Actively Involve and Communicate Regularly with Parents and Community Members in the School's Literacy Efforts

• Reporting current student reading achievement regularly and transparently is essential to creating a culture of accountability and a unity of purpose and thereby assuring solid community-wide commitment to improving reading outcomes.
• Reporting individual student reading data to parents and, for older students, to the students themselves keeps a strong focus on reading ability as the basis for educational progress. Reporting reading data at the school and district levels to all stakeholders helps to maintain accountability and unity of purpose. Coupling such reports with goal setting for subsequent reporting periods, and with plans for strategies which can help students reach the stated goals, ensures that reading achievement will be an ongoing priority.
• Reporting both formative (e.g., quarterly progress monitoring information) and summative (annual outcome scores) data to stakeholders, providing an honest interpretation of these levels of current achievement with respect to students’ likelihood of attaining or maintaining grade level status and future school success, and identifying strategies to address student reading trajectories that fall short of levels needed for future success – all are essential to keeping the focus on reading achievement (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005).

Parental involvement in learning has been associated with increased student competence, grades, achievement test scores, graduation rates, perceptions of control and competence, adaptive school behavior, and beliefs about the importance of education (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005, p105-106). Collaborations with the community increase students’ skills through broadened curricular and out-of-school experiences, increase students’ awareness of careers and educational opportunities, and connect students and their families to the community in meaningful ways. By providing resources, time, expertise, and out-of-school contexts, community entities take some of the burden off of local schools. “When schools develop and implement strategies for promoting effective school-family-community partnerships, the result is improved learning for all students and strengthened schools, families, and communities” (Caplan, 1998).

Parents tend to be more involved in children’s learning when they perceive that “schools are safe, empowering, and trustworthy“ (Hoover-Dempsey et al, 2005, p. 117). The same could be said of community members, organizations, and businesses. The school climate, communication, organization, and activities all affect the perceptions of those outside -- and inside -- the school. Therefore, it is important to:

• Create an inviting, welcoming school climate through leadership, commitment to collaborative literacy efforts, raised expectations for parent and community involvement, and explicit invitations to parents and community members to be a part of the school (particularly literacy efforts).
• Utilize existing – or create new – parent-teacher-family structures to enhance communication and involvement (e.g., after-school programs, parent-resource room, PTA, parent-liaison).
• Invite a range of school personnel, parents and community members to student-centered events at school to increase opportunities for informal interactions and distributing information.
• “Directly link school achievement to community development and community wellness in staff discussions, action planning, and grants” (CDSDP Working Together Toolkit, 2006).
• Solicit feedback and suggestions from parents and community members about the degree to which the school enables them to get involved (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005).

Teachers want to involve parents in students’ education, but most don’t realize or feel comfortable with effective means of inviting parents to participate. Teachers generally do not “receive training in how to develop collaborative, family-responsive involvement practices…” (Hoover-Dempsey et al, 2005, p. 117). The same may be said of teachers’ preparation to collaborate with the larger community. Therefore, it is important to:

• Empower teachers to effectively solicit – and receive – parental and community involvement. For example, (1) provide professional development sessions and ongoing discussions about successful strategies, and (2) encourage and support dynamic, systematic means of learning about, and interacting with, parents on a regular basis.
• Utilize a full range of methods available to invite parent participation (e.g., fliers, face-to-face visits, announcements on local radio or TV, phone calls, email, school newsletters).
• Provide encouragement and ongoing support to teachers as they (a) seek and initiate, (b) plan and develop, and (c) implement and manage community partnerships (Hoover-Dempsey et al., 2005).

Parents are more involved when they are welcomed at the school, explicitly invited to be involved, and feel their involvement will be useful and effective (Hoover-Dempsey et al, 2005, p. 119).

• Provide parents specific information about curriculum, learning goals and reading performance.
• Communicate clearly that ALL parents have an important role to play in children’s school success.
• Offer a full range of involvement opportunities, including
  • standard, in-school approaches (e.g., parent-teacher conferences, school performance, volunteering in classroom),
  • home-based support (e.g., discussing the child’s school day at home, preparing reading materials for class),
  • opportunities unique to school, community, and parents’ interests (e.g., first-day-of-school celebrations, parent workshops, interactive homework, social/networking events, providing expertise for particular project).
• Ensure that events, volunteer opportunities, and discussions occur at a variety of times and locations (e.g., community centers, libraries, parent’s home, churches) so that parents with non-traditional schedules or apprehension about the school setting can participate.  As appropriate, offer childcare and transportation.
• Give parents specific information about WHAT they can do to be involved, as well as the general and specific EFFECTS of involvement on student learning.
• Offer parents positive feedback on the effects of their involvement in student learning.

Community organizations, businesses, and individuals have much to offer – and gain from – becoming involved in schools, but a partnership will generally not occur unless it is initiated by the school. Therefore, it is important to:

• Provide community members with specific information about curriculum and learning goals.
• Discuss with community individuals and organizations specific information about what they can do to be involved.  Some ideas might include: (1) Invite community members with expertise or unique experiences to visit classrooms and provide models of real-world literacy (i.e., demonstrate how they utilize reading/writing in their work); (2) Invite businesses and community organizations to partner with a class or school by providing mentors, or on a specific project or initiative that requires outside resources or contexts; (3) Partner with community outreach programs to offer parent training, after-school tutoring, or homework assistance.
• Share with the community the general and specific effects of involvement on student learning and how they too might benefit.
• Offer community members ongoing positive feedback on the effects of their involvement in student learning.

Caplan, J. (1998). Critical issue: Constructing school partnerships with family and community groups. NCREL webpage. Printed July 1, 2010 from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/famncomm/pa400.htm

Hoover-Dempsey, K., Walker, J., Sandler, H., Whetsel, D., Green, C., Wilkins, A., & Closson K. (2005) Why do parents become involved? Research findings and implications. The Elementary School Journal, 106 (2), pp105-130.

McWayne, C., & Owsianik, M. (October 2004). Parent involvement and the social and academic competencies of urban kindergarten children. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project. [Available at http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/parent-involvement-and-the-social-and-academic-competencies-of-urban-kindergarten-children].