Parent Involvement: MAPS

Parent Involvement:MAPS Steph Wanek ESU 8

Overview • Why Involve Parents • Objective • Results • What to Share • How to Hold a MAP Parent Night • Conclusion

Get Parents Involved • Students with involved parents, no matter what the parents’ education or background, are more likely to have better attendance records, earn higher grades and test scores, and have better social skills than those whose parents are not involved.

Research • Above average parent involvement shows student achievement rates 30% higher than those with below average involvement. • When teachers report high levels of outreach to parents, test scores grow at a rate of 40% higher than schools with low levels of outreach.

Reasons Why Parents Stay Away • Grew up in families devoid of good parenting skills • Had a negative school experience • Doubt their own literacy or academic skills • Overwhelmed by situations outside of school • Speak little or no English • Come from a different culture • Feel hopeless or powerless • Unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts TRY TO COMPENSATE FOR THESE AVOIDANCES!

Ways to Get Parents to School • Make efforts parent driven. • Call home with a good message. • “Advertise” for parent help in popular public places. • Muffins with Mom or Doughnuts with Dad • Literacy Lock-in • Be specific about the task and ask parents to come. • Provide child care. • Student led conferences. • Offer door prizes at meetings/events.

Get parents involved with MAP tests! VIDEO

MAP Information to Share Make the information you share very user friendly. • Offer a pamphlet, handout, or link on your website explaining what MAP is and how it measures progress. • Adaptive • Measures growth on an equal-interval scale • Add national norms for each subject by grade level • Which grades and subjects are tested • How often testing occurs

Sample Parent Information Sample 1 Sample 1 Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 2

Parent Reports from NWEA In person explanations may be needed for information. • Parent Tool Kit • Student Progress Summary • Text • Graph • Normative Data • RIT Charts • Student Goal Setting Worksheet

Host a MAP Parent Night

Logistics • Ask a few parents to help lead the meeting • Choose 1 or 2 convenient times • Provide child care with reading and math activities • Student Organization • Volunteer teachers/paras

Encourage Attendance • If you feed them they will come • Offer a door prize for parents and one for students • Ask for parent RSVPs and call those who don’t respond • Send out reminders via email, facebook, school all-call

MAP 101 • Watch a video from NWEA • Share pamphlets/handout/webpage and reports already mentioned • Have small group discussion circles led by teachers

Keep in Mind • Speak in parent friendly terms • Answer questions • Be positive and encouraging

Focus on Growth • Parents may be concerned about below mean scores • Remind them that the data provided will help guide instruction • Scores show performance on one day • Enlist help of parents and offer activities that could help students meet goals

Remember... Parents+Schools=Student Success VIDEO

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Parent Involvement: MAPS