Week 3 Discussion 1 Partnerships Discern what Hjalmarson (2011) means when she states, “Rather than expecting parents to adapt to us, we need to create a parent involvement system that meets parents’ diverse needs” (p. 45). Do you recall, as a K-12 student, certain educators who provided leadership in partnership activities?  Please give specific examples about those partnerships.  Describe those partnerships.  How did they impact your educational experience? Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts. INSTRUCTOR GUIDANCE WEEK THREE *Special thanks to Dr. Patrice Jones for sharing her original guidance in this document. Over the past two weeks, you’ve read about the positive educational benefits of a family, community, and school partnership. Involvement from all stakeholders has been shown to help overcome learning obstacles both inside and outside the classroom (Blank, Jaobson, & Melaville, 2012; Peters, 2012).  Begin Week Three by watching the two minute video CNN: Why Parents Matter in Education (Links to an external site.), where correspondent Carl Azuz asks students about their perspective on parental involvement in education. While you’re watching this video, think about your own education, the education of your children, and the parents who are involved in the school where you are teaching. Can you relate to what these students are saying?  Is this interview an accurate representation of your personal and/or professional experiences?   This week, you will read chapter five in your textbook which discusses some of the barriers of parental involvement in the areas of support, engagement, and participation. According to Hjalmarson (2011), placing parents in different tiers, and differentiating strategies related to the tiers, allows school members to be more successful in getting parents engaged. She believes that, like students, parents fall into categories depending on their individual needs. Once the categories are created, they can then be tailored with specific communication and engagement strategies for parent involvement success. Tier I, for example, is what she labels “the ideal parents.” Those who fall in this category are committed to being involved in their child’s education.  They volunteer at school events, attend PTA meetings, and have open lines of communication. To what extent should parents who are involved in the Tier 1 category, take on the responsibility of getting other parents involved?  What obstacles might they face if taking on this role?      Dr. Joyce Epstein, author of School, Family and Community Partnerships, designed a framework similar to the tier system to help educators create differentiated school-family-community programs. This one and a half minute video, Six Types of Parental Involvement and Practices (Links to an external site.), provides a brief summary for each type of involvement. The framework includes the following information in each category:  •    A brief definition of the paren ...

1. Week 3 Discussion 1 Partnerships
Discern what Hjalmarson (2011) means when she states,
“Rather than expecting parents to adapt to us, we need to create
a parent involvement system that meets parents’ diverse needs”
(p. 45).
Do you recall, as a K-12 student, certain educators who
provided leadership in partnership activities? Please give
specific examples about those partnerships. Describe those
partnerships. How did they impact your educational
experience? Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.
INSTRUCTOR GUIDANCE
WEEK THREE
*Special thanks to Dr. Patrice Jones for sharing her original
guidance in this document.
Over the past two weeks, you’ve read about the positive
educational benefits of a family, community, and school
partnership. Involvement from all stakeholders has been shown
to help overcome learning obstacles both inside and outside the
classroom (Blank, Jaobson, & Melaville, 2012; Peters, 2012).
Begin Week Three by watching the two minute video
CNN: Why Parents Matter in Education (Links to an external
site.), where correspondent Carl Azuz asks students about their
perspective on parental involvement in education. While you’re
watching this video, think about your own education, the
education of your children, and the parents who are involved in
the school where you are teaching. Can you relate to what these
students are saying? Is this interview an accurate representation
of your personal and/or professional experiences?
This week, you will read chapter five in your textbook which

2. discusses some of the barriers of parental involvement in the
areas of support, engagement, and participation. According to
Hjalmarson (2011), placing parents in different tiers, and
differentiating strategies related to the tiers, allows school
members to be more successful in getting parents engaged. She
believes that, like students, parents fall into categories
depending on their individual needs. Once the categories are
created, they can then be tailored with specific communication
and engagement strategies for parent involvement success. Tier
I, for example, is what she labels “the ideal parents.” Those
who fall in this category are committed to being involved in
their child’s education. They volunteer at school events, attend
PTA meetings, and have open lines of communication. To what
extent should parents who are involved in the Tier 1 category,
take on the responsibility of getting other parents involved?
What obstacles might they face if taking on this role?
Dr. Joyce Epstein, author of School, Family and Community
Partnerships, designed a framework similar to the tier system to
help educators create differentiated school-family-community
programs. This one and a half minute video, Six Types of
Parental Involvement and Practices (Links to an external site.),
provides a brief summary for each type of involvement. The
framework includes the following information in each category:
• A brief definition of the parents who fall into each category
• Sample activities to engage each category
• Challenges educators may face with families who fall into
each category
• Defining challenging terms to making them meaningful to
parents
• Results and benefits for students
• Results and benefits for parents
• Results and benefits for teachers
(Epstein, 2009)
Consider about how Epstein’s framework and Hjalmarson’s tiers

3. are similar. How are the different? How can they work together
to maximum parental involvement and student success?
Week 3 Discussion Guidance
Begin this week’s first discussion response, Partnerships, by
reading chapter five in your text. This chapter begins by
discussing some of the barriers to parent involvement in their
child’s education. The author begins to discern the varying
categories that parents can be placed in according to their
needs. Based on parents’ needs, a variety of different strategies
are suggested for developing partnerships with parents. For your
initial post, think about how the following quote resonates with
your personal and professional experiences: “Rather than
expecting parents to adapt to us, we need to create a parent
involvement system that meets parents’ diverse needs”
(Hjalmarson, 2011, p. 45). Do you recall, as a K-12 student,
certain educators who provided leadership in partnership
activities? Please give specific examples about those
partnerships. Describe those partnerships. How did they impact
your educational experience? How does the role of each faculty
and staff member tie into in the school? We have explored
counselors, and, based on our experiences as students, we know
that teachers also have an active role in getting parents
involved. The principal, of course, is the leader of the school,
but does this individual also lead the parent partnership
endeavor?
The second discussion, Leadership Roles, addresses the concept
of school-based leadership. What role should each member of
the school’s faculty and staff assume when reaching out to
parents and community members? Who should spearhead these
connections and relationships? How should these
responsibilities be allocated? Keep in mind the role of school
counselors last week and misperceptions of their role within the
school.

4. Please review the discussion board rubric prior to your initial
post to ensure you are fully meeting each of the set criteria to
earn full credit. Your initial post should include relevant
professional, personal, or other real-world experiences in a
manner that is rich in thought and provides valuable insight into
the topic. Additionally, all elements of the discussion board
prompt should be thoroughly addressed with strong and precise
connections to previous and/or current course content, or to
real-life situations. When substantively replying to your peers’
post, be sure to provide a thorough and constructive analysis
relating the response to relevant course concepts that
incorporates pertinent follow-up thoughts or questions about the
topic, and demonstrates respect for the diverse opinions of
fellow learners.
Week 3 Assignment Guidance
Effective parent-school relationships begin with classroom
teacher and individual parents. While parents clearly know their
children best, as education professionals, classroom teachers
need to take the lead in establishing and maintaining these
relationships. The MetLife Survey of the American
Teacher (Links to an external site.) set out to answer the
question to what extent do teachers, principals, and students
work and learn together to increase overall academic
achievement. Among the major findings, “nine in ten teachers
(88%) and principals (89%) believe that strengthening ties
among schools and parents is very important for improving
student achievement” (Metlife, 2010, p. 25). The study also
found that teachers (88%) and principals (85%) believe that the
key to improving the future of education and student
achievement requires strengthening ties between schools and
parents.
For this week’s assignment, Exploring the Role of Parents, you
will describe the necessary steps and individual roles in
establishing, utilizing, and maintaining an effective parent-

5. teacher relationship. You will also explain how each party
knows whether or not the relationship is effective, including
criteria used to determine this. Make sure to use the grading
rubric as a self-checklist before submitting the final copy of
your assignment to confirm you have met or exceeded each
required expectation. The highest level of achievement on the
rubric is “distinguished,” which is only earned through
exceeding posted expectations at the proficiency level. Please
remember you are in a masters-level program. Therefore, your
writing, research, and content are held to graduate-level
expectations.
References and Resources
Aridnerb. (2012). network0001_aridne (Links to an external
site.) [photograph]. Retrieved from
http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/824341
Blank, M., Jaobson, R., & Melaville, A. (2012). Achieving
results through community school partnerships. (Links to an
external site.)Center for American Progress. Retrieved from
https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-
content/uploads/issues/2012/01/pdf/community_schools.pdf
CNN. (2010, September 3). Why parents matter in
education (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=
wK-yIIOg5wo
Epstein, J. (2009). Six types of involvement: Keys to successful
partnerships (Links to an external site.). Retrieved
from http://nnps.jhucsos.com/nnps-model/school-model/six-
types-of-involvement-keys-to-successful-partnerships/
Hjalmarson, F. (2011). Differentiated parent support: Engaging
parents in unique ways to increase their involvement in school.
San Diego, CA: TurnAround Schools Publishing.
Jones, P. (2015). Week 1 instructor guidance [EDU617: School,
Family & Community Partnership]. San Diego, CA: Ashford
University
MetLife. (2010, April). The MetLife survey of the American

6. teacher: Collaborating for student success. (Links to an external
site.)Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED509650.pdf
S0135604. (2014, May 8). Six types of parental involvement
and practices (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKezcODxcpI
Unicef. (n.d.). Epstein's framework of six types of
involvement. (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from
http://www.unicef.org/lac/Joyce_L._Epstein_s_Framework_of_S
ix_Types_of_Involvement(2).pdf
Required Resources
1. Read from your text, Differentiated Parent Support: Engaging
Parents in Unique Ways to Increase Their Involvement in
School:
· Chapter Five – Barriers of Parent Involvement
· Chapter Six – Tier One: The Ideal Parent
2. Griffin, D. & Steen, S. (2010). School-Family-Community
Partnerships: Applying Epstein's Theory of the Six Types of
Involvement to School Counselor Practice. Professional School
Counseling, 13(4), 218-226. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
. This article investigates involvement in partnerships using
Epstein's six types of school-family-community involvement
interactions (i.e., parenting, communicating, volunteering,
learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the
community).
Week 3 Discussion 2 Leadership Roles
Who should take the leadership role in organizing outreach
programs to the parents, the family, and the community? What
specific strategies would you employ? Respond to at least two
of your classmates’ posts.
INSTRUCTOR GUIDANCE
WEEK THREE
*Special thanks to Dr. Patrice Jones for sharing her original

7. guidance in this document.
Over the past two weeks, you’ve read about the positive
educational benefits of a family, community, and school
partnership. Involvement from all stakeholders has been shown
to help overcome learning obstacles both inside and outside the
classroom (Blank, Jaobson, & Melaville, 2012; Peters, 2012).
Begin Week Three by watching the two minute video
CNN: Why Parents Matter in Education (Links to an external
site.), where correspondent Carl Azuz asks students about their
perspective on parental involvement in education. While you’re
watching this video, think about your own education, the
education of your children, and the parents who are involved in
the school where you are teaching. Can you relate to what these
students are saying? Is this interview an accurate representation
of your personal and/or professional experiences?
This week, you will read chapter five in your textbook which
discusses some of the barriers of parental involvement in the
areas of support, engagement, and participation. According to
Hjalmarson (2011), placing parents in different tiers, and
differentiating strategies related to the tiers, allows school
members to be more successful in getting parents engaged. She
believes that, like students, parents fall into categories
depending on their individual needs. Once the categories are
created, they can then be tailored with specific communication
and engagement strategies for parent involvement success. Tier
I, for example, is what she labels “the ideal parents.” Those
who fall in this category are committed to being involved in
their child’s education. They volunteer at school events, attend
PTA meetings, and have open lines of communication. To what
extent should parents who are involved in the Tier 1 category,
take on the responsibility of getting other parents involved?
What obstacles might they face if taking on this role?

8. Dr. Joyce Epstein, author of School, Family and Community
Partnerships, designed a framework similar to the tier system to
help educators create differentiated school-family-community
programs. This one and a half minute video, Six Types of
Parental Involvement and Practices (Links to an external site.),
provides a brief summary for each type of involvement. The
framework includes the following information in each category:
• A brief definition of the parents who fall into each category
• Sample activities to engage each category
• Challenges educators may face with families who fall into
each category
• Defining challenging terms to making them meaningful to
parents
• Results and benefits for students
• Results and benefits for parents
• Results and benefits for teachers
(Epstein, 2009)
Consider about how Epstein’s framework and Hjalmarson’s tiers
are similar. How are the different? How can they work together
to maximum parental involvement and student success?
Week 3 Discussion Guidance
Begin this week’s first discussion response, Partnerships, by
reading chapter five in your text. This chapter begins by
discussing some of the barriers to parent involvement in their
child’s education. The author begins to discern the varying
categories that parents can be placed in according to their
needs. Based on parents’ needs, a variety of different strategies
are suggested for developing partnerships with parents. For your
initial post, think about how the following quote resonates with
your personal and professional experiences: “Rather than
expecting parents to adapt to us, we need to create a parent
involvement system that meets parents’ diverse needs”
(Hjalmarson, 2011, p. 45). Do you recall, as a K-12 student,
certain educators who provided leadership in partnership

9. activities? Please give specific examples about those
partnerships. Describe those partnerships. How did they impact
your educational experience? How does the role of each faculty
and staff member tie into in the school? We have explored
counselors, and, based on our experiences as students, we know
that teachers also have an active role in getting parents
involved. The principal, of course, is the leader of the school,
but does this individual also lead the parent partnership
endeavor?
The second discussion, Leadership Roles, addresses the concept
of school-based leadership. What role should each member of
the school’s faculty and staff assume when reaching out to
parents and community members? Who should spearhead these
connections and relationships? How should these
responsibilities be allocated? Keep in mind the role of school
counselors last week and misperceptions of their role within the
school.
Please review the discussion board rubric prior to your initial
post to ensure you are fully meeting each of the set criteria to
earn full credit. Your initial post should include relevant
professional, personal, or other real-world experiences in a
manner that is rich in thought and provides valuable insight into
the topic. Additionally, all elements of the discussion board
prompt should be thoroughly addressed with strong and precise
connections to previous and/or current course content, or to
real-life situations. When substantively replying to your peers’
post, be sure to provide a thorough and constructive analysis
relating the response to relevant course concepts that
incorporates pertinent follow-up thoughts or questions about the
topic, and demonstrates respect for the diverse opinions of
fellow learners.
Week 3 Assignment Guidance
Effective parent-school relationships begin with classroom

10. teacher and individual parents. While parents clearly know their
children best, as education professionals, classroom teachers
need to take the lead in establishing and maintaining these
relationships. The MetLife Survey of the American
Teacher (Links to an external site.) set out to answer the
question to what extent do teachers, principals, and students
work and learn together to increase overall academic
achievement. Among the major findings, “nine in ten teachers
(88%) and principals (89%) believe that strengthening ties
among schools and parents is very important for improving
student achievement” (Metlife, 2010, p. 25). The study also
found that teachers (88%) and principals (85%) believe that the
key to improving the future of education and student
achievement requires strengthening ties between schools and
parents.
For this week’s assignment, Exploring the Role of Parents, you
will describe the necessary steps and individual roles in
establishing, utilizing, and maintaining an effective parent-
teacher relationship. You will also explain how each party
knows whether or not the relationship is effective, including
criteria used to determine this. Make sure to use the grading
rubric as a self-checklist before submitting the final copy of
your assignment to confirm you have met or exceeded each
required expectation. The highest level of achievement on the
rubric is “distinguished,” which is only earned through
exceeding posted expectations at the proficiency level. Please
remember you are in a masters-level program. Therefore, your
writing, research, and content are held to graduate-level
expectations.
References and Resources
Aridnerb. (2012). network0001_aridne (Links to an external
site.) [photograph]. Retrieved from
http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/824341
Blank, M., Jaobson, R., & Melaville, A. (2012). Achieving

11. results through community school partnerships. (Links to an
external site.)Center for American Progress. Retrieved from
https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-
content/uploads/issues/2012/01/pdf/community_schools.pdf
CNN. (2010, September 3). Why parents matter in
education (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=
wK-yIIOg5wo
Epstein, J. (2009). Six types of involvement: Keys to successful
partnerships (Links to an external site.). Retrieved
from http://nnps.jhucsos.com/nnps-model/school-model/six-
types-of-involvement-keys-to-successful-partnerships/
Hjalmarson, F. (2011). Differentiated parent support: Engaging
parents in unique ways to increase their involvement in school.
San Diego, CA: TurnAround Schools Publishing.
Jones, P. (2015). Week 1 instructor guidance [EDU617: School,
Family & Community Partnership]. San Diego, CA: Ashford
University
MetLife. (2010, April). The MetLife survey of the American
teacher: Collaborating for student success. (Links to an external
site.)Retrieved from
http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED509650.pdf
S0135604. (2014, May 8). Six types of parental involvement
and practices (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKezcODxcpI
Unicef. (n.d.). Epstein's framework of six types of
involvement. (Links to an external site.) Retrieved from
http://www.unicef.org/lac/Joyce_L._Epstein_s_Framework_of_S
ix_Types_of_Involvement(2).pdf
Required Resources
1. Read from your text, Differentiated Parent Support: Engaging
Parents in Unique Ways to Increase Their Involvement in
School:
· Chapter Five – Barriers of Parent Involvement
· Chapter Six – Tier One: The Ideal Parent
2. Griffin, D. & Steen, S. (2010). School-Family-Community

12. Partnerships: Applying Epstein's Theory of the Six Types of
Involvement to School Counselor Practice. Professional School
Counseling, 13(4), 218-226. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
. This article investigates involvement in partnerships using
Epstein's six types of school-family-community involvement
interactions (i.e., parenting, communicating, volunteering,
learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the
community).