School 2 Home Communication Forum eNewsletter
Vol. 1, No. 1
 December 2007
Did You Know?

Parental Information and Resource Centers

Each year, the U.S. Department of Education allocates money to fund Parent Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs). These centers are designed to enhance parental involvement programs, especially those activities that lead to improvements in student academic achievement.

 

For example: In Maryland, parents are leaders in their children's schools, thanks to the Parent Institute, a program of the Maryland Parental Information and Resource Center. Watch now.
In the Spotlight
 
Forum for Improving School-to-Home Communication
A new Web-based network will give school administrators access to information about effective parental involvement-the research, the issues and challenges, and the success stories. Read School-2-Home: Promoting Communication, Learning, and Growth.
 
Money and Education Matter
Family income and education levels can influence whether parents will participate in educating their children, the Associated Press reports. Read Parental Involvement Has Disparities.
 
NCLB Explained
Are parents in your school district confused about the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation? Here's a resource you can share: In the Empowering Parents School Box (September 2007) the U.S. Department of Education explains NCLB and helps parents understand their role in the education of their children. Browse the School Box.
 
It's All About Attitude
The first step in creating effective partnerships with families and community members is to check your attitude, advise the authors of Beyond the Bake Sale: The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships (2007, The New Press).
 
"Before we can create strong and effective partnerships with families, we have to believe not only that it's important but also that it can be done -- and that we can do it," the author's write (2007, para 4).
 
Read more of this excerpt from Beyond the Bake Sale, courtesy of ParentInvolvementMatters.org.
Improved Communication

Jargon Be Gone!
When school leaders communicate with parents and community members, they must strive to use language that's easily accessible and understandable. Remind school leaders to avoid using the education jargon that may have become their second language. Here are some tips you can share with school leaders in your district.
 
Overcoming Language Barriers
The quest to improve communication with families can be a challenge when the first language spoken in many students' homes is not English. In Cobb County, Ga., for example, students hail from 131 countries and students speak 81 different languages. Here's how school leaders there overcame the language barrier to improve school-home communication and bolster student achievement. Read the story.
 
Use Your Technological Savvy
Schools want to communicate with parents and family members, but it can be a challenge. The Web can be a great tool, if teachers and school leaders know how to use it. Share these tips from a teacher in North Carolina with school leaders and teachers in your district.
Conversations
 
On the Radio: When Schools and Parents Collaborate
 
As the kids headed back to school in September, National Public Radio talked with educators about parental involvement. What happens when parents and teachers approach education as a team effort?  Listen now.
 
Outreach Through the Airwaves
 
Many schools leaders across the United States have learned that television can be a friend, rather than a foe. By tuning into channels and programs dedicated to school news, students and parents, staff and community members keep up-to-date on their school and its programs. Read more.
 
Successful Strategies
 
Parental Involvement: Go Beyond the Ordinary
Student success is a shared interest of both school and family. Schools that believe this find innovative ways to activate that partnership, according to the Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement (CSRI).
 
It's important for schools to develop programs "in response to a specific need in the school or its community and are both focused and flexible in addressing that need," writes in Meeting the Challenge: Getting Parents Involved in Schools (August 2005, CSRI, p. 3).
 
Innovative ideas: 
  • Sacajawea Elementary School in Seattle has established a Parent Mentor program. Designated parents contact other families about school activities.
  • High Point Elementary, also in Seattle, give parent volunteers points that they can spend on computers and other educational materials.

Both programs have been recognized for dramatically increasing parent involvement. Read the entire issue.

Making a Strong Case for School Funding
Education leaders in Michigan know too well how difficult it can be to secure more dollars for education from a voting public that already feels financially strapped. Education leaders in Michigan, as a result, also understand the importance of making a strong case for school funding. Here are some battle-tested strategies for keeping people informed -- and willing to support school funding initiatives. Read the story.
 
Preparing for the Worst
School leaders have an tremendous responsibility to maintain a safe environment for students, teachers, and staff. Safety is something leaders must plan for. Nedda Shafir, public information officer for the Cave Creek Unified School District in Scottsdale, Arizona, shares a step-by-step process for creating a school emergency response plan. Read more.