While these are the signs of a connection between home and school, research from The Parent Institute (2005)showed that teachers and parents often do not rate the significance of parent involvement options in the same way. When asked to rankin order of importance the things parents can do at home to help their child do better in school, teacher and parents had verydifferent views. Teachers thought that the most important thing they can do is to read with their children while parents felt thattalking to their children was the most important thing they could do (Wherry, 2005).
This illustrates the wide range of interpretations of the notion of parent involvement. We can learnfrom this that parents and schools need to establish goals together to effectively meet the needs of the children. Administrators,teachers and parents need to communicate and clarify expectations so that programs can be developed that effectively address studentsuccess initiatives. When these parties have agreed upon expectations and have established mutual goals and values then theparties become truly connected. The move towards higher standards, greater accountability and additional and more difficult assessmentpractices requires a commitment from not just school personnel but families and communities (Machen, Wilson,&Nota 2005).
A study by Nistler and Angela (2000) found that once schools were able to remove the barriers to parentparticipation, involvement increased. Many parents are simply unable to get to school so efforts need to be increased toaccommodate those who need transportation or have small children and need childcare. Solutions include carpooling, providingchildcare at the school or forming networks of parents that canhelp each other out. Clearly, there is a commonality for improving and sustaining parent involvement. the development of acollaborative program that focuses on such things as effective communication, providing multiple opportunities for involvement,removing obstacles to involvement and providing parent training that will increase awareness of the theirchild's potential (Machen, Wilson&Notar 2005).
One of the most fundamental ways to improve the parent school connection is to improve the teacher - parentrelationship. Since teachers are the primary connection with the school that relationship is critical to student success and parentinvolvement. Teachers must learn how to communicate with parents in an effective and informative way. Evidence exists that when theinitial contact between parent and teacher is positive future negative incidents will not replace the initial impression(Million, 2003). By establishing a relationship with parents early in the year a foundation is built for future involvement. Teachersmust open the door to parent involvement and enlist the help of parents the first day of school. Having a list of "needs" ready at the Open House orposted outside the classroom makes parents feel like they are integral part of the education process. An environment thatwelcomes parents in a non-threatening manner enhances the likelihood that the parents will want to volunteer at the school.Many schools recruit parents early in the year, sometimes even before school start.
Principals should identify some of the parents that are enthusiastic about volunteering and enlist them torecruit additional parents. A strong parent-teacher organization is a must for successful school volunteer programs. . Theseorganizations will plan and organize fundraising events, provide support for teachers and work to include all parents in thecommunity. Parent volunteers, with effective leadership can provide support that can make the school a better place while not beingoverly intrusive. The opportunities for parents to help are endless and the rewards are great for all parties. Schools must makeconcerted efforts to nurture parent involvement. By using a variety of modes of communication from email to flyers to phone calls somore parents can be reached. Principals and teachers need to be specific about what their needs are and how parents can best helpthe school.
Teachers and administrators must make a concerted effort to acknowledge the volunteers and showappreciation for all efforts both large and small. It is imperative that the principal stay in close communication with those parentsthat spearhead volunteer efforts so they can stay knowledgeable of what is happening. The leaders of the parent groups must have openlines of communication with the principal. They will know the status of volunteer efforts and those that are contributing, whichgives the principal an opportunity to recognize those individuals - contributions must be acknowledged and appreciation must beextended for parent involvement to be sustained (Hasley, 2004).
References
Christie, K. 2005. Changing the nature of parent involvement. Phi Delta Kappan, 86 (9), 645-646.
Epstein, J. L.,&Jansorn, N. R. (2004). School, family, and community partnerships link the plan. EducationDigest, 69 (6), 19-23.
Halsey, P. A. (2004). Nurturing parent involvement: Two middle level teachers share their secrets. TheClearing House, 77 (4), 135-137.
Machen, S. M., Wilson, J. D.,&Notar, C. E. (2005). Parental involvement in the classroom. Journal ofInstructional Psychology, 32 (1), 13-16.
Million, J. (2003). Talking to parents. Education Digest, 68 (5), 52-53.
Wherry, J. (2004). Two perspectives on parent involvement. Principal, 83 (5), 6.
Wherry, J. (2005). Parent involvement: Turning up the hear. Principal, 84 (2), 6.
Wherry, J. (2005). Do you have a parent involvement disconnect. Principal, 84 (4), 6.