Topic 9: Parent Involvement

Topic 9
Involving Parents and Community Members




Federal Policies and Legislation
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB Act) reauthorized the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), and is based on four principles that provide a
framework through which families, educators, and communities can work together to
improve teaching and learning. These principles are accountability for results, local control and flexibility, expanded parental choice, and effective and successful programs that reflect scientifically based research. The parental involvement provisions in Title I, Part A of the ESEA reflect these principles. Specifically, these provisions stress shared accountability between schools and parents for high student achievement, including expanded public school choice and supplemental educational services for eligible children in low performing schools, local development of parental involvement plans with sufficient flexibility to address local needs, and building parents’ capacity for using effective practices to improve their own children’s academic achievement.
New reporting provisions added by the NCLB Act offer parents important insight into their children’s education, the professional qualifications of their teachers, and the quality of the schools they attend. The new legislation ensures that parents have the information they need to make well-informed choices for their children, more effectively share responsibility with their children’s schools, and help those schools develop effective and successful academic programs. Parents now will know their children’s academic strengths and weaknesses and how well schools are performing, and they will have other options and resources for helping their children if their schools are identified in need of improvement.

Terms to Know
Accountability: No Child Left Behind holds schools and school districts accountable for results. Schools are responsible for making sure your child is learning.
Public School Choice: No Child Left Behind may let you transfer your child to another public school if the state says that your child's school is "in need of improvement." Your school district may pay for transportation for your child. Contact your child's school district to find out if your child has this opportunity.
Extra Help with Learning: No Child Left Behind may also provide your child with free tutoring and extra help with schoolwork if the state says your child's school has been "in need of improvement" for at least 2 years. This extra help is often referred to as Supplemental Educational Services. Contact your child's school district to find out if your child qualifies.
Parental Involvement: No Child Left Behind requires schools to develop ways to get parents more involved in their child's education and in improving the school. Contact your child's school to find out how you can get involved.
Supplemental Educational Services (SES): This is the term No Child Left Behind uses to refer to the tutoring and extra help with schoolwork in subjects such as reading and math that children from low-income families may be eligible to receive. This help is provided free of charge and generally takes place outside the regular school day, such as after school or during the summer.

Websites to See
www.Nea.org/parents

www.ncpie.org




Additional Resources
Given a list of concerns that might impede parent involvement in schools, the barrier named by the highest percentage of schools was lack of time on the part of parents (87 percent) (figure 12).
Lack of time on the part of school staff created barriers for 56 percent of schools, and 48 percent indicated that lack of staff training in working with parents was a significant barrier.
Lack of parent education to help with schoolwork, cultural/socioeconomic and language differences between parents and staff, parent and staff attitudes, and safety in the area after school hours were considered barriers in a higher percentage of schools with poverty concentrations and minority enrollments of 50 percent or more than in schools low on these characteristics.
Resource: www.nces.ed.gov