Welcome!
Please take a few minutes before
the session begins to fill out the
school parent involvement
questionnaire you picked up at the
door. You will be using it later in
the presentation.
Working with
Native American and Other
Multicultural Communities:
Effective Strategies for
Parental Engagement and
Community Involvement
NABE 2012: Dallas, Texas
Dakota TESL 2012: Fargo, ND
Presented by
Wendy Sanderson, MAESL
Bismarck Public Schools, Bismarck, ND
wendy_sanderson@bismarckschools.org
Agenda for Workshop

Introduction and overview

Research study on Native American parental involvement
at the middle school level



Description of study
Findings and implications
Multicultural student parental involvement – Research
and best practices



Summary of research
Issues related to multicultural communities
Discussion: Four Corners activity
Advocacy or Apathy?
American Indian Parent
Involvement in an Off-Reservation
Middle School
by Wendy Lee Sanderson
Background

I am in my eighth year of teaching ELL for
the Bismarck Public Schools. Five of those
years were spent at Wachter Middle
School as an academic language coach
serving those American Indian students
who were identified as limited English
proficient (LEP) under a federal
discretionary grant awarded by the Title
III Native American and Alaska Native
Children in School program.
Background


Over the years, educators have voiced
concerns to me that parents of American
Indian students at Wachter were not as
involved in their children’s education as
their dominant-culture counterparts.
Parental involvement in the Sheltered
Journey grant activities, including the
Thunder Eagles after school program
based at Wachter, varied greatly.
Guiding Questions
1. In what specific parent involvement activities
do parents and guardians of American Indian
middle school children at this site choose to
participate?
a.
Is the educational attainment level of these
American Indian parents a factor in their
choice of parent involvement activities?
b.
Is an American Indian boarding school
experience in these parents’ family history a
factor in their choice of parent involvement
activities?
Guiding Questions
2. To what degree do middle school
educators perceive that specific types of
parent involvement activities enhance
student academic learning?
Guiding Questions
3. Are the specific involvement practices of
the parents of American Indian students
in this survey perceived by educators as
valuable tools for enhancing middle
school students’ academic learning?
Types of Parental Involvement





Pomerantz, Moorman, and Litwack (2007):
4 types
school-based
home-based
cognitive-intellectual
(Grolnick & Slowiaczek, 1994)
governance and advocacy
(Epstein, 1990)
Types of Parental Involvement

All four types can be effective. In the
end, it may be the quality, and not the
quantity of parent involvement, that
determines its effectiveness (Pomerantz
et al., 2007).
Benefits of Parent Involvement






Increased student achievement
Heightened self-esteem
Decreased behavior problems
Decreased substance abuse
Increased attendance rates
Increased graduation rates
Benefits of American Indian
Parent Involvement




Narrowed achievement gap between
Native American students and their White
peers on high-stakes assessments
Improved student attitudes toward school
Improved grades
Increased student resilience/persistence
The Need for American Indian
Parent Involvement in
Middle Schools



As children grow older, it gets tougher for
parents to stay in contact with all their teachers
(Butterfield & Pepper, 1991).
Students might experience frustration during the
transition from elementary school to middle
school (Wilson, 1991).
American Indian student resilience decreases
10% every year between the ages of 10 and 15
(LaFromboise, Hoyt, Oliver, & Whitbeck, 2006).
The Need for American Indian
Parent Involvement in
Middle Schools

More parent involvement than ever is
necessary during the adolescent years,
when children begin to make potentially
life-altering choices regarding behaviors,
attendance, study habits, grades, and the
inherent value of staying in school
(Charleston & King, 1995).
Educator Perceptions of American
Indian Parent Involvement


Dominant-culture teachers tend to
consider culturally and ethnically diverse
families as deficient (Epstein & Dauber,
2007).
Secondary school personnel are more
likely to believe that parents are apathetic
than their elementary school peers
(Epstein, 2007).
American Indian Perceptions


American Indian parents usually consider
educators to be professionals and expect
them to handle student issues with a
minimum of parent intervention
(Butterfield & Pepper, 1991).
Minority parents are often more likely to
insist on a college education for their
children than their White peers (Public
Agenda, 2002).
American Indian Perceptions

Most American Indian parents want to
advocate for their children, but may not
convey that attitude to educators through
their actual participation practices at
school (Butterfield & Pepper, 1991).
Boarding School Experiences


First experiences with U.S. education
negative: government attempted to
exclude American Indian parents entirely
from their children’s education
Government intention to eradicate Native
languages and culture, assimilate
American Indians into mainstream White
society
Boarding School Experiences

American Indian parents may not know
how to effectively advocate for their
children in public schools; past boarding
school experiences may have rendered
them untrained—and as a result, unable—
to do so (Butterfield & Pepper, 1991).
Parent/Guardian Survey
Parent/Guardian Survey
Parent/Guardian Survey
Parent/Guardian Survey
Parent/Guardian Survey
Educator Survey
Educator Survey
Educator Survey
Parent/Guardian Survey Summary

The parents/guardians who responded to this
survey practiced these home-based parent
involvement activities most: asking their child
regularly how his or her school day went;
providing for the child’s basic needs of food,
clothing, shelter, and rest; helping the child with
homework; providing a quiet place to study;
giving feedback or rewards for assignments and
tests completed; emphasizing to child the value
of doing well and staying in school
Educator Survey Summary

The teachers who responded to the survey
considered these home-based activities as
most likely to enhance student academic
learning: providing the child’s basic
needs; practicing skills (reading, math
facts) with the child; reading to or with
the child; emphasizing to the child the
value of doing well and staying in school
Discussion

All American Indian parents surveyed said
they asked their children regularly how
their day went at school. A more
important conversation to implement,
according to the educators surveyed, is
the value of the child’s doing well and
staying in school, an activity less engaged
in by parents in this study.
Discussion

Educators surveyed indicated that
practicing basic skills like reading and
math facts with a child is a more effective
academic learning-enhancing parent
involvement activity than helping a child
with homework. American Indian parents
in this survey tended to help more with
homework and practice less basic skills.
Parent/Guardian Survey Summary

The parents/guardians who responded to
this survey practiced these school-based
parent involvement activities most:
providing the child’s transportation to and
from school; attending the child’s
extracurricular activities; attending
student-led parent/teacher conferences,
open houses, and orientations
Educator Survey Summary

The teachers who responded to the survey
considered these school-based activities as
most likely to enhance student academic
learning: attending problem-solving
meetings to help the child academically or
behaviorally; visiting with the
parent/family liaison; attending studentled parent/teacher conferences
Discussion

Educators did not consider transporting
children to and from school to be a
particularly learning-enhancing practice,
although it was one of the most frequently
practiced parent involvement activities
among American Indian parents and
guardians surveyed, and one that has
been proven crucial to creating
persistence in students (Brandt, 1992).
Discussion


The most-practiced forms of American Indian
parent involvement appear to be of the homebased variety (7 of the top 10 practiced parent
involvement activities were home-based).
American Indian parents with a boarding school
experience in the family history appear to be
less likely to participate in activities that are held
in the school than their non-boarding school
experienced counterparts.
Parent/Guardian Survey Summary


American Indian parents with a boarding school
experience in their family history tended to feel
more comfortable communicating with educators
over the phone or through technology rather
than talking face to face at school.
These parents were also less likely to attend
involvement activities that required them to visit
the school grounds than their non-boarding
school experienced counterparts.
Parent/Guardian Survey Summary

American Indian parents without a
boarding school experience in the family
history preferred to communicate with
teachers in person at school.
Implications for Educators

Getting to know American Indian families,
including being aware of whether or not
they had an off-reservation boarding
school experience in the family history,
can help educators determine how to best
meet the unique needs of these students
and their parents and guardians.
Conclusion

It is imperative that teachers and
administrators understand the factors,
such as an American Indian boarding
school experience in the family history,
that might determine the types of parent
involvement in which American Indian
parents ultimately choose to participate,
and how (and from where) they prefer to
communicate with school personnel.
Conclusion

If educators are to meet the academic
needs of these students, close the
achievement gap between them and their
dominant-culture peers, and ultimately
exit them from the school system with
diploma in hand, they MUST enlist the
help of parents.
Conclusion

They must not write American Indian
parents off as apathetic; they must
acknowledge the learning-enhancement
value of the activities the parent may
already be practicing while they work to
create an environment where all American
Indian parents and guardians feel
comfortable taking on the role of
advocate.
Multicultural Student Parental
Involvement – Research and
Best Practices

What are
the issues?
 What do
educators want?
 What do
parents want?
“The goal for America’s educational system
is clear: Every student should graduate from
high school ready for college or a career.
Every student should have meaningful
opportunities to choose from upon
graduation from high school”.
(United States Department of Education, Blueprint for Reform, available
at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/publication_pg4.html)
What do parents want?
In a survey conducted by Public
Agenda, parents of color not only
valued K – 12 education, but they
actually placed a greater priority on
higher education than their white
counterparts.
(2000,available at
http://www.highereducation.org/reports/expectations/expectations.
shtml).
Parents…
…want to feel they have
something to offer the
school, and that they
would be welcome if
they came.
…have had their
own unique
experiences, either
good or bad,
with schools.
Four Corners Activity:
How Well Is Your School
Bridging Racial, Class, and
Cultural Differences?




Corner
Corner
Corner
Corner
#1:
#2:
#3:
#4:
This will be hard.
This will take time.
We could do this easily.
We are already doing this.
Four Corners Activity:
Promoting Understanding of
Different Cultures
 Activities
and events honor all the
cultures in the school.
Four Corners Activity:
Recognizing and Addressing
Class and Language
Differences

English-speaking staff and families
make an effort to mix with families
who speak other languages.
Four Corners Activity:
Addressing Issues of
Race and Racism

School staff and families use books
and stories about different groups’
experiences, including American
Indians, to stimulate discussions
about their own backgrounds
and values.
Four Corners Activity:
Welcoming and Respecting
All Families
School administrators make home
visits and ride the school bus to
familiarize themselves with the reality
of their students’ circumstances.

Four Corners Activity:
Welcoming and Respecting
All Families

The school has a system for helping
staff and students learn how to
pronounce all students’ first and last
names correctly.
Four Corners Activity:
Welcoming and Respecting
All Families
Front office staff are warm and
welcoming to all families and visitors
and compliment family members on
their contributions.

Developing Parent-Friendly
Schools for Multicultural Parents





Look at your school
Make appropriate changes
Develop a resource collection
Share the power with parents
Involve the students
Advocacy or Apathy?
American Indian Parent Involvement in
an Off-Reservation Middle School
available at
http://www.dakotatesl.com
Beyond the Bake Sale: The
Essential Guide to FamilySchool Partnerships


Anne T. Henderson, Karen L. Mapp, Vivian
R. Johnson, and Don Davies
Published in 2007 by The New Press
Wendy Sanderson
Look on the Dakota TESL website:
http://www.dakotatesl.com
-orContact via e-mail:
winwinsituation@msn.com