Parental Involvement

Parental Involvement Sharing “Small Wins” Yolanda Wilson EDU658: Instructional Leadership Instructor: Dr. Michael Hom June 18, 2012

A “Small Win” • According to (Weick, 2009) asmall win is a concrete, complete, implemented outcome of moderate importance. By itself, one small win may seem unimportant. A series of wins at small but significant tasks, however, reveals a pattern that may attract allies, deter opponents, and lower resistance to subsequent proposals.

The Description • Children whose parents are involved in their education are more motivated to learn. Motivated students tend to be more involved in class, more concerned about homework, and more successful academically. • A common problem is that parents often don’t feel they know what they can do to create the environment that supports their children as students..

Explanation • Central office staff and teachers from across the county have been meeting through this school year to study new strategies and develop resources for teachers to get more parents involved in the students curriculum in the classrooms and at home.

Explanation cont’d • It was decided that all schools in the Dekalb County Schools need to keep parents involved so they will better understand the importance of their role in the educational process.

Benefits • To help parents understand why they are so important to their children's school success. • To give parents specific things they can do to help their children. • To work to win parents' endorsement of our school's educational program. • To give parents the specific information they want. • To provide staff training and support for parent involvement. • To provide training and support for parents • To ensure their success by making a plan • To adapt ideas that have worked for others

Shared Value • More than 300 students, staff, parents and community members joined together to share in a whole-school discussion and find a common understanding of current and new school policies and curriculum. • The forum allowed the school community to celebrate their past successes and future commitment to the importance of ensuring that shared values are embedded in every aspect of the school and community.

Relevant Data and Results • Selected data from teachers were compiled from extensive interviews and surveys • Increased parent involvement in decision-making through school leadership groups and use of surveys used to guide decision-making. • Instituted daily home reading program. • Improved staff members’ capacity to work effectively with parents. • Provided family members with written and oral information about ways to make daily home reading a positive experience.

How the win will be publicized and to whom • Each school will be encouraged to schedule meetings at varied times—during the day, the afternoon, or at night—and the times of these meetings will be adequately publicized. • The school representatives responsible for parent involvement will meet regularly to share ideas and activities that are most effective in assisting parents to help their children achieve success • Parent representatives will share information received with other parents by e-mail or other means of communication..

How the win will be publicized and to whom cont’d • Each school and the district as a whole will share information in a format and language so that all parents can understand. • The district and school websites will periodically provide parenting tips calendar events, important school announcements, and information regarding effective classroom strategies and techniques.

Next steps for making continuous progress • Provide assistance to parents in understanding topics such as the State’s academic content standards, State student academic achievement standards, State and local academic assessments, requirements of NCLB • Provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their achievement, such as literacy training and using technology to foster parental involvement • Educate staff with the assistance of parents in the value and contributions of parents, and in working with parents—how to reach out to communicate with and work with as equal partners, implement and coordinate parent programs, build ties between parents and the school

Aligns with Best-practices • Create a welcoming school climate. • Provide families information related to child development and creating supportive learning environments. • Establish effective school-to-home and home-to-school communication • Engage families in school planning, leadership and meaningful volunteer opportunities. • Connect students and families to community resources that strengthen and support students’ learning and well-being

Summary • Small wins provide information that facilitates learning and adaptation. Small wins are like miniature experiments that test implicit theories about resistance and opportunity and uncover both resources and barriers that were invisible before the situation was stirred up (Weick, 2009). • Communication between parents and teachers should be two-way, frequent, and meaningful. Communication should also invite parents to share ideas, help form school goals and clarify institutional expectations. When communication is frequent and high-quality, parents' evaluation of their child’s teacher, level of comfort with their child’s school, and involvement in school-based activities are all substantially higher(Ames, 1995).

References • Ames, C. 1995. Teachers' School-to-Home Communications and Parent Involvement: The role of parent perceptions and beliefs (Report No. 28). East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University, College of Education, Center on Families, Communities, Schools, and Children's Learning. • Spiro, J. (2011). Leading change step-by-step: Tactics, tools, and tales. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. • Weick, K. (2009) . Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems. • Values Education for Australian Schooling ( Sept. 2006). Values Education School Forum report from Western Australia

Parental Involvement