The school year is such a busy time for parents as well as students and teachers. Yet it is so important to include parents in schools. Studies show that parent involvement improves student attendance and academics, and even reduces the likelihood that they’ll do drugs. So how do we move parent involvement from back-to-school nights and parent-teacher meetings?

Successful Parent Involvement

Successful parent involvement is defined as the parents actively participating in their child’s education. These can be little things such as sincerely asking how school was everyday or helping them with their homework, or big things such as volunteering in the classroom. But even the little things take time out of a busy day.

Reasons Why Parents May be Hesitant

Aside from being busy, there are many reasons parents may not want to be more involved in schools. One reason is that they are usually only contacted when their child has done something deemed unacceptable. So whenever they think of involving themselves in the school, they only have negative connotations. Another reason is that they, themselves, had bad experiences when they were in school, adding to the negative connotations.  Parents of minority families are especially hesitant as they may not speak fluent English or are generally marginalized in schools. And parents who did not receive a college education are less likely to want to participate in their child’s school life.

Ways to Include Parents in Schools

The first step to including parents in schools is for more and better communication between teachers (and administrators) and parents. Teachers could call parents to let them know when their child is doing exceptionally well so that the positive connotation for that balances out the negative from being called when their child is acting out. In some schools, teachers send out fill-in-the-blank letters at the beginning of the year for parents to describe their student to the teacher, which opens up opportunity for more communication between parents and teachers.

Welcoming School Environment

Another way for schools to include parents in schools is to create more events designed to bring in the whole family. This creates a sense of community within the school. Another way to create a sense of community and to involve parents in school is to create classroom newsletters. This lets parents know what’s going on in the classroom and gives them topics for discussion with their children.Encourage parents to listen to their students when they talk about school, and when having parent-teacher conferences, be willing to listen to the parents. They will feel more involved if they have a say in what’s going on and will be even more willing to participate in school events if they have a connection with the other adults there. They also love bragging about their children.  Making sure parents are involved in school is vital for both the students and the school itself. Teachers making more contact and having more conversations with parents will ensure that students do better and will give parents the peace of mind they need, knowing their child is in good hands. Sources:http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept17/vol75/num01/Not-Your-Parents'-Parent-Involvement.aspx