Parent Involvement

National PTA defines parent involvement as the participation of parents in every facet of the education and development of their children from birth to adulthood. Numerous studies show that, regardless of the economic, ethnic, or cultural background of the family, parent involvement in a child’s education is a major factor in determining the child’s success in school. Meaningful parent involvement also contributes to other positive outcomes, such as better school attendance, improved homework completion rates, decreased violence and substance abuse, and higher graduation rates. For these reasons, National PTA worked to ensure that parent involvement provisions were included in the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

According to research study published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (2002), students with involved parents, no matter what their income or background, are more likely to:

• Earn higher grades and test scores, and enroll in higher-level programs
• Be promoted, pass their classes and earn credits
• Attend school regularly
• Have better social skills, show improved behavior and adapt well to school
• Graduate and go on to post-secondary education

Furthermore, studies show that families of all income and education levels, and from all ethnic and cultural groups, are engaged in supporting their children's learning at home.  In addition, schools that succeed in engaging families from diverse backgrounds share three key practices:

• Focus on building trusting, collaborative relationships among teachers, families and community members
• Recognize, respect and address families' needs, as well as class and cultural differences
• Embrace a philosophy of partnership where power and responsibility are shared

Section 1118 of Title I of NCLB is devoted solely to parent involvement and requires that every school district and school receiving Title I dollars have a written parent involvement policy that was developed with the assistance of and approved by parents. In addition, parents must be involved in deciding how the school will use the Title I funds designated for promoting parent involvement; these funds must be used to involve parents or to educate parents on parent involvement. Title I funds can be used to provide an array of support services for parents, including transportation, child care, or home visits. Title I schools are responsible for holding meetings, programs, and activities with flexible hours to accommodate working parents.  Regrettably, there is little evidence that the requirements of these provisions are being implemented in meaningful ways.

Although parent involvement has received much national attention, there is no central mechanism to translate federal policies into general practice. Consequently, we have a long way to go in making sure all parents have an opportunity to be involved in their children’s education. What must school, parents and families and communities do to achieve meaningful and sustainable engagement?  Some communities have found success in the following ways:

• Recognize that all parents, regardless of income, education or cultural background, are involved in their children's learning and want their children to do well.
• Design programs that will support families to guide their children's learning, from preschool through high school.
• Develop the capacity of school staff and families to work together.
• Link activities and programs for families to improving student learning.
• Focus on developing trusting and respectful relationships among staff and families.
• Build families' social and political connections.
• Embrace a philosophy of partnership and be willing to share power.
• Make sure that parents, school staff, and community members understand that the responsibility for children's educational development is a collaborative enterprise.
• Build strong connections between schools and community organizations.
• Include families in all strategies to reduce the achievement gap between white, middle-class students and low-income students and students of color.

To guide and measure the quality of schools’ parent and family involvement initiatives, National PTA developed the National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs, which build on the six types of parent involvement identified by Joyce L. Epstein, PhD, of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University. The six standards are Communicating, Parenting, Student Learning, Volunteering, School Decision Making and Advocacy, and Collaborating with the Community. Nearly 100 education, health, and parent involvement organizations have endorsed these standards.

National PTA believes that parent and family involvement polices and practics should create opportunities for parents and families to be involved in substantive tasks such as school restructuring and setting higher learning standards, and should be well structured and result in consistent parent participation throughout children’s academic careers.

National PTA believes that barriers to parent and family involvement (such as not getting time off from work, scheduling conflicts, lack of transportation, lack of child care, and language and cultural differences) need to be removed so parents and families can fully participate in the school culture and promote their children’s academic success.

Talking Points

• Studies document that, regardless of the economic, ethnic, or cultural background of the family, parent involvement in a child’s education is a major factor in determining the child’s success in school. Parent involvement also contributes to other positive outcomes, such as better school attendance, improved homework completion rates, decreased violence and substance abuse, and higher graduation rates.
• Parent and family involvement policies and practices should be well structured, and should result in consistent parent participation, rather than isolated attendance at a one-time event such as a parent-teacher conference or an annual back-to-school night.
• Parents and families must be engaged in substantive tasks such as school restructuring and setting higher learning standards.
• Barriers to parent and family involvement—such as not getting time off from work, scheduling conflicts, lack of transportation, lack of child care, and language and cultural differences—must be removed.