Building Parent Capacity: A Crosswalk for Parent Engagement 9 th Annual Title Programs Conference June 15-16, 2011

1. Building Parent Capacity:A Crosswalk for Parent Engagement9th Annual Title Programs ConferenceJune 15-16, 2011 Lakeita Servance Parent Engagement Specialist Michelle Tarbutton Parent Engagement Program Manager

2. What Does Building Parent Capacity Mean?

3. BUILD =CAPACITY = To Grow or Develop Capability to perform/produce Reaching maximum potential Power to learn/retain knowledge + Parent +

4. Building Parent Capacity Is… • Creating a sustainable infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of parents to ensure academic achievement and student success. Equipping parents with skills and competencies which they would not otherwise have. Training or mentoring that increases the skills of people or of a community.

5. Formula for Success Parent Involvement & Parent Engagement Improved Academic Achievement & Student Success

6. Title I Parental Involvement – Section 1118(e) BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVOLVEMENT “This section recognizes that not all schools have the same experience, expertise, resources and training in building school-parent-community partnerships, and is designed to address those “capacity” needs.” (National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education and Public Education Network. (April 23, 2004). NCLB Action Briefs: Parental Involvement. Retrieved from: http://www.ncpie.org/nclbaction/parent _involvement.html)

7. PTA’s National Standards for Family-School Partnerships Family – School Partnerships are how and what parents, schools, and communities can do together to support student success.

8. Example

9. First Step to Success in Building Parent Capacity… RELATIONSHIPS

10. (3)SHALLeducate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents… (8) may pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement activities… (11) may adopt and implementmodel approaches to improving parental involvement; Standard 1: Welcoming All Families

11. Strategies for Success • Establish a Welcoming School Environment • Encourage Parents to Visit the School at any Time • Offer a Variety of Family Fun Events Throughout the Year • Meet and Welcome All Parents Through Personal • Interaction such as Phone Calls, Letters, and Meetings • Provide Staff Training and Support for Parent Engagement

12. Standard 2: Communicating Effectively (3)SHALLeducate teachers, pupil services personnel, principals, and other staff, with the assistance of parents, in the value and utility of contributions of parents… (5)SHALLensure that information related to school and parent programs, meetings, and other activities is sent to the parents of participating children in a format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand; (10) may arrange school meetings at a variety of times… (11) may adopt and implementmodel approaches to improving parental involvement;

13. Strategies for Success • Use All Methods of Communication • Ensure Communications are Understandable to All Parents • Provide Advance Notice • Offer Meetings and Opportunities at Various Times and Locations • Create Small Learning Communities • Allow Opportunities for Two-Way Communication in All Instances • Provide Ways for Parents to Communicate with their Children • Make Communicating with Families a Priority for School Staff

14. Targeting At-Risk Students and Their Families Strategies Strategies

15. If educators recognize where a parent or a group of parents fall within a Zone of Proximal Communication,wouldn’t they then be able to scaffold the type, the method, the content and amount of information sent home in a more purposeful and effective way?

16. Cod How to Scaffold within your Families Zone of Proximal Communication Culture Competency

17. School Districts Can Make Progress in Engaging Hard To Reach Families by Developing a Communication Plan based on the Strategy to Activate the Three Types of School Engagement - Universal, Selective And Intensive! THINK SCAFFOLDING IN THE PARENT’S “ZONE OF PROXIMAL COMMUNICATION.”

18. Standard 3: Supporting Student Success (1)SHALLprovide assistance to parents of children served by the school or local educational agency, as appropriate, in understanding such topics…to improve the achievement of their children; (2)SHALL provide materials and training to help parents to work with their children to improve their children's achievement (4)SHALL, to the extent feasible and appropriate, coordinate and integrateparent involvement programs and activities with…other (early education) programs, and conduct other activities, such as parent resource centers, that encourage and support parents in more fully participating in the education of their children;

19. (7) may provide necessary literacy training from funds received… (8) may pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement activities… (10) may arrange school meetings at a variety of times… (11) may adopt and implementmodel approaches to improving parental involvement; (14)SHALLprovide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request. Standard 3: Supporting Student Success

20. Strategies for Success • Provide Opportunities for Parents to Learn About Their • Child’s Education • Hold Various Workshops and Events that Link Parent • Engagement to Student Achievement • Offer Childcare, Transportation, and Food (if reasonable) • Partner with Early Childhood Education Organizations • Take Advantage of School Transition Periods • Provide Family Support Services

21. (6) may involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training; (9) may trainparents to enhance the involvement of other parents; (11) may adopt and implementmodel approaches to improving parental involvement; Standard 4: Speaking Up for Every Child

22. Strategies for Success • Develop Parents As Leaders • Encourage Parent Networking • Involve Families in Action Research • Use Parents to Train Faculty and Staff • Define Concrete Ways Parents Can Contribute

23. (6) may involve parents in the development of training for teachers, principals, and other educators to improve the effectiveness of such training; (11) may adopt and implementmodel approaches to improving parental involvement; (12) may establish a district-wide parent advisory council to provide advice on all matters related to parental involvement in programs supported under this section; (14)SHALLprovide such other reasonable support for parental involvement activities under this section as parents may request. Standard 5: Sharing Power

24. Strategies for Success • Utilize Parents as True Partners • Bring Parents Into the Policy Making Process • Seek Parent Feedback and Suggestions

25. (11) may adopt and implementmodel approaches to improving parental involvement; (13) may develop appropriate roles for community-based organizations and businesses in parent involvement activities; Standard 6: Collaborating with Community

26. Strategies for Success • Bring All Partners Into the Shared Vision of Success • Create Activities that Involve Interaction with Local Non-Profits and Community Based Organizations • Open the School to Community Groups • Map Out Your Resources and Then Utilize Them • Work with Local Business to Offer Workshops or Incentives

27. Final Strategies for Building Parent Capacity • Link and Measure Parent Engagement Activities to Student Achievement • Recognize and Reward Outstanding Parent Engagement Practices • Visit Other Schools, Talk to Others in the Georgia PIC Network, and Research Other Model Programs

28. References Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) 20 U.S.C. 1118(e) Henderson, A. and Mapp, K. (2002). A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory National Parent Teacher Association (PTA). (2009). PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships: An Implementation Guide. Washington, DC: PTA

29. Questions

30. Building Parent Capacity:A Crosswalk for Parent Engagement9th Annual Title Programs ConferenceJune 15-16, 2011 LakeitaServance Parent Engagement Specialist 404-656-2633 lservance@doe.k12.ga.us Michelle Tarbutton Parent Engagement Program Manager 404-232-1148 mtarbutton@doe.k12.ga.us