This is especially true in primary and secondary schools. This is especially important since not all parents can come into school at designated times. Parent involvement leads to student success . Research shows a strong relationship between parent engagement and educational outcomes, including school attendance2 and higher grades and classroom test scores.3 Parent engagement in schools has also been identified as promising protective factors for adolescent sexual and reproductive health risk behaviors and outcomes, including ever had sex, early sexual debut, frequency of sex and pregnancy/birth.4,5 In addition, when students find their school environment to be supportive and caring and their parents engaged in their school lives, they are less likely to become involved in substance abuse, violence, and other problem behaviors 5,6 that are associated with HIV and STD risk.7,8, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that schools use the following framework to increase parent engagement in school health:1. However, as the challenges listed above indicate, the proliferation of tools has now fragmented communications to the point of leaving parents overwhelmed and unsure what to do with the information they receive. I believe that interaction between teachers and parents is necessary for the successful study of the student. Parent engagement in schools is defined as parents and school staff working together to support and improve the learning, development and health of children and adolescents.1 Parent engagement in schools is a shared responsibility in which schools are committed to reaching out to engage parents in meaningful ways, and parents are committed to actively supporting their children’s and adolescents’ learning and development.1, Studies have shown that parent engagement in schools can promote positive education and health behaviors among children and adolescents. Sustain parent engagement by addressing the common challenges to getting and keeping parents engaged such as scheduling conflicts, transportation, making parents feel welcome in the school and supporting teachers in building relationships with families. Now more than ever, schools need communication and cooperation from parents to continue providing education services while reducing the spread of coronavirus. Parents can’t or won’t come into school: take the school to the parents. Administrators should also lead by example, demonstrating that they are equally accountable for executing the plan. Listen in as our team shares interviews with today’s top educators, learning organizations, and thought leaders discussing the future of teaching and learning. From hundreds of school visits and thousands of conversations with students, parents, preachers, policy-makers and the like — making a difference has emerged as the most important way for us to transform learning experiences for young people and build a better future for all. The benefits for students are proven: A recent review of parent involvement research found that parent-child reading activities produce a significant improvement in children's language and reading skills from preschool through high school (Sheldon & Epstein, 2005); another study finds a strong positive effect on student achievement when parents work with students on homework (Van Voorhis, 2003). I'm interested in hearing more about Getting Smart's: Website AdsPodcast AdsSponsored PostsSponsored NewslettersOther. Why is parent engagement important? Ensuring good communication between school and home has become more challenging in recent years due to a number of key trends impacting parent engagement. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have more influence on the lives and livelihoods of young people over the next few decades than any other factor. The idea is to nurture parenting and teaching skills of young parents even before children reach school age. Parent engagement matters. Projects generally include a focus on serving parents of low-income, minority and limited English proficient children enrolled in elementary and secondary schools. for their children and for the efectiveness of schools. Thank you for your detailed analysis of the current situation. 10. 2. Parents should participate in the school, in the activities, maintain a positive contact with the professionals of the center, speak well of them in front of the child, … They support schools in a variety of ways such as volunteer activities , Teacher Appreciation events, and fundraising for … Studies of successful schools indicate that a high rate of parent involvement is a major factor in their success and can even help close the achievement gap between groups of students. Due to these factors, and others, communications efforts by schools can often hit roadblocks, despite good intentions. Episodes cover a variety of education topics in K-12, HigherEd and lifelong learning. Advancing psychology to benefit society and improve lives. If you would like to contribute to this discussion by submitting blogs, topic ideas, relevant reports, photos and/or podcast ideas, click here to learn more. The key to productive and positive parent engagement is a good flow of communication between school and home, and that communication should encompass every stakeholder, including parents, teachers, administrators, specialists, club leaders and coaches, and the parent-teacher organization. Involved parents enhance school performance in a number of ways, including by fostering a mastery orientation toward learning and encouraging self-discipline , a skill that's critical to school success. Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health. And school based family and parent support activities Parent engagement in schools is defined as parents and school staff working together to support and improve the learning, development and health of children and adolescents. The school works independent of families to educate children. Epstein J, Sheldon S. Present and accounted for: improving student attendance through family and community involvement. Attempts by schools to engage parents in their children’s learning are unlikely to be successful if they represent a ‘bolt-on’ to mainstream activities. She is a technology entrepreneur, charter public school founder, and mother of four. Resnick MD, Bearman PS, Blum RW, Bauman KE, Harris KM, Jones J, et al. The Parental Information and Resource Centers develop resource materials and provide information about high quality family involvement programs to families, schools, school districts and others through conferences, workshops and dissemination of materials. Effective engagement creates authentic relationships considered valuable and valued by each partner. Guilamo-Ramos V, Jaccard J, Dittus P, Bouris A, Gonzalez B, Casillas E,et al. Personalization features include giving parents the option to “subscribe” to the channels featuring updates they wish to receive―personalizing the information, not just the delivery method―which ensures they get the information they feel is relevant without it getting lost amid other information overload. Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive our weekly newsletter, Smart Update. COVID-19 resources for psychologists, health-care workers and the public. Set the tone: Encourage teachers to share a bit of information about themselves at the start of the year, perhaps at parent night, to set the tone for an open exchange with students’ parents and caregivers. education of their children, they involve themselves and are involved by the school. Please use the 'more info' area to outline a challenge or challenges you feel Getting Smart can support. By ensuring parents have an easier time receiving communications from the school, it will help school leaders gain buy-in for goals and initiatives, help teachers foster the parent engagement desired in the classroom, and help students get the support they need from their families. Educators in turn accept the responsibility. Connect with parents by building a positive relationship and communicating the school’s vision to work together with parents to guide children’s health and learning. Issue shorter, more frequent communications: Jennifer Larson is co-founder and CEO of Hive Digital Minds, the creators of, . Through effective parent engagement, schools can connect parents with vital information and resources to support child learning outcomes. 5. But the challenges involved in meaningfully and equitably involving parents in the academic success of their children is a huge issue that is still not necessarily a priority for school systems. Froiland describes empirically supported (as well as ill-advised) parental strategies linked to academic outcomes. Please submit your name and email and you will be given a link to download our free Getting Ready Leadership Guide. When parents are engaged, students receive higher grades and test scores and therefore have a better chance of graduating from high school and going on to post-secondary education. You'll also get a 20% discount on the book! Follow Jennifer on Twitter @startupjen, Featured image is the Parent & Community Center at Valley High, Santa Ana USD. First, the diversity of family living arrangements continues to increase, so educators cannot assume students are living at home with two parents. PTA developed the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships Implementation Guide a tool for empowering people to work together with an end goal of building family-school partnerships and student success. Available on iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud. And of course, it is necessary to establish an acceptable form of interaction, so that both teachers and parents could feel comfortable. A comparative study of interventions for delaying the initiation of sexual intercourse among Latino and Black Youth. The strategies here can help you increase parent engagement at your school. Our challenges and opportunities are shared and it’s never been easier, or more important to make a difference. Welcome to the Getting Smart Podcast. With this in mind, the next level of innovation is required: rather than concentrating simply on parent-teacher communication, we need to instead design ways to improve the whole-school focus on communications, simplifying the process for all stakeholders and promoting consistency in communication between educators and families. Consider holding school events in alternative venues to remove the barriers to the school building. Because of the importance of parent engagement, the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) has recognized over 600 schools since 1998 for their programs and practices that encourage community and family involvement resulting in students’ increased success in school. Therefore, a school-wide focus on communication is key to creating equitable opportunity for all parents and students. Third, many school communities include immigrants from multiple countries who speak a variety of languages. Parents appreciate the school’s effort to communicate, but if they can’t act on the information and the school isn’t sure if it was even received, nobody achieves the desired results. 8. For teachers, here are some tips to increase parent involvement: 1. Schools and early years settings can support parents to engage with their children’s learning in a wide range of ways, for example, by: