“No!
I don’t want to
get involved!”
Overcoming barriers to parent engagement
Data compiled by Susan Hamann; President-Elect, Oregon PTA
Presented by Oregon PTA’s Executive Director, Carol Wire
Agenda
• What is parent engagement and why is it important?
engagement?
• How can I help parents at my site overcome these
barriers?
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• What are the challenges and barriers related to parent
Review the four versions of Family-School Partnerships
• Partnership School
• Open-Door School
• Come-if-We-Call School
• Fortress School
Follow the instructions on the rubric and score your site.
• Where does your school fit?
• Where does your program fit?
• Is there a difference?
• Share your results with your table mates.
Source: Beyond the Bake Sale—The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships (2006)
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
4 versions of partnership
Boost grades and test scores
Improve attendance
Foster positive social skills
Increase graduation rates and increase higher
education attainment
Improved relationships between parents and kids
Improved outcomes for after school programs
Source: Focus on Families! How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in
After School. Harvard Family Research Project
Build the Out-of-School Time Network (BOSTnet). 2006
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Why engage families?
• Parenting: Helps all families establish environments to support
children as students
• Aligns with PTA Standard for Family-School Partnerships (#3)
• Supporting Student Success: Families and school staff
continuously collaborate to support students’ learning and
healthy development both at home and at school, and have
regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills
to do so effectively.
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Ready, Set, Lead! PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. 2009.
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Parenting: Helps all families establish environments to support
children as students
• Barriers and Challenges
• Information is not accessible to all families
• Translation and interpretation services are an added cost
• Information may be too academic
• Parent education opportunities should be linked to student
success
• A family’s financial situation may not support the home
environments being promoted
• Can they afford fresh, healthy food?
• Parents work in the evening (can’t be there to help with
homework)
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Ideas:
• Offer parent education opportunities
• Parenting, language, healthy living, helping with
homework
• GED, literacy, college credit
• Neighborhood meetings that help parents understand school
• Offer parent/teacher conference success tips
• Offer parent involvement ideas to the community
• Newsletter articles
• Signs at site
• Local newspaper
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Parenting: Helps all families establish environments to support
children as students
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Outcomes for kids
• Increased respect for parents
• Higher self-esteem
• Better health
• Students feel supported at home
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Parenting: Helps all families establish environments to
support children as students
• Communicating: Design effective school-to-home and hometo-school communications about school programs and
children’s progress.
• Aligns with PTA Standard for Family-School Partnerships
(#2)
• Families and school staff engage in regular, two-way,
meaningful communication about student learning.
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Ready, Set, Lead! PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. 2009
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Language – non-English speaking families
• Translation and interpretation are an added cost to programs
• Information sent home is:
• Unclear
• Too academic, full of teacher-ese and acronyms
• Frequent communication adds to the work load of staff
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Communicating: Design effective school-to-home and hometo-school communications about school programs and
children’s progress.
• Barriers and Challenges:
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Ideas
• Assist with parent teacher conferences
• Find translation and interpretation services
• Communicate frequently and consistently
• Sponsor events that reach all parents
• Events should allow staff and parents to mingle
• Provide a calendar of school events
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Communicating: Design effective school-to-home and hometo-school communications about school programs and
children’s progress.
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Outcome for kids
• Understanding of their own progress
• Understanding of school policies
• Informed decision making
• Awareness of role in communication
• Students as messengers of information
• Back pack mail
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Communicating: Design effective school-to-home and hometo-school communications about school programs and
children’s progress.
• Volunteering: Recruit and organize parent help and support
• ARTICLE: “It’s O.K. to Skip That Bake Sale” By Bruce Feiler
• Barriers and challenges
• Encouraging all families to participate
• Scheduling
• Working parents, parents with really little kids
• Training volunteers for specific tasks
• Matching talents with needs of the program
• School culture may not support parent volunteers
• Article: “A New Breed of Volunteer Calls for a New Volunteer
Culture” by Thomas McKee
http://www.ptaourchildren.org/ourchildren/20120809#pg1
• School climate survey
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Beyond the Bake Sale—The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships (2006)
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Ideas
• Recruit widely
• Address school culture
• Create a community room for:
• Volunteer work
• Meetings
• Family resources
• Organize volunteers
• Create schedules
• Offer specific tasks
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Volunteering: Recruit and organize parent help and
support
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Outcomes for kids:
• Builds communication skills between children and adults
• Targeted attention from volunteers builds skills
• Increased awareness of talents in the community
• Future occupations, hobbies
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Volunteering: Recruit and organize parent help and
support
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Aligns with PTA Standard for Family-School Partnerships (#3)
• Supporting Student Success: Families and school staff
continuously collaborate to support students’ learning and
healthy development both at home and at school, and have
regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills
to do so effectively.
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Ready, Set, Lead! PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. 2009.
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Learning at Home: Provide information and ideas to help
students at home with homework and other curriculum related
activities, decisions and planning.
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Learning at Home: Provide information and ideas to help students at home with
homework and other curriculum related activities, decisions and planning.
• Leaving the responsibility to students to communicate HW
expectation, deadline and decisions
• Involving families in curriculum related decisions
• Language barrier
• parents may feel uncomfortable helping kids with homework
• Parents may dislike/distrust academic world
• Parent time
• Poverty stress, multiple children, multiple jobs or difficult working
hours
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Barriers and Challenges
Group Discussion
• Brainstorm some strategies with a neighbor.
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Parents without adequate resources often feel overwhelmed.
Families suffering from economic stress must address their
own needs for food, clothing, and shelter before they can see
clear to become more involved in their children’s education.
• Learning at Home: Provide information and ideas to help
students at home with homework and other curriculum related
activities, decisions and planning.
• Survey: How closely is your school’s parent involvement
program linked to student learning?
• Ideas
• Accessible information for parents
•
•
•
•
Policies, guidelines, expectations, how to help with HW
HW schedules
Academic family activities at school
Goal setting, college planning
• Open staff development to parents
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
•
•
•
•
•
Gains in skills and abilities linked to homework
Higher grades due to homework completion
Higher self-esteem as a learner
Kids feel supported at home
Parent and school present a united front
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Learning at Home: Provide information and ideas to help
students at home with homework and other curriculum related
activities, decisions and planning.
• Outcomes for kids
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Sharing Power: Families and school staff are equal partners in
decisions that affect children and families and together inform,
influence and create policies, practices and programs.
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Ready, Set, Lead! PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. 2009
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Decision Making: Include parents in school decisions,
developing parent leaders and representatives
• Aligns with PTA Standard for Family-School Partnerships (#5)
• Decision Making: Include parents in school decisions,
developing parent leaders and representatives
• SURVEY: How well does your school support parents as
advocates?
• Barriers and Challenges
• Parents leaders are reflective of the all the groups at the site
• Ethnic, SES, racial, LGBT
• Offering training that is accessible to all
• Including students in decision making
Sources:
Beyond the Bake Sale—The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships (2006)
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Organize parent groups (PTA!)
• Parent Advisory Council
• Site Council
• How can parents support the school improvement plan?
• Committees
• Site level district level regional level  state level
• Engage in local elections
• Candidates forum, education
• Create a parent involvement policy
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Decision Making: Include parents in school decisions,
developing parent leaders and representatives.
• Ideas
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Students feel that their family has a voice
• Students’ rights are protected
• Benefits are linked to policies enacted by parents and experienced
by students
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Decision Making: Include parents in school decisions,
developing parent leaders and representatives.
• Outcomes for kids
• Collaborating with the Community: Identify and integrate
resources and services from the community to strengthen
school programs, family practices and student learning and
development.
• Aligns with PTA Standard for Family-School Partnerships (#6)
• Families and school staff collaborate with community members to
connect students, families and staff to expand learning
opportunities, community services and civic participation.
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Ready, Set, Lead! PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. 2009
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Collaborating with the Community: Identify and integrate
resources and services from the community to strengthen
school programs, family practices and student learning and
development.
• SURVEY: How well is your school sharing power and
practicing democracy?
• Barriers and Challenges
• Communicating with families about opportunities
• Equity
• Whose responsibility is it?
• Funds, staffing, locations
• Community contributions should integrate with program needs
Sources:
Beyond the Bake Sale—The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships (2006)
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Collaborating with the Community: Identify and integrate
resources and services from the community to strengthen
school programs, family practices and student learning and
development.
• Ideas
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Distribute resource information
Alumni participation
Reach out widely
Resource fair
Engage older adult community
Press relaeses
Service learning
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
• Collaborating with the Community: Identify and integrate
resources and services from the community to strengthen
school programs, family practices and student learning and
development.
• Outcomes for kids
• Increased skills and talents
• Greater awareness of career options, education opportunities
• Linking resources to people who need them.
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Epstein’s Framework of
Six Types of Involvement
Involved vs. Engaged
• Whose energy drives it?
• Involved: Ideas and energy come from the school/site.
• Engaged: Ideas and energy come from parents
• Involved: “We’re” involving “them”
• Engaged: Starts with building relationships. Parents are challenged
to do something.
• Roles of Parents and Staff
• Involved: Families complete school/site directed tasks
• Engaged: Community organizers who do things for themselves
with the support of the school.
Source: http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/LarryFerlazzoParentEngagement
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
• Invitation
Oregon PTA www.oregonpta.org
503.234.3928
Questions? Comments?