Influencing policy (training slides from Fast Track Impact)
Parent involvement
1. Working with
Parents
An essential element to effective teaching
Dr. Dave Kommer
2. What can parents do for
us?
• Parents can positively impact the following:
• student achievement
• attendance
• self-esteem
• graduation
• emotional well-being
• Benefits do not depend on income or education level. (It works
for all students!)
3. What might parent
involvement look like?
•Parents can help if they...
•create a positive home learning environment
•communicate high (but realistic) expectations
to learners
•become involved in children’s schooling
4. What gets in the way of
parent involvement?
• Parents face obstacles, such as...
• parents and teachers having different philosophies of what constitutes parent
involvement
• schools are not welcoming to parents
• fewer opportunities to be involved
• poor communication from schools
• lack of parent education and parenting skills
• Parents inadequacy with content
• Time, job and family pressures
• Kids tell parents not to come to school
• Add to this list the following...
• cultural differences
5. Models of
Parent Involvement
Communicating: Volunteering:
Parenting:
Communicate with Involve families in
help parents
families about school school activities. Train
understand adolescent
programs and student parents in volunteer
development
progress activities
Learning at Home: Decision-Making: Communities:
Involve parents in Involve families as Connect families by
academics including participants in school providing resource
homework, goal setting, governance through information and
projects. advisory groups coordinating
community efforts
6. Jigsaw Activity
• Collaborative Learning Approach
• Depends on each student following through
• Covers a lot of material in short time
• Steps:
• number off
• move to Expert Group
• Discuss ways to effectively implement this aspect of Parent Involvement.
Feel free to do a quick online search of programs.
• Return to Home Group, discuss pieces and add to note sheets.
7. Jigsaw Activity
• Collaborative Learning Approach
• Depends on each student following through
• Covers a lot of material in short time
• Steps:
• number off
• move to Expert Group
• Discuss ways to effectively implement this aspect of Parent Involvement.
Feel free to do a quick online search of programs.
• Return to Home Group, discuss pieces and add to note sheets.
Editor's Notes
Students with involved parents show 30% greater achievement than students with below average involvement.
What does the positive home learning environment look like? How can you help parents communicate these expectations? What does “ being involved ” look like? Does it require attendance at school?