Parent Involvement That Works

I’m back from a week’s vacation. I spent some of that time in West Virginia celebrating our son’s medical school launch.

Let’s be clear about one thing. Parental involvement in a child’s learning does not mean that a small, self-interested group of parents get to decide what is right for young learners who aren’t their kin.

Parents should have a say in their own child’s learning, and that’s probably where their influence and decision-making should end. And make no mistake about it, when parents are involved in their child’s learning the right way, the power of that involvement can be life-changing for the young learner.

Recently, EducationWeek online ran a story looking at research-based practices that parents can undertake to make a difference in their child’s learning. Reporter Libby Stanford writes,

“Parental involvement has been a top priority for school leaders for decades, and research shows that it can make a major difference in student outcomes.”

“But a parents’ rights movement that has captured headlines over the past few years and become a major political force has painted a particular picture of what parents’ involvement in their children’s education looks like.”

“Policies that have passed in a number of individual school districts, states, and the U.S. House have spelled out parents’ rights to inspect curriculum materials and withdraw their children from lessons they deem objectionable, restricted teaching about race, gender identity, and sexuality; and resulted in the removal of books from school libraries, including many with LGBTQ+ characters and protagonists of color.”

“The parents’ rights movement has been divisive and attracted the ire of some teachers who feel censored. But it has also opened up the conversation around parent involvement in school, said Vito Borrello, executive director of the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement.”

“And that’s a good thing, he said.”

“’The parents’ rights bills in and of themselves, I wouldn’t suggest are entirely focused on best practice family engagement,’ Borrello, who group works to advance effective family, school, and community engagement policies and practices. ‘However, what the parents’ rights bills have done is elevated the important role that parents have in their child’s education.’”

“For decades, research from around the world has shown that parents’ involvement in and engagement with their child’s education – including through parent-teacher conferences, parent-teacher organizations, school events, and at-home discussions about school – can lead to higher student achievement and better social-emotional outcomes.”

“Here are five takeaways form the research.”

“Studies show more parental involvement leads to improved academic outcomes. When parents are involved in their children’s schooling, students show higher academic achievement, school engagement, and motivation, according to a 2019 American Psychological Association review of 448 independent studies on parent involvement.”

“Parent involvement changes social-emotional outcomes, too. The APA study showed that not only does parental involvement lead to improved academic outcomes, but it also has a positive impact on students’ social and emotional skills and decreases instances of delinquency.”

“Not all parental involvement is created equal. Different levels and types of parent involvement led to varying outcomes for students, according to the American Psychological Association study. For example, school-based involvement, such as participation in parent-teacher conferences, open houses, and other school events, had a positive impact on academics in preschool, middle school, and high school, but the size of the impact was much lower in high school than in preschool. That may be because parents have fewer opportunities to be involved in the high school environment than in younger students’ classrooms where parents might volunteer.”

“Results of parent involvement don’t discriminate based on race or socioeconomics. Research has shown a consensus that family and parent involvement in schools leads to better outcomes regardless of a family’s ethnic background or socioeconomic status.”

“Parent involvement has led to higher academic outcomes both for children from low and higher socioeconomic status families.”

“Schools can encourage parent involvement in person and at home. Parent involvement doesn’t have to end with parent-teacher conferences. There are many ways for schools to encourage parents to be more involved both in school and at home, Borrello said.”

“The best way to start, he said, is by creating a school culture that is welcoming to families.”

The problem is that too many schools don’t understand what “a school culture that is welcoming to families” actually looks like in practice. Most schools want to define parent involvement on their own terms and are hesitant to give a parent any type of negotiating rights when it comes to what their child learns, when they will learn it, and how they will learn it. And what about a world whereby a parent and an adult learning leader help a young learner how to define, plan, execute, and evaluate their own learning? I’m afraid that vision’s likelihood of happening is slim to none. Instead, we’ve create a system whereby most states decide the curriculum, after teacher and parent groups attempt to sway legislator and board member decisions in their direction.

The problem with the present public school system is that it doesn’t offer the individual parent the opportunity to have input on their child’s learning plan. I can’t help but think that, if parents were given more say in that individual learning plan, we wouldn’t have to endure the dramatics that “Moms for Liberty” and other groups like them demonstrate.

There is a right way to do parent involvement. We just don’t have the right system in place to do it the way it should be done.

Til tomorrow. SVB