school. These contracts are generally not enorceable,

that is, charter school laws in many states prohibit

charter schools rom using contracts as a requirement

or enrollment or noncompliance as a means or

dismissing a student. Rather, charter schools tend to use

contracts to clariy the amily engagement expectations.

Parent contracts oer a medium where specic

requirements, namely what amilies are expected to do

with their child and how to do it, are spelled out. As

the principal at one school noted, One o the things

that we mandate is that our parents read or 45 minutes

a night with their children and check homework,

and thats regardless o the academic experience or

academic leel that the parents may hae. We can gie

you the help to help your kids, and thats something, as

Utilize Parent Contracts


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Point-Counterpoint: The Pros and Cons of Parent Contracts

Pro: The parents commit to get their kids to school on time eery day;

to bringing them in uniorm eery day; and to helping them with

their homework eery night. The students and teachers make similar

commitments, so each party is accountable.

Con: It requires time and energy to keep track o the hours parents

spend olunteering, and oten enorcement o the parent contract is

not possible.

Pro: This strategy proides schools with resources (the parents) and allows

parents to participate in their childrens education.

Con: Some schools nd that mandating olunteer hours through a parent

contract does not align with the schools philosophy. They preer building

a community that encourages parent engagement without requiring it.

Once you say its a requirement, it deeats the purpose o encouraging the

parents and teaching them the importance o being inoled.

Pro: A contract denes expectations or parents and requires accountability on

the part o parents to participate in their childs education.


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a school, that were managing our resources so that that

can happen.

As part o the Accelerated School model, community

members work in a cadre and are charged with,

among other things, monitoring that amilies areullling the terms o the parent contract: amilies

monitoring amilies.

Although parent contracts may help spell out amily

engagement expectations, they are not without their

detractors (see Point-Counterpoint).

One of the things that

we mandate is that our

parents read for 45 minutes

a night with their children

and check homework. . . .

We can give you the help

to help your kids, and thats

something, as a school, that

were managing our resources

so that that can happen.

Whats in your schools parent contract?

We hae a contract or the new amilies that enroll here that says they need to

olunteer 40 hours during the school year.

The parents hae to sign a compact that they will be inoled in the actiities o the

school and in the education o their children. Now there are some pretty obious

things, like they hae to attend at least one parent/teacher conerence per year, but

we hae all sorts o eents also that are aailable or parents to not simply meet, but

network and create that community we keep talking about.

Basically that they will make sure that their child does their homework and reads or

20 minutes eery eening. . . . Theyre expected to hae their kids in uniorm and agree

to help enorce the school-wide honor code and core alues.

It species the number o hours parents are required to be inoled with school

actiities whether at the school or at home.


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Principle Four

Be Strategic


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Be Strategic

B eing strategic about amily engagement meanspurposeul planning, not just hoping it willoccur naturally. One way to do this is to schedule

opportunities or engagement on a ariety o days and

at dierent times, allowing or, as one leader explained,

dierent opportunities where the parents are gien a

really meaningul way to participate in the lie o their

childs education. In addition, amilies oten benet

rom being trained in how best to help their child at

home. This section discusses two strategic strategies:

Schedule strategically to increase

participation; and,

Proide training or amily members.

The school leaders in our study stressed the need to

be strategic in scheduling meetings and eents at the

school. For example, one principal noted, You hae tothink about a lot o dierent things when youre thinking

about scheduling such as making sure you can proide

child care so that the amilies can attend a workshop,

haing dierent workshops or dierent opportunities

at dierent times o the day, and on dierent days o

the week. Our amilies ace a lot o challenges, and one

o the things that Ie seen in the six years Ie been

here is that when we gie amilies the opportunity,they will be inoled in their childrens education. But

I think that you hae to make sure that youre thinking

critically about all o the dierent obstacles and barriers

or the amilies you sere, and make sure that youre

thinking about those proactiely so that you can create

multiple entry points or amilies. Another school

leader echoed this: One o the things that we did

in our opening year was we had community-building

Saturdays where amilies came and literally helped build

the school. They put urniture together, they painted,

they cleaned; a lot o those things happened because

Schedule Strategicallyto Increase

Participation


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You have to make sure

that youre thinking critically

about all of the different

obstacles and barriers for the

families you serve, and make

sure that youre thinkingabout those proactively so

that you can create multiple

entry points for families.

they were on a Saturday, and parents were able to make

it. So otentimes you as a school hae to extend aboe

and beyond your eight-hour school day to reach out to

those parents.

Parent-teacher conerences are an important aenue or

amily engagement at any school because they proide

the opportunity or amily members and teachers to

discuss student progress, address any concerns, and

nd solutions to problems. It is a time or amilies

and teachers to communicate their mutual goals and

expectations. It is also a challenge in many schools

to attract amilies to attend these conerences and,

unortunately, it is oten the amily members o children

who most need to be supported that do not attend.

As such, schools in our study make extra eorts to get

amilies to attend these meetings. For example, one

charter school administrator said, Our conerences

were last Thursday and Friday, and today we had a

parent who doesnt hae transportation, and she calledme this morning and said, I could take the bus this

morning and bring my son to school, would it be okay

or me to meet with his teacher then? Being willing to

accommodate amilies schedules helps this school, like

many in our study, achiee high rates o participation in

parent-teacher conerences.

Another charter leader noted, We hae our parent/teacher conerences a year, and rom the ery beginning

wee had the expectation o 100 percent attendance,

and were pretty relentless at that, and last year or

three out o the our parent/teacher conerences we

had 100 percent attendance. We hae two nights o

conerences, and we tell them well in adance, and

they know that theyre expected to come, and i they

dont come, were pretty persistent in calling them or

showing up at their house, or what hae you. So thats

taken a little bit o time to deelop within our culture;

I always had pretty good attendance in the beginning,


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Id say between probably 75 and 85 percent, but we

kept driing that whole point home, and as they became

more comortable at the school, and realized that it

wasnt a scary experience or them, it was easier.

Another school reported attaining 100 percent

participation at parent-teacher meetings by eeding

amilies: We had potlucks where each amily

contributed and elt their contribution was alued.

In another case, a district in which attendance at

parent night was less than 20 percent oered to send

school buses to neighborhoods to bring amilies to

the meetings. The buses remained almost empty, but

attendance reached 90 percent; once amilies realized

the district was serious about wanting them to attend,

they made the eort to do so.

Another strategy to increase turnout at conerences is

to gie students a more actie role in the conerence

hearing about their childs progress rom the childsperspectie, rather than just the teachers, can motiate

a amily to attend. At Amy Biehl High School, or

example, conerences are called amily meetings and

are student-directed; the student is the acilitator, taking

an actie role in directing conersation rather than

being the topic o conersation. During the meetings,

held at the school during the eening, each amily meets

with the dean and an adisor who has been trained bya social worker. Together they discuss the students

strengths and areas he or she needs to improe. I the

student is haing diculty, the discussion is a way or

the student, amily members, and sta to begin working

on a plan to address the issue4.

In some cases, meetings are held at community centers,

churches, mosques or other places where amilies eel

comortable, rather than requiring them to come to

the school.


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Views Around Town

How do you get amilies to attend meetings?

I think also realizing that you hae to extend

your hours; sometimes you do hae hold

meetings at six oclock or come in on a

Saturday to get that parent engagement.

Well keep hounding them, well say,

Oh, well, you missed the conerence.

Now thats no problem, just come on

in, make an appointment to look at

your childs work, thats one-on-one,

since you couldnt come to the big

eent. We also dene amily broadly,

so it doesnt hae to be the parents,well hae an auntie who comes to

an eent because the parents are

both working, and thats ne, thats

great: one more person in the amily

that knows about the education o

that child.

By combining amily conerences with meals and communityinormation sessions. This means that amilies can come to the

conerences, share a hot meal, and learn more about community

resources. You can do this by initing a ariety o community

groups to come into the school on the nights o the conerences

and hae them pass out material. Sometimes local restaurants will

contribute ood or these eents, in exchange or the school proiding

inormation about the restaurant to their amilies.

We are ery fexible about scheduling meetings, and I do think we

go the extra mile, een to the point o going to the home rather than

haing them come here i it really doesnt work or them to come here.

And doing isits oer the phone i it just isnt gonna work that year or

them to hae a home isit or to come in. . . . Well do whateer it takes

to be in touch with those parents.

We ask them when is the

best time, and then we kindo base it on history too, like

well see, OK, this wasnt well

attended, and well do that

type o analysis.


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The school leaders we spoke with stressed that schools

shouldnt expect that amilies hae the condence or

experience to support their child academically. We

ound that schools hae increased amily engagement

by training amily members to support their child

academically, to participate in school decision-making

and to use technology.

For example, one charter school leader said, We hae

amily learning nights that are dedicated to dierent

grade-leel teachers, with dierent sessions to help

amilies know how to help their child with math or

with literacy at home. Most o our parents didnt

graduate high school themseles, and so getting them

to understand what this education system looks like is

the rst step. . . . It is important or them to understand

what our curriculum is and how they can support their

children. Similarly, another leader noted, Eery month

we hae a curriculum night, and so thats an opportunity

or parents to come in with their children and beengaged initially in a description o the curriculum and

the expectations . . . to spend a night in the seat o

your child. For math night, parents actually do the math

work that their children do, so there are math games

that the children and their parents participate in. For

literacy night, its the same kind o thing; we really walk

the parents through a pretty comprehensie experience

o what literacy looks like at the school. Same thing orscience, same or character education, same or art .

At another school, when they registered their child,

amilies were asked about their access to computers.

The school proided reurbished computers or those

amilies without access to technology. The school then

oered technology training sessions so that amilies

would be more comortable using the technology.

Provide Training forFamily Members


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Several organizations have information available that can be givento families as part of their training.

The Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins

Uniersity, directed by Joyce Epstein, houses the National Network o Partnership

Schools (NNPS), a proessional deelopment organization that proides tools, trainingand materials to enable school, district and state leaders to plan, implement, ealuate

and improe their programs and practices o school, amily and community partnerships.

For more on the NNPS, isit: http://www.csos.jhu.edu/P2000/index.htm

The Deelopmental Studies Center, ounded in the San Francisco area, has produced

materials in English and Spanish that can be gien to amilies as part o training, in grades

K6, to help children at home. For more on the Deelopmental Studies Center, isit:

http://destu.org

Using a Parent-Student-Teacher Journal to Engage Parents

A high school English teacher at The Equity Project (TEP) Charter School in New York

launched a collaboratie journaling project.

On Fridays, students write or 10 minutes on a gien topic and then bring their writing

home to their parents. Oer the weekend, the parents add to the journal, responding to

their childrens writing or writing something new. The teacher responds to each o the

journals by the ollowing Friday.

With a population o nearly 100 students, this was an arduous task or me, but

certainly one o the most ruitul and rewarding o my career, the teacher said. On

aerage, 85 percent o parents completed the assignment weekly, including parents who

spoke English as a second language.

The parent journal sered to increase communication between parents and their

children, and helped create an academic enironment in their homes.

For more on this, see: http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=15717
http://www.csos.jhu.edu/P2000/index.htmhttp://devstu.org/http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=15717http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=15717http://devstu.org/http://www.csos.jhu.edu/P2000/index.htm


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In another case, Pacic Collegiate School sponsors

approximately 17 amily education eents each year,

using both outside and in-house experts rom the

school and amily population. The programs ocus on

topics (e.g., child deelopment, school goernance, and

education reorm) that help prepare amily members to

sere in decision-making roles at the school. This has

resulted in almost 15,000 hours o amily serice.

Every month we have

a curriculum night, and

so thats an opportunity

for parents . . . tospend a night in the

seat of your child.


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Principle Five

Be Flexible


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Be Flexible

Charter schools that hae successul amilyengagement programs proide a ariety oengagement opportunities or amilies to maximize

their participation. Being fexible also means proiding a

range o ways to meet participation requirements and, i

expectations o engagement are not met, working with

amilies to nd a mutually agreeable solution. Schools in

this study used the ollowing strategies to be fexible:

Oer a ariety o amily engagement

opportunities;

Proide a range o ways or amilies to meet

participation requirements; and,

Incorporate leeway into amily

engagement requirements.

A ariety o amily engagement opportunities were

oered at each o the charter schools in this study.According to one principal, We try to hae a ariety

o opportunities or parents to be inoled, whether

its helping out in the oce or coming on a special

eent and getting to see their kids at school, or haing

lunch with their children, or coming on a eld trip

as a chaperone, or participating in tutoring. We also

hae a pretty actie PTA, and they do a lot o actiities

on the weekends to raise money to plan trips or thekids. Not only do the charter schools we studied oer

a plethora o engagement actiities, they also create

fexibility by extending these actiities to the weekends.

Family members who are busy working during the week

might attend a community-building eent that inoles

cleaning the school grounds on the weekend.

Offer a Variety of

Family EngagementOpportunities


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Some charter schools require a minimum number o

olunteer hours rom amilies, as noted in the Be

Specic section. For some amilies, this proides a clear

expectation and oers ideas o ways to get inoled.

For others, the requirement may seem restrictie and

demanding. Being fexible with how and when amilies

ulll their required hours and proiding a remedy

instead o a penalty may yield the best results.

Manzanita Charter School encourages parents to bring

extended amily members to a olunteering eent;

each amily members participation counts toward the

total hours required. Not only do amilies meet their

participation requirements this way, they also build a

stronger community by working together. This last

work party, we had a need to moe a great big copier,

and to do some work to set up the oce Im sitting

in, Manzanitas principal said. Two older brothers o

an incoming student came in and it was just amazing

to watch them, theyre moing this gigantic copier, andgetting it set up and they were moing like the wind,

getting amazing things done, and just whipping around

with tools. . . . Its so gratiying to see the whole amily

working at it.

Een with fexibility in how amilies can meet their

engagement requirements, some amilies may struggleto do so. At Dolores Huerta Learning Academy, or

example, amilies are allowed to make a donation in

place o their required olunteer hours. The donation

can include supplies or the classroom or a snack

or the students. This policy allows amilies who are

unable to proide the hours required to contribute in a

dierent way.

At Partnership Academy, the contract is not the rule o

law. When asked about what happens i amilies do not

ulll their contract, the school leader said, We would

Provide a Range ofWays for Families toMeet Participation

Requirements

Incorporate

Leeway into FamilyEngagementRequirements


36/60


probably sit down and hae some urther discussion

with them, but the contracts really not that enorceable

and i they dont show up or one conerence, I dont

pull out the contract and say, Hey look, you signed this

and now youre not here. I will let them know i theyre

the only parent that hasnt shown up or conerences.

Ill tell them that. Ill say, Hey, eery other amily in this

school has shown up, and youre the last ones, I need

you to come. So we will use those tactics i necessary.

Another charter school proides a waier policy or

unoreseen circumstances where amilies are unable to

ulll their expected engagement. The principal gies an

example o a amily that aced both immigration issues

and the mothers cancer diagnosis: That sounds to me

like waier material, so they ll out the orm and they

tell about whats going on in their lies that make the

hours dicult or impossible. . . We tend to be pretty

compassionate.


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Principle Six

Be Creative


38/60


Be Creative

S chools are oten orced to operate under tightbudget restrictions. In many schools, amilyengagement becomes a secondary priority since it is

oten perceied as an extra that can be sacriced or

core aspects o the schools operation. The schools in

our study hae deeloped creatie strategies to engage

amilies by using minimal resources and physical space.

Some hae gone urther by utilizing amily members

as resources to ulll major needs in the schools

operations and academic programs. In addition, the

schools hae ound that proiding an incentie promotes

greater participation. The schools in this study showed

creatiity by adopting the ollowing strategies:

Dedicate a space in the school to amilies;

Oer incenties or participation;

Assign responsibilities to amilies; and,

Use technology.

Some schools hae designated amily centers where

amily members can gather or meetings, nd out

inormation about eents and actiities, utilize school

resources such as computers or curriculum guides, and

where aailable, speak to a amily coordinator. At these

centers, amilies can plan and run eents, and orge

relationships with each other, school personnel andstudents. The principal at Donoghue Elementary noted

that designating a space or amilies has shaped the

culture o the school, where amily engagement, like

curriculum and instruction, is central to the success o

the school community.

Without the luxury o extra classroom or oce space

to dedicate to a amily center, some o the schools

in our study hae ound other ways to utilize existing

spaces or amily engagement. At one school, school

personnel hae dedicated a bulletin board to the

Dedicate a Space inthe School to Families


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Views Around Town: Lets Talk Family Centers

Q: Do you have a amily center? How is it used?

A: Our on-site Family Center is a one-stop shop o health and social serices. It

proides amilies with basic needs (clothing, ood), drop-in counseling, prenatal

care, amily literacy, amily actiities, inter-group bridging, adult education classes,

job reerrals and a host o social serice programs proided in collaboration with

agencies. Families accessing serices rom the Center must gie back ia our

Parent Exchange Serice Bank. Reciprocal serices include classroom tutoringand olunteering at the Center. The ocus is on hands-up, not handouts.

A: In a way, I think that our parents eel

comortable eerywhere. I I were to

walk outside during lunch and snap a

ew pictures, youd see probably 10 to15 parents in eery shot. So theres not

a special place or them to go, but its

kind o like its all theirs.

A: Were in the middle o creating

a parent resource room, where

parents can come and use a

computer, can come and get

some inormation or do some

research i they need to. Right

now our library is open to

parents also to come and pick

books out with their kids. So

we denitely encourage parents

to come and spend time here,

but we dont hae a centralized

place where they specically

go yet.

A: We used to hae a parent

center, but since we needed

the classroom space it is no

longer there. But I like that

parents just walk around the

school and not just spend

time in that one room.

A: When we rst opened the school in

2005, we identied a designated room

that became our parent center, and so

that helped shape the culture o our

school. Parents hae this designated

room that is or them. Theres a

parent actually that we hired to help

coordinate actiities inside that room,

and that made a big dierence. Its a

place where parents can come in, they

can access technology, they can access

curriculum resources, and its a place

where they can meet one-on-one with

teachers. We hold meetings in the

parent center related to curriculum or

social supports that parents may need.


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successes o amilies, spotlighting amily-run eents

and celebrating students whose amily members drop

them o at school on time. Other schools see their

classrooms as shared spaces. During ater school

instructional hours at one school, amilies routinely use

classrooms or meetings, workshops, and other amily-

oriented eents.

Ideally, amilies see engagement as a un and rewarding

experience, not as a burden. Neertheless, many o the

schools in our study hae ound that creating incenties

or reluctant or hard-to-reach amilies is an eectie

strategy to maximize participation.

The schools we studied iew amilies as aluable

resources that support the inner workings o the school

community. Principals and teachers in our study hae

gien amilies responsibilities in operations and academicsupport: serices that many school budgets struggle to

coer. When taking on responsibilities in classrooms

and operations, amilies play a more integral role in the

success o the school community. At a meeting with the

principal o one school, or example, amily members

expressed concern that students were crossing the

street without adult superision. The amilies oered

to sere as crossing guards at the end o the school day.Families also lead beautication eorts and routinely

clean the school buildings, since the school can not

aord a janitorial sta. The principal noted, They keep

an eye on the community. They notice things in the

community that the teachers and I ail to notice. Their

input and their concerns are all incredibly helpul.

Offer Incentivesfor Participation

Assign Responsibilitiesto Families


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Lets Talk Incentives

What types o incentives do you use to increase amily engagement?

We oten need parents to ll out sureys so

that we can assess their specic needs, so wepick a time o day when parents are here and

not in a rush. They can take their time and they

enjoy the incenties that come along with the

surey like a rafe. Incenties are always a good

way to make parent participation un.

We make sure that we distribute

important student documents to

parents in person. This gies them

a motiation to come to parentconerences and talk one-on-

one with teachers in detail about

their childs academic progress.

We distribute report cards at

conerences, and parents come

because they want to reiew the

report cards; they hae the added

bonus o talking to teachers in

person about how to ensure

academic success in the short- and

long-term.

We put up pictures o

amilies in our ront hall,

showing them helping

out the school in arious

ways. We call this the

Family Hall o Fame.

We dont punish students i their parents ail to make their

commitments. We try to create incenties to encourage parents to

ollow school policies. For example, we try to come up with ways

to incentiize being on time, so right now we hae a competition.

We made a big poster board thats in the ront oce. Each class is

competing to see which class gets to 10 days o perect on-time rst,

and that class gets a party. So, when the parents walk in with their

children ater school starts and one class had eeryone present on

time except or one child, it not only makes parents think that they

should bring their child to school on time, but also that they need toactiely support school policies. These types o attitudes trickle into

other school eents when parent engagement is needed.

At the parent meetings, we gie ree dress passes to the students

whose parents show up to meetings. This has worked or years, and

the great part is that students play a role in parent engagement.


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50 Ways Families Can Help Schools

Share inormation with a student or class about a hobby.1.

Share inormation with a student or a class about a career.2.

Share inormation with students about a country where you isited or lied.3.

Tutor one or a small group o students in reading, math or other area.4.

Help coach an athletic team.5.

Help check a students written work.6.

Help put out a school or classroom newsletter.7.

Help sew or paint a display.8.

Help build something or the school.9.

Help students work on a nal exhibition or project.10.

Help answer the schools phone.11.

Help plan a new playground or the school.12.

Help plan a theme-based presentation or students.13.

Help present a theme-based program or students.14.

Demonstrate cooking rom a particular country or culture to students.15.

Share a particular expertise with aculty.16.

Help students plan and build an outdoor garden or other project to beautiy the17.

outside o the school.Help coach students competing in an academic competition.18.

Help bring senior citizens to school to watch a student production.19.

Extend learning by helping arrange learning opportunities in the community.20.

Help set up an internship or apprenticeship or a student at your business,21.

organization or agency.

Host a one-day shadow study or students about your job.22.

Go on a local eld trip.23.

Go on an extended eld trip.24.Contact a local business or organization regarding possible cooperation with25.

the school.


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Help create a natural area outside the building where students can learn.26.

Sere on an adisory or decision-making committee.27.

Sere on the school-wide site council.28.

Sere on a school committee.29.

Sere as an ocer in the schools PTA.30.

Help organize a parent organization.31.

Help design a parent and/or student surey or the school.32.

Help conduct and/or tabulate results o a parent surey regarding the school.33.

Adocate or the school.34.

Sere as a member o a telephone tree to distribute inormation quickly.35.

Write a letter to a legislator about the school.36.

Go to another school to proide inormation about this school.37.

Help design a brochure or booklet about the school.38.

Help translate inormation rom the school into a language other than English.39.

Help translate at a parent-teacher conerence.40.

Proide transportation to a parent-teacher conerence or a parent who needs41.

a ride.

Write an article or publication in a magazine about the schools actiities.42.Help arrange or a political leader to isit the school.43.

Fundraise or the school.44.

Help write a grant proposal that would bring new resources to the school.45.

Donate materials to the school.46.

Arrange or a business or other organization to donate materials to the school.47.

Help other parents deelop their parenting skills.48.

Help teach a class or parents on ways they can be stronger parents.49.

Help write, publish or distribute a list o parenting tips.50.

From Joe Nathan, Center for School Change, Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota.

For more information and ideas, [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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To sae on the cost o distributing newsletters or fyers,

many schools send e-mail updates to amilies. As one

school leader described, We hae a large number

o parents that communicate through e-mail because

many o our working amilies cant always break away to

call the school during school hours. Plus, teachers are

teaching so parents talk a lot about being able to e-mail

a teacher and getting inormation that way. In addition

to communicating ia e-mail, some schools adertise

amily engagement opportunities on the schools

website and track amily participation online. At Pacic

Collegiate, or example, the school created a website

that lists olunteer opportunities. Family members

choose the actiities they would like to be inoled in.

The website includes a description o each actiity, the

contact person, and the hours required. The online

system enables amily members to report their hours as

they complete them.

Use Technology


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Principle Seven

Be Collaborative


46/60


Be Collaborative

Being collaboratie in your amily engagement eortscan mean integrating outside organizations suchas local nonprots or community centers in amily

engagement actiities. Another way to be collaboratie

is to oer amily members a oice in school policy

by orming adisory councils, ocus groups or amily

member positions on the schools goerning board. The

schools in our study worked to create the structures or

engagement to help create a deeper leel o participation.

Strategies or collaboration included:

Bring in outside organizations; and,

Proide amilies a oice in school decision-making.

Many charter schools hae looked to outside

organizationsnonprot, or-prot and publicto

enrich their programs, to proide such ital resourcesas acilities or budget expertise, and to enhance amily

participation. One principal praised a community

partners program that helps coordinate olunteers.

Elsewhere, school leaders used community groups to

hold parent classes or trainings. This engagement can be

mutually benecial. One principal reported that parents

participate with their children in community serice

days organized by the school: Some o them cleaned upthe park across the street or the city, some made baby

blankets or the childrens hospital.

Parent adisory councils are a common strategy or

inoling amilies in school decision-making. Similar

to PTAs, parent councils are sometimes called parent

adisory boards, leadership councils or parent-teacher

organizations. O course, just creating a parent council

doesnt mean amilies will attend the meetings. At one

school with high leels o participation, the councils

Bring in OutsideOrganizations

Provide Familiesa Voice in School

Decision-Making


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Using Satisfaction Surveys to Elicit Family Input

view Park Preparatory, an elementary, middle and high school charter school cluster in

inner-city Los Angeles, elicits parent input through annual satisaction sureys. School

leaders use surey responses to inorm school improement eorts. For example,

surey responses rom amilies at the elementary school indicated a lack o access to

technology, so the school ocused undraising eorts on creating a computer lab. Surey

results also showed a lack o understanding among amilies new to the school about the

schools goernance model and school culture, and so the school held a training class to

increase their knowledge.

Views Around Town: Inside Advisory Councils

How does your Advisory Council work?

We hae a parent-teacher-

community organization in

which a group o parentsdo things that some o the

suburban or parochial schools

do, the undraising unction.

Donoghue Elementary

They do some undraising things, but its

also around parent education. So i there

are particular issues that the majority o

the parents are struggling withlets say,helping their kids with their homework

then they may bring in a resource related to

that. Or i immigration was a big issue, wed

bring in an expert or that as well.

Partnership Academy

We hae a parent leadership council that is an opportunity or parents to come

together on a monthly basis. The whole organization is led by parents and a lot o

their ocus is on students and school undraising, and also they do meetings around

dierent concerns or topics. Part o what we want to do is really educate the

parents on topics that hae to do with charter schools. So or example, last month

our meeting was basically a Charter Schools 101 workshop, and so we were able

to answer questions that parents had about what a charter school is, what are the

distinguishing actors rom a traditional district school, that sort o thing.Erie Charter School


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president (a parent) reminds amilies the day beore

each meeting by passing out fiers when amily members

pick up their children ater school. The principal eels

that haing a parent hand out the fier right beore the

meeting, ace-to-ace, has increased participation; so

many amilies show up that they hae had to nd a

bigger space to hold the meetings.

In addition to adisory councils, some schools inole

amilies in decision-making through satisaction sureys or

needs assessment sureys. Sometimes, these can be used

to gather inormation about which engagement actiities

amilies support; other times, it helps the school set policy.

Another way charter schools hae gien amilies a oice in

shaping the school is through membership on the schools

goerning board. In six o the 40 states with charter

schools, this is required by law. For example, Delaware

law stipulates that the board o directors must include a

teacher at the school and a parent o a student enrolledat the school as members. In other states, where laws

are not prescriptie as to board membership, many

charter schools nd amily members willing to commit the

time required to be a board member. Both benets and

challenges to haing amily members sere on a schools

goerning board exist, howeer, as seen in the quotations

rom state-leel charter school leaders below.

In other cases, amilies shape the schools goerning

board by electing its members. Timpanogos Academy

in Utah, or example, has parents elect the seen-

member goerning board, making the board directly

accountable to them. The Timpanogos Academy charter

proides or representatie goernance, which mandates

responsieness to constituent concerns. The charter

bylaws include a recall proision in case parents beliee

any board member is not perorming in the schools

best interest.


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Lets Talk Decision-Making

Q: How do you give amilies a voice in shaping school policy?

A: The parent leadership council was started at the schools

inception; we looked to parents about things like our

uniorm policy. We wanted parents to hae a place where

they could come together with their concerns. . . . It began

with the ounding principal, who sought parents out.

A: We do ocus groups

with parents to see i

there are things that

theyd like to see happen

in the school. We use

that as an aenue to get

parent eedback.

A: We hae what we call a parent

adisory committee, or a PAC,

that is run by parents. Some o

our sta helps acilitate it; we

hae a amily and student support

coordinator who helps acilitate a

monthly meeting.

A: We hae EESAC, Excellence in

Education School Adisory Council

that has two parent representaties

and one student representatie.

A: We hae e

parents and six

teachers on the

board.


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Point-Counterpoint: The Pros and Cons of Involving Parents on theSchools Governing Board

Pro: It has really worked well or us because we stress ethics and human

relationships so highly in our building. We hae a ery high leel o trust,

and we tend to do eerything out in the sunlight, so parent input at the

board leel is ery important.

Con: Some goerning boards hae nine members, eight o whom are parents,

and the parents arent ully equipped to deal with thorny issues o policy

and nance, grieances o teachers, and due process hearings and all

o that.

Pro: When charter schools are ounded by a group o parents who are

dissatised with the other options their children hae, theye got the

energy and the passion and a lot o good insight about whats best or

the kids.

Con: One challenge in haing parents on the board occurs when they mayappear to be ocused more on their indiidual childs needs and issues,

ersus a parent collectiely representing all parents at the school.

Pro: I think it is incredibly important or the parents o the school not only to

hae a oice, but to be actiely inoled on the goernance board.

Con: Our law requires that two parents be on the board. One issue with this

requirement is how those parents are identied to sere. We hae to makeclear to olks that its not necessarily the president o your PTA who should

be on the board, because [parents] role on the board is to make decisions.

Theyre able to gie insight as a parent, but [theyre] not necessarily there

as the parent adocate.


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Conclusions

T he ndings rom this study, accumulated here into seen principles or successullyengaging amilies, suggest that amilies can be important partners in the operationand success o a school. Howeer, you shouldnt eel that you hae to adopt eery

strategy at one time. As one school leader stressed, I think you really hae to start

small, and set some really short-term, realistic goals. Start with connecting parent

engagement to the academic program. . . . I also think you hae to set an expectation or

all o your sta on how youre going to engage parents, and then work to maintain some

consistency and to support teachers, because many teachers dont understand how

to work with parents in a way that can be supportie and constructie. Other school

leaders shared their recipes or success (see the ollowing page).

We hope that you nd the experiences rom these charter schools useul and are

able to adapt their adice to your own school context in order to create and sustain a

meaningul partnership with your students amilies.


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Whats your recipe for success?

We try to hae a ariety o opportunities

or parents to be inoled, whether its

helping out in the oce or coming on

a special eent and getting to see their

kids at school, or haing lunch with theirchildren, or coming on a eld trip as a

chaperone, or participating in tutoring.

We also hae a pretty actie PTA, and they

do a lot o actiities on the weekends to

raise money to plan trips or the kids. . . .

We really want our amilies to not eel

pressured to be inoled, [but] to want to

be inoled.Rise Academy

We dont hae busing, so we

see a lot o parents because

theyre walking here or theyre

driing here, and they come

in to get their kids. We make

sure to be out there in the

mornings when parents are

out there, at dismissal whenparents are out there, so that

they see us.

Erie Charter School

Especially here in east Oakland [Cali.], the schools that are

around here are huge. We only hae 200 students or K8, so its a

small school, its sae, and the parents really eel comortable here.

Dolores Huerta Learning Academy

The act that when we plan our calendar year, we plan the parent

actiities. When we moed into the school and we planned classrooms,

we planned to hae a parent center. And so eery conersation that we

hae, it always includes parents. And when we talk about interentions

or students, we talk about parents as one o those interentions.

When we talk about students that are struggling, its neer just a

conersation where we talk about, well, the teacher can do this, the

social worker can do this; the parent is always part o the equation. Its

about the strategies, and the strategies neer end with just what the

schools gonna do.

Donoghue Charter School


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Useul Resources

The Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships, at Johns Hopkins

Uniersity and directed by Joyce Epstein, has links and inormation about publications,

research and proessional deelopment as well as inormation about the centers

National Network o Partnership Schools.

visit http://www.csos.jhu.edu/P2000/center.htm

The Coalition or Community Schools is an alliance o national, state and local

organizations in K16 education, youth deelopment, community planning and

deelopment, amily support, health and human serices, goernment and philanthropy

as well as national, state and local community school networks. Their website includes

links to resources, tool kits and technical assistance. visit http://communityschools.org

The National Parent Teacher Association website proides inormation on PTA

programs, conerences and eents as well as a social networking site called the Great

Idea Bank to enable parents to interact and learn rom each other by sharing ideas on

how to be a more inoled parent, actiities to share with their children, and ways to

communicate with their childs school. visit http://www.ptagreatideabank.org/

The U.S. Department o Educations Parental Inormation and Resource

Centers website includes resources or parents and research links.

visit http://www.ed.go/programs/pirc/index.html
http://www.csos.jhu.edu/P2000/center.htmhttp://communityschools.org/http://www.ptagreatideabank.org/http://www.ed.gov/programs/pirc/index.htmlhttp://www.ed.gov/programs/pirc/index.htmlhttp://www.ptagreatideabank.org/http://communityschools.org/http://www.csos.jhu.edu/P2000/center.htm


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Appendix: Charter School Profles

While many people contributed examples o successul amily engagement practices at

schools around the country to the creation o this guidebook, the schools listed below

participated in the interiews conducted or our study.

Amy Biehl High School, Albuquerque, N.M.

Year opened: 1999

Grades served: 912

School mission: To teach students to apply and demonstrate skills and knowledge to

analyze and address community needs. Through serice, to challenge students to play

meaningul roles in their communities while deeloping leadership skills and to assist a

dierse student body to acquire intellectual, social and ethical habits to prepare them

or post-secondary education and lie.

Community o Peace Academy, St. Paul, Minn.

Year opened: 1995

Grades served: K12

School mission: To be a racially and culturally dierse community o students, parents,

and sta, dedicated to creating a peaceul enironment in which each person is treatedwith unconditional positie regard and acceptance.

Community Montessori, New Albany, Ind.

Year opened: 1997

Grades served: K12

School mission: To gie children an enironment that respects all people and ideas and

that gies amilies a ehicle to learn cooperatiely, hae un, and promote peace with

their children.

Dolores Huerta Learning Academy, Oakland, Cali.

Year opened: 1999

Grades served: K8

School mission: To proide a dynamic, supportie learning enironment that recognizes

the indiidual abilities and ambitions o all students and oers both the opportunity and

skills to become lietime learners, responsible citizens, and leaders o tomorrow in a

culturally and linguistically dierse society.


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East Mountain High, Sandia Park, N.M.

Year opened: 1999

Grades served: 912

School mission: As a small learning community, East Mountain High School proides

exceptional curricular and extracurricular programs, supportie interpersonal

relationships, and excellent teaching, all o which encourage sel-awareness, community

inolement and academic excellence.

EC Reems, Oakland, Cali.

Year opened: 1999

Grades served: K8

School mission: To proide a student-centered curriculum that enhances intellectual

deelopment, leadership ability and technological fuency, to prepare and endow East

Oakland youth with strategic adantages needed to participate in the 21st century.

Erie Charter School, Chicago, Ill.

Year opened: 2005

Grades served: K3

School mission: To oster a community where students, parents and educators work

together to deelop children who are condent in their culture and ethnic origin, bi-literate in Spanish and English, who achiee academic excellence and are rmly placed on

a path to higher education.

International Community School, Decatur, Ga.

Year opened: 2002

Grades served: K6

School mission: To proide reugee, immigrant and local children with an international

education at the elementary leel; and to explore and celebrate cultural dierences in achallenging, nurturing and internationally multi-ethnic enironment.

Lighthouse Community Charter School, Oakland, Cali.

Year opened: 2001

Grades served: K12

School mission: To prepare a dierse K12 student population or college or a career o

their choice by equipping each child with the knowledge, skills and principles to be a

sel-motiated lielong learner.


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Ivy Preparatory Academy, Norcross, Ga.

Year opened: 2008

Grades served: 67 currently, growing one grade at a time through 12th grade

School mission: To deelop middle and high school girls into thoroughly equipped

scholars who are prepared to enter and succeed in the colleges and uniersities o

their choice.

Manzanita Charter School, Richmond, Cali.

Year opened: 2000

Grades served: 68

School mission: Through actie amily inolement in sel-goerned public education,

this cooperatie charter seeks to create a sae, nurturing, and dierse educational

community or its children.

Neighborhood House, Boston, Mass.

Year opened: 1995

Documents

Family Engagement in Education