Partnerships with Families

The presence of parents can transform the culture of a school
(S.L. Lightfoot).

Three decades of research have demonstrated strong linkages between family involvement in education and school achievement (Riley, 1994) (see Handout 7 (pdf format)). Researchers have found that the earlier in a child's educational process family involvement begins, the more robust the benefits will be (Epstein, 1992). The value of family participation in their young children's education is particularly well documented for low-income families and those who are ethnically diverse.

By encouraging and providing opportunities for meaningful family involvement, schools play a critical role in bridging the gulf between home and school. "Just as with kids, it all goes back to the relationship," explains Debbie Fagnant, a teacher in a Northwest school. "It's the same with parents. Parents will be connected to school if they feel comfortable with us, their children's teacher. Establishing that relationship is a big part of our job" (Novick, 1998).

While traditional forms of family involvement focused on the supposed deficits of low-income and/or minority families, new models that reflect a family-support philosophy emphasize building on family strengths and developing partnerships with families based on mutual respect and responsibility (see Handout 8 (pdf format)). In these family-centered approaches, parents are involved as peers, collaborators, and the first teachers of their children, resulting in benefits for children, families, schools, and communities.

Fruchter, et. al. (1992), have identified four tenets of programs that have been shown to improve the educational outcomes for all children, particularly low-income and minority children:

• Parents are children's first teachers and have a lifelong influence on their children's values, attitudes, and aspirations
• Children's educational success requires congruence between what is taught at school and the values expressed in the home
• Most parents, regardless of economic status, educational level, and/or cultural background, care deeply about their children's education and can provide substantial support if given specific opportunities and knowledge
• Schools must take the lead in eliminating, or at least reducing, traditional barriers to parent involvement

Perhaps the most powerful form of parental involvement occurs when parents are actively engaged with their children at home in ways that enhance learning (see Handout 9 for ways that schools can involve families in literacy activities (pdf format)). In a review of the literature on parent involvement in education, Thorkildsen and Stein (1998) reported that a number of activities - such as parents encouraging reading and homework, caring what happens in class, keeping track of school progress, and finding children a place to study - were correlated with children's school performance. Three main themes emerged from the studies they reviewed:

• A supportive home environment provided by parents with high expectations for their child's success in school consistently has the strongest relationship with achievement
• Parent communication with the school is important, as is communication between the parent and child about school
• Parents need strong, ongoing support from schools to provide effective parent involvement

Effective strategies. A number of strategies, both formal and informal, have been identified by practitioners and researchers to enhance family/school communication, without putting additional demands on already overburdened families (see Handout 10 (pdf format)). Frequent newsletters and positive phone calls, surveys, interactive journals, parenting education classes, home visits, family resource centers, and referrals to community resources help parents feel supported, informed, and included. Non-threatening and enjoyable activities - picnics, potlucks, work parties, multicultural celebrations, authors' parties, field days, family fun nights, literacy fairs - can lure even the most reluctant parents to school.

Cummins (1986) cites an example of a successful project in Britain involving children from multiethnic communities, many of whose parents did not read English or use it at home. Yet the researchers found that simply having children read to their parents on a regular basis resulted in dramatic changes in children's progress in reading, surpassing children who received extra instruction from an experienced, qualified reading specialist.

The researchers also found that, almost without exception, parents welcomed the project, agreed to hear their children read, and completed a record card showing what had been read. The teachers involved with the home collaboration found the work with parents worthwhile, and they continued to involve parents with subsequent classes after the experiment was concluded. Teachers reported that children showed an increased interest in school learning and were better behaved.

At Cherry Valley Elementary School in Polson, Montana, staff has found that one of the most successful strategies for building trust and including parents in the school community is "family fun nights." Like most schools, Cherry Valley teachers found that while there is no trick to attracting White middle-class parents to school events, other families may be disinclined to come to school, due to a variety of reasons, including lack of time, their own negative experiences in school, and cultural incongruity. Understanding these barriers, Joyce Crosby, Cherry Valley's Family Enrichment Coordinator, has organized non-threatening and enjoyable activities that provide opportunities for the whole family to participate.

While some activities target one or two classes, others are schoolwide; all are averaging a 70 percent turnout. During one week, over three nights, a total of 276 parents and grandparents of kindergarten children made play dough together with their children. These informal evenings are not only a perfect setting for parents to get to know each other and school staff but offer opportunities for teachers to talk about how family members can participate in their children's education. First-grade teacher Doug Crosby explains:

In this country, we often read for extrinsic rewards, like pizza. It's the American way. What we need is intrinsic motivation, meaning sharing. We work very hard to get families involved in literacy activities with their children - not focusing on a particular set of words but establishing a habit that keeps going. Younger siblings see their older brothers and sisters reading with their parents. They see the enjoyment and they want to read too. Often younger siblings of children in Reading Recovery don't qualify for this program because of this early involvement with reading.

Creating "traveling books" is another effective strategy used in this small Montana school. Written as a group, with each child contributing a page on a shared topic, these books offer opportunities for families to see the progress of all the children in the class, as well as their own child. Crosby comments:

Think about a worksheet - it might take 10 or 15 minutes to fill out a worksheet, and it will be thrown away or hung on the fridge. Take a traveling book. It might take an hour to make it. Each child might read it with their mom and dad for 10 minutes. It comes back to the classroom, becomes part of the classroom library and is read during the day. At the end of the year, it becomes part of the school library. How many hours of reading and enjoyment is that book giving to kids?

These activities go beyond traditional family-involvement strategies, reflecting a philosophy of creating inclusive, supportive family/school partnerships. They are not merely added on to the school day; rather, they are integrated into the school community - a community that includes culturally responsive teaching, authentic pedagogy, and ongoing staff development that encourages and supports learning by all.

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