Last updated by Kasey Murphy on 01/25/2023 If your school needs extra help, wants to throw more events, or is trying to emphasize on parent engagement or parental involvement - you might find that you are in a bit of uncharted territory.
Parental involvement in education is a topic that is constantly talked about, and with the coronavirus pandemic, it is constantly changing, too! Parents feel a need to be involved in their child’s education, and in some ways that might mean by being directly engaged within the school.
Parental Involvement can occur in education, within the school, and outside of the school - depending on how your school operates and what type of parent engagement you are searching for within your school.
If you already have a solid parent involvement program set in your school, check out this article about how to track parental involvement!
If your goals include:
Bettering children’s education at home
Setting goals and role models for children
Gaining trust from parents
Building a community within your school
Building trust with the community
Creating a structured parent engagement scheme and parental involvement initiative within your school might be the answer to get on track!
Why is parental involvement in education important?
Specifically within the educational route, having parental involvement in classes, courses, or classroom activities helps students develop trust in the school systems, as well as improve self-essteem and motivation levels in the classroom.
Some other benefits of parental involvement from observatory.tec.mx include:
Academic performance increases
Student behavior is improved
Improves teacher performance
Better personalizes learning for students
Parents feel happier with a connection to their children’s education.
The National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education states, “No matter their income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to have higher grades, test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, and adapt well to school programs.”
Parental involvement can be within all stages of education, too! Sometimes referred to as parent engagement, just having parents show interest and effort in a school or extracurricular activity provided by the school is enough for a child to see its importance. When parents participate in PTA activities or help students volunteer in a school activity, or even help them with their homework - children of any age can see that their parents are committed to helping them and their school, which is a huge motivator.
Ideas For Parental Engagement In Schools
Especially during COVID-19, parent engagement and involvement is imperative for children who need help with virtual school, and those who don’t. Check out some of these ideas for virtual and in-person parent involvement in school.
Have a parent-teacher-student conference (even if just for 5 minutes) once a week
Every weekend, complete a school project together.
Have parents and students do volunteer work for school together.
Have teachers host educational goal meetings with parents.
Let parents know of curriculum and how they can showcase it in real-life
Introduce parents to PTA or parent advocacy groups. (Or start one!)
Have teachers give “family projects”
Make “family volunteering” a requirement for school
Ask students to “present” information to parents, parents email teacher that they did it and this is their grade!
Task parents and students with fundraising for the school
Have “teacher visitation” school visits for parents to check-in on students
The Guide To Parental Involvement In Schools
We created a guide to help schools get their parent involvement and engagement programs back together, or started! The guide is very simple to follow and step-by-step. The main purpose is just to get schools thinking about parental involvement and to spark some creativity when it comes to creating a parent engagement program within your school!
Download the guide here. You really will find it useful. It is a one-stop shop for all things parent involvement!