Family Engagement
This section has been established to help teachers and other school personnel as they work to involve an increasingly diverse group of families in the education of their children.
The challenges and opportunities are here. As pages in this section demonstrate, the children of involved families do better, academically and otherwise. And these children increasingly come from the families of immigrants - over a fifth of all those under the age of 18 in the U.S. today have at least one parent born outside of the U.S.
This section is organized around answering questions and providing resources.
Family Involvement
- Why is Parent Involvement Important?
- Why Family Involvement rather than Parent Involvement?
- What is Family Involvement?
- How are Parents Expectations for their Children Important?
- How Does Family Involvement change over time?
- Are there Cultural differences in being an 'involved parent'?
The Parent-School Relationship
- How can we help Parents advocate for their children?
- How can schools improve communication with families?
- How can we communicate in-person & informally with families?
- How can we best use Parent-Teacher conferences?
- What kinds of Workshops are helpful for immigrant parents?
- What are barriers to involving immigrant parents?
- What kinds of written communication are most effective?
The Teacher as an Effective Cultural Broker
- The Concept of the Cultural Broker
- Helping Parents understand Immigration laws
- Helping Parents become aware of available resources
Resources for Teachers
- The Health and Well-being of Young Children of Immigrants
- Describing Immigrant Communities
- Engaging Mexican Immigrant Parents in their child's education
- Ten Truths of Parent Involvement
- Resources for School Personnel
