Family Involvement

During elementary school it is common for parents to be involved in many aspects of their child's learning since their children are at a more dependent age. Unfortunately, as students move into middle school the amount of parent involvement tends to decrease because student's are becoming more self-sufficient and independent. However, it is crucial to maintain a high level of parent involvement during this transition, and throughout middle school, to insure that students are receiving the supervision and support needed for them to be successful and engaged students. Joyce Epstein is the director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at John Hopkins University where she received her doctorate degree in Sociology and is currently the principal research scientist and a professor of Sociology. Epstein developed a framework for Six types of parent involvement. In this blog I am going to discuss two these six types by analyzing their key benefits, the challenges associated with them, and providing examples of what these two types of parent involvement look like.

Communication
Epstein defines communication as "Effective forms of school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and child's progress." Effective communication allows parents, students, and teachers to all stay up to date on events, opportunities, student needs, and student success. Forming a solid base for communication early on in the school year creates a positive relationship between teachers and parents or guardians. Having this base creates more open communication channels and makes parents more comfortable reaching out to teachers when they need guidance or support. It also allows teachers to more easily answer questions, clarify assignments, and collaborate with parents to promote student well being and success. Not only does effective communication allow parents and teachers to be more aware of and on the same page about where a student stands academically, but it also helps students to be more mindful of their of their own progress. This can result in more student initiative to improve their academic standing. For teachers, effective communication allows them to better understand students backgrounds and what types of expectations parents have for their children.

Often challenges arise that can inhibit effective communication between parents, teachers, and students. These challenges can include: language barriers, unclear information, misinterpretation of information because of technology or lack of face to face contact, and parents receiving conflicting information from their student and his/her teacher. It is also possible that an educator will come into contact with parents who do not want to be as involved or do not offer as much support as their child needs. This can create a challenge for the teacher to motivate the parent to become an active member of their child's learning.

Examples of Effective Communication

• Parent Teacher Conferences
• Monthly Newsletters
• Emails
• Phone Calls
• Proficiency Reports
• Use of language translators for non-English speaking parents or guardians

Volunteering

According to Epstein, volunteering in a classroom can be defined as recruiting and organizing parent help and support. It is important that teachers establish a wide variety of volunteers to insure that all families are represented in the classroom. Having different volunteers around the classroom creates the opportunity for students to interact with adults that they might not normally interact with. This can improve students communication skills, build their confidence, and give students exposure to a wider variety of occupations. Students also benefit from more individual attention that volunteers can provide. For parents, volunteering in the classroom often results in a higher level of respect and appreciation for what teachers do. They will feel more connected to their students learning and to other families in the community. Volunteering in the classroom also provides parents with more insight on how to they can better monitor and support their children's homework assignments. The main benefit of volunteering for teachers is the added support in the classroom. It also provides the opportunity for teachers to form better relationships with their students parents.

The main challenge associated with volunteering is maintaining a wide variety of volunteers in the classroom. Often the same few parents step up to volunteer which minimizes diversity and takes away the opportunity for other parents to get involved. This creates a challenge for the teacher to reach out to the parents who are less likely to volunteer and encourage them to be more involved in their students learning. Other challenges with volunteering include: scheduling, providing training, and matching parent talent with classroom needs.

Examples of Volunteering

• In class volunteer programs
• Presentations of their own occupations
• Support during field trips
• Parent volunteers to support and answer other parents questions

As a future educator I am committed to maintaining high levels of family involvement in my classroom. More specifically, I commit to initiating communication with all parents at the beginning of each school year. I believe that keeping open and easy communication between myself, my students, and their parents will be crucial to student success. Creating a relationship with each parent is something that will be very important to me because I believe it will create a level of mutual respect and understanding. Once the relationship is initiated, I will be able to build onto in throughout the school year by communicating student proficiency and student need. I also commit to having as many opportunities as possible to share student success with their parents. As educators it is our job to keep students invested in and exited about their learning and what better way to do this than to celebrate their accomplishments!

To learn more about Epstein's Six types of Parent Involvement check out the link below.

Epstein's Framework for Parent Involvement