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| How Communities Can Support Family Involvement in Education |
| Combat alcohol, drugs, and violence |
These problems threaten children's chances for success in far too many of our communities. Prevention programs work best when parents, students, schools, law enforcement officials, and communities join together to fight back. For example, schools and community members can provide mentoring and after-school programs to give children safe havens from violence and alternatives to drugs. Communities can also put students on the right path by providing a quality education and school-to-work programs that lead to college, technical training, or good jobs after high school. Solving drug and safety problems is a difficult task, and each community will have to find its own answers. But when communities unite, real progress can be made.
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| Teach parenting skills |
Programs for parents can include academic classes, literacy training, career preparation, early childhood education, children's health, and assistance in finding helpful services in the community. When adults become involved in parenting education, parent-child communication improves and children with developmental delays in speech, social skills, and other areas overcome these challenges more readily. High-quality parenting programs engage parents early, sometimes even before their child's birth, and focus on the critical early years of a child's development. A recent study of family literacy found that economically at-risk preschool children whose parents received significant amounts of parenting education performed better
on vocabulary tests-an important measure of literacy-than children whose parents received little
parenting instruction.
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| Provide mentor programs |
Changes in families and communities have limited the amount of contact many youths have with adults who can offer advice and act as role models. To help fill in the gap, interested citizens-from employers to college students to senior citizens-can participate in mentor programs which can provide emotional support and guidance to young people. Mentors can help with schoolwork, job skill development, career planning, parenting, and the many other challenges that face young people today.
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| Enlist community volunteers |
Many different kinds of community organizations, such as civic groups, men's and women's associations, service clubs, and religious groups can organize support for youngsters. In many communities, senior citizens are putting their experience and expertise to work on behalf of children. Nearly 40 percent of Americans over 60 years of age are now involved in some type of volunteer activity. Volunteers can serve as tutors or teacher aides, work in the library, or help with after-school activities, such as music and storytelling.
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| Offer summer learning programs |
Communities can make summer activities available to young people through schools, cultural institutions, park districts, and other public and private agencies. Activities might include programs at recreation centers, science and art museums, libraries, and camping sites. These programs are particularly important for low-income children. With limited access to such learning resources at home as books and computers, low-income children can suffer serious academic losses during the summer. Those months need not become a time for losing ground academically or getting into trouble. With the help of community resources, it can be
a time of productive learning. |
| Support preschool programs |
Two examples of community programs that support family involvement are Parents as Teachers (PAT) and Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY). Missouri's Parents as Teachers program operates in every district of the state and works with parents of children up to 3 years of age. HIPPY is for mothers of children aged four and five, and it offers a curriculum and materials to help moms get their children ready for kindergarten. Local parent aides visit families to explain the program and review lessons. PAT and HIPPY have been found to improve children's achievement and adjustment to school.
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| Source: Family Involvement Partnership for Learning, 600 Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, DC 20202-8137, 1-800-USA-LEARN.
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