Involving the Hard-to-Reach Families in School
Fostering successful family involvement in school is a noble goal, and one many teachers and principals strive to attain. Unfortunately, educators often find themselves preaching to the choir, and even risk making those who are already involved feel burdened or guilty for not doing more. Seeking involvement from the harder-to-reach families requires some research and a good bit of determination and legwork. Is it worth it?
Yes! according to plentiful research. Studies show that special efforts to engage parents make a difference—a big difference—in student success in school. Students with involved parents (regardless of income or background) are more likely to:
- Earn higher grades and test scores, and enroll in higher-level programs.
- Be promoted, pass their classes, and earn credits.
- Attend school regularly.
- Have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school.
- Graduate and go on to postsecondary education.
(List from A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement.)
Successful Family Involvement
Clearly, family involvement in children’s education is a good thing. It’s important to continue “preaching to the choir,” because there will always be a core group of families that participate above and beyond the call of duty. They need to be supported and made to feel welcome as much as anyone else. You can find loads of helpful tips to make your school inviting and warm for families.
But what if it’s not working for everyone? What if there are large numbers of families that stay just out of reach? Schools that are determined to create a partnership with families can ask the following questions.
What is the definition of successful parent involvement? Does it mean attending every PTA/PTO meeting and bringing cookies for the bake sales? The answer is “Maybe...maybe not.” Families can be involved in a variety of ways, such as:
- Helping their children with homework and providing a safe, supportive home life that encourages learning
- Two-way communication with the school, through notes, calls, conferences, reading newsletters, and reviewing report cards
- Volunteering their time and expertise (a writer might assist with the school newsletter, a builder can help rebuild playground equipment)
- Encouraging partnerships with the community (in one community, parents involved with the town library board sought connections with the school through shared programming such as plays, volunteer artists-in-residence, and music performances related to school themes)
- And yes, attending events and PTA/PTO meetings
How do we measure successful family involvement? There are plenty of useful tools available to measure successful partnerships between schools and families (for example, the national PTA organization’s survey). The irony and challenge, of course, is that if schools are not reaching some families, there’s a good chance those families will not be filling out the forms.
Sometimes, the best measure of success is as simple as walking through your school, observing the numbers of families coming in each day. It’s not scientific, but teachers and principals know their own school and will recognize any changes, for better or worse.
One Louisville, Kentucky, school that is committed to a strong family/teacher partnership says it well: “The best measure of the school's success in drawing parents into the school building is the day-to-day presence of parents—helping in classrooms, doing volunteer administrative work, contributing to policy decisions, taking adult education classes, seeking services at the Family Resource Center, meeting with teachers, or just visiting the school.”
What are the barriers to closer family-school involvement? Some families may seem to be indifferent or even reluctant to engage with the school, but educators need to look deeper than the surface to determine the true reasons for the lack of enthusiasm. Any number of issues or backgrounds could get in the way: lack of time, work conflicts, financial demands, socioeconomic status, country of origin, first language, gender, past negative experiences with educators, child-care issues, feeling on the defensive about one’s child...the list goes on. It’s important not to make assumptions. Parents do care, and it is worth expending the effort for families that don’t show up.
To get an honest assessment of your school’s “approachability,” one idea adapted from the National School Public Relations Association’s School Communications Workshop Kit is to gather several people you know from outside the community, including representatives from some of the cultures that seem hardest to reach. Ask these individuals to pose as new parents “shopping” your school. Seek their feedback about their experience from the moment they enter the school (who greets them, and how?) until they leave, including their impressions of the building and grounds, teachers, students, and overall feel of the school. This may give principals and teachers, who are so familiar with the school already, a fresh sense of the environment, and of the direction they might want to take the school in order to be more inviting and inclusive.
Creative Ways to Involve Families
Once you have a better idea of what some of the barriers are, there are countless creative ways to overcome them. Some families may be more comfortable meeting away from school. The building might feel intimidating or bring up negative associations of critical teachers or even a parent’s own unhappy experiences in school. Here are a few ways of inviting involvement in less overwhelming environments:
- Be available at local sites. Throughout the year, perhaps even monthly, have teachers, principals, and/or other administrators make themselves available in the community at places parents typically gather. Be creative and ask around: coffee shops, playgrounds, even grocery stores may be just the spot. Announce ahead of time that you will be there (be sure to get the permission of the business owner) and want to meet parents and answer questions.
- Seek support from the clergy. Religious leaders may hold a lot of sway with some families. Ask the local clergy for support and suggestions in reaching key groups in the congregation that you haven't been successful in reaching previously. Meeting in a church, temple, or other place of worship may be much more comfortable than entering the school. Work with the clergy to set up opportunities for families to talk about the schools and ways to help students.
- Go to the source. Seek out a parent in the school community who seems particularly reluctant to becoming involved, especially one who is respected among other families. Ask if he or she would be willing to host an informal gathering in his or home to get to know the principal, teachers, superintendent, or other school personnel. Keep it casual, positive, and light on “agenda.” Share positive news about what’s happening in the school, and seek input from guests about a particular issue that the school or district is facing.
Additional Ideas
- Break down barriers. Staff in one Seattle, Washington, school volunteered to take part in the Breaking Down Barriers project to establish good communication and relationships with parents. The staff received a list of eight to ten families to call periodically and communicate good news about their child, inform them of upcoming events, or find out if they have questions or needs. If the caller finds out any family needs or issues, the information is routed to a Family Partnerships Team. Staff receives training and support from this team.
- Enlist your “choir.” Ask the families that regularly volunteer and participate in school events to invite a parent that hasn’t been involved to the next school-sponsored activity for families. Sometimes becoming involved is as simple as being directly invited.
- Change meeting times. One school in New Hampshire alternates PTO meeting times: one month they’re held at 6:00 p.m., the next month they’re at 2:45 p.m. Both meeting times include free childcare. Parents who can’t make one meeting time can often make the other.
- Offer parent leadership classes and other programs in multiple languages for immigrant families and those from specific ethnic groups. These programs empower parents to become leaders in their homes, schools, and communities.
Use those SECOND STEP program skills! Empathy, friendship skills, joining a group, active listening, expressing concern, accepting differences, making conversation, similarities and differences, problem solving, goal setting...sound familiar? The life skills taught in the SECOND STEP program are not limited to children. Every one of these skills, and more, can and should be brought to bear on the challenge of involving all families in your school.
References
Print
Epstein, J. (1995, May). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(9), 701–12
Web
http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/volunteer.html
http://resources.sai-iowa.org/communication/hardtoreach.html
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Getting_Parents/
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_What_Schools_Want/
http://www.educationworld.com/a_special/parent_involvement.shtml
http://www.embracediverseschools.com/images/Ed_Leadership.pdf
http://www.nea.org/home/16261.htm
http://www.nea.org/parents/
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/fam/fpactivities2002.xml
http://www.sedl.org/connections/resources/evidence.pdf
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/FamInvolve/cane.html
