“INVOLVING THE PARENTS”

More than forty years of research clearly shows that greater family involvement in children’s learning is a critical link to achieving a high-quality education:

What PARENTS do to help their children learn matters more to their children’s achievement than family income or education.

What SCHOOLS do to encourage parents to participate in their children’s education matters more to parental participation than parent income or education.

What COMMUNITY GROUPS (including EMPLOYERS, RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS and SERVICE AGENCIES do to support families and schools can make an important contribution to overall community effectiveness.

The Southwest Educational Development Laboratory concluded, “When schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children tend to do better in school, stay in school longer, and like school more.” Those children are more likely to:

“Earn higher grades and test scores, and enroll in higher-level programs; be promoted, pass their classes, and earn credits; attend school regularly; have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school; and graduate and go on to postsecondary education.”

The Michigan Department of Education in their report, “What Research Says About Parent Involvement In Children’s Education” reported (among other items):

“Lack of parental involvement is the biggest problem facing public schools.

Decades of research show that when parents are involved students have:

Higher grades, test scores, and graduation rates

Better school attendance

Increased motivation, better self-esteem

Lower rates of suspension

Decreased use of drugs and alcohol

Fewer instances of violent behavior

Family participation in education was twice as predictive of students’ academic success as family socioeconomic status.”

Fortunately, a growing number of public school systems are recognizing that — because of the many advantages of multi-sensory learning — they can do more to support children and families. By establishing “family technology learning centers,” within targeted schools, a more active parental involvement can be encouraged by:

Offering state-of-the-art technology instruction, including multi-sensory programs and digital video technology in academic (Reading, Writing, and Math), vocational and technical areas.

Expanding school building access to include evenings and weekends in order to accommodate family educational needs.

Providing technology-based instruction for preschool through adult needs.

Offering free child care services by a licensed child care provider.

Utilizing the existing hardware already in the schools.

Preparing parents for more rewarding employment in the world of work.

Increasing student achievement by providing parents with an opportunity to improve academic, vocational, and/or technical skills while encouraging parent-child learning, and increasing time-on-task for all students.

Advances in our public education system usually trail those made by corporate training — but, with new visionary programs our children, their parents, and the schools themselves will all profit through increased learning, retention, and quality of life.