Running Head: Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School

Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School Chris Acuff CI 531 Eastern New Mexico University

Running Head: Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School

Research Interest The development of this project is intended to address the challenge of parental involvement in their childrens schooling. Using a variety of methods and resources, the persons implementing this program will work towards the goal of persuading more parents to become more involved in their childs education. The hope is that increased parent involvement will result in better academic performance by students. This program will be planned and implemented by a unified staff of mentors and cooperative team work. As a teacher currently working in a school located in a lower socioeconomic area, I see firsthand the challenges these students face. These challenges are very different than challenges faced by students who attend school in a more affluent area. Looking at the data from the NMPED; A schools are generally located in predominately affluent areas, and D - F schools are generally located in low income areas, with some exceptions. From my own observations the primary difference appears to be parent involvement in the schools and in the education of the child. During one year while teaching elemenary, I placed my students into groups of four based on their SBA scores to group students by ability to increase the effectiveness of workshop interventions. The advanced students were in a group together, proficient students were grouped together, and so on. These groups were set up prior to our open house before school started. On each desk was a folder with the standard beginning of the year paperwork. When the night had ended all of the folders were gone on the desks of the advanced, proficient and half of the nearing proficient students. However, all of the beginning step students desks still had their folders. This accidental experiment showed that

Running Head: Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School

the students who did well in school (at least in this class) - all of their parents came to open house. All of the parents of the students who were struggling - did not show up. Parents caring about their students success in school appears to be a key factor if they are successful or not. Trying to increase parent involvement in childrens education is a logical step in improving education. Goals and Objectives The primary goal for this project is to improve student success at my school. This will be achieved through a series of steps. The first objective will be to sell the idea to the administration and staff. Only with full support will this project succeed. Second, programs will need to be developed that will truly increase parent involvement. This will be a challenge as many children at this school do not live in a traditional household; many of the children live with relatives due to incarceration, death, and abandonment. Those children who do live with parents, often times it is with only one parent and not both. The goal will be to develop programs that will truly make a difference not just to simply give parents a handout of information that will never be read. The expectation is that with the full support of the staff, combined with innovative ideas, will result in improved student achievement through increased parental support and involvement. Interventions As a teacher I have noticed a direct correlation between parent involvement and student success. The students who are successful are the ones whose parents come to parent teacher conference, call with questions, and are willing to help if I call home with an issue. The

Running Head: Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School

students who struggle usually say things like: I was watching TV or playing games and did not do my homework even though I had discussed at length the problem of missing work with the parent. These students generally do not have a bed time or any responsibilities what so ever at home. Their report cards and progress reports containing all Fs are returned signed with no notes or any signs of concern. Because I have noticed these trends myself, it is my hypothesis that increased parent involvement should lead to more student success in school. Griffith (1996) states that there is in fact a direct connection between parent involvement and a childs success in school, and there are a variety of ways to accomplish this. These strategies include: increasing participation in school activities and events, helping with school programs or in the classroom, and participating in parent groups. Parental involvement can be brought about not only by the staff of a school, but by the students themselves as well as other parents. Increasing a parents interest in their childs education should not be a challenge. To some parents not caring if their child was failing or doing anything constructive at school is unimaginable. The truth of the matter is this mentality appears to be a very wide-spread problem. For example, 70 schools in the City of Chicago are offering twenty-five dollar gift cards to parents if they will simply show up to parent teacher conferences and to pick up their childs report cards (Evans, 2012). This example does illustrate that this notion of getting parents involved when they seem to not care at all - is in fact a challenge. There are well documented consequences for children who struggle in school with no parent or guardian support, such as: unwanted pregnancy, poor mental health, alcohol and

Running Head: Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School

substance abuse, criminality, incarceration, underemployment, unemployment, and increased rates of mortality (Ouellette, 2008). Despite the challenge it would appear that this would be a worthwhile effort in order to help these children avoid one or more of the potential abovementioned consequences. Not to mention the positive effect on society in general in the future. Even with the promise of changing lives for the better, increasing parent involvement is a daunting if not nearly hopeless task. Schools have used various methods to encourage parental involvement in school activities and programs. These have included school-wide meetings, open houses, and parent-teacher contact through notes, telephone calls, e-mail, and conferences. Other strategies have included the provision of opportunities for parents to engage in meaningful supportive roles, for example, as classroom volunteer assistants or field trip monitors. Despite these attempts, poor communication between school representatives and parents continues to be pervasive. Strategies commonly used to engage parents in schools have often led to disappointing results. Numerous variables appear to adversely affect retention. These include family factors such as parent stress, parent pathology, as well as other factors such as failure to attend to adult-level issues, scheduling, accessibility, distance, and child care issues. Differences between parents' and school staff's ethnicity and income levels have been seen to limit retention in programs (Ouellette, 2008). The most probable way to overcome these obstacles would be to mount a massive effort that addresses all of the possible issues that could interfere. In the past schools I have worked at have hosted numeracy and literacy nights. The purpose of these events is to

Running Head: Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School

increase parent support by providing information and activities for the parents to use at home with their children. During one school year we had one parent out of fifty-six kids show up the entire evening one. We had sent out a newsletter, and clearly that was not effective. The following semester in addition to sending out a letter we also called each parent, and this extra effort did pay off in that three parents showed up for our grade level this time. Although the results were not encouraging, it does appear that increased effort yields better results. Based on this observation, to increase parent involvement at our school to a level where it would truly make a difference would be a monumental effort. In order to achieve something of this magnitude would require very strong leadership. Glenn (2006) states, that the best way to win others over to ones point of view is to develop a cordial relationship with them. People generally do not respond well to being forced to do something, but are much more willing to go out of their way or at least try to see things from another point of view. This will be a key factor in getting this program off the ground as well as winning parents over. As a newer less experienced teacher it will not be easy to muster the kind of support this program will need to be successful. Seasoned teachers will no doubt be skeptical of my abilities to carry out such an ambitious endeavor. To implement this program, more than simple conversations will be required. Once ideas have been discussed and plans finalized, professional development will need to take place in order to train the entire staff on the program. Having every staff member on board will be crucial in the success of this attempt to improve student learning. Boyle (2004) describes successful professional development as an engaging fun experience where teachers can set

Running Head: Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School

the pace and be involved in the learning. Building enthusiasm for this program will be paramount, and an excellent way to do this is with engaging and worthwhile professional development. The meetings to develop and teach ideas may not be professional development in the traditional sense the concept of teachers learning and implementing new skills and ideas is the same. Materials Broad strategies may be useful in this program, however many strategies will be most effective if they are tailored specifically to this school by the staff. Therefore the following resources may be useful in providing ideas or building a foundation for this program. Getting Parents Involved With Their Childrens Education by Gloria A. Gregg and Virginia A. Decker Getting Schools Involved With Parents by Roger L Kroth Getting Parents Involved in Their Childrens Education by Larry E. Decker Parent Attitudes and Practices of Parent Involvement in Elementary and Middle Schools by Susan L. Dauber No doubt as ideas and plans are developed more materials will be required, but this literature should provide a strong foundation on which to build this program.

Running Head: Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School

Timeline January - March 2014 Bring staff on board with the idea of increasing parental involvement by building relationships, providing evidence of the expected outcome, and earning respect. Once the staff is supportive of the idea involve the administration. Using materials brainstorm and research unique ideas that will truly increase parental support. Gather materials and resources, write and submit grant. Implement programs/clinics to increase parent involvement. Evaluate progress and continue or adjust strategies. Final evaluation of success or failure of program.

March 2014 April May 2014 2014-2015 School Year December 2014 May 2015

Analysis Success or failure of the program will be apparent very early in the 2014-2015 school year. The first indicator of success will be parent participation in the clinics and activities. If participation is strong then the planning and ideas will have worked at least initially. The true test of success will be if the participation continues at a high level throughout the entire school year, and does not just start strong and then fizzle out as the school year wears on. The most important indicator of success will be whether or not there is a measurable increase in student academic achievement. An increase in student success can be measured by benchmark assessments, and state test scores. However, the best indicator will be a comparison of the previous school years performance to current progress. Students who had difficulty turning in work the previous year should improve with increased parent support at home with this program in effect.

Running Head: Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School

Conclusions In my experience oftentimes children who are very behind in school due to a negative attitude towards school are often relegated to the back burner by educators. These students require a great deal of effort to motivate to be successful. Because of the amount of effort required for these students, there definitely exists a bias towards them. Many teachers feel that since these students dont care, then they will not bother. By increasing parental involvement perhaps this will help to change the attitudes of the parents, and the students. More successful students means more success for everyone, teachers, the school, the communities, and of course the students themselves. Despite the large amount of effort required to implement a program such as this, I believe it is worthwhile because of the potential for success. Very few resources are required, other than the commitment and effort of the school staff, to carry out this program. With the proper leadership and motivation I believe this program can go a long way in helping our students be successful in their education.

Running Head: Increasing Parent Involvement at Gattis Middle School

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References
Boyle, B. (2004). A longitudinal study of teacher change: what Makes Professional Development Successful? The Curriculum Journal, 25-50. Evans, J. (2012, November 22). Schools Pay Parents in Gift Cards to Show Up at School Conferences. Retrieved from Cafemom: http://thestir.cafemom.com/big_kid/145993/schools_pay_parents_in_gift Glenn, W. J. (2006). Model Versus Mentor: Defining the Necessary Qualities of the Effective Cooperating Teacher. Teacher Education Quarterly, 85-95. Griffith, J. (2001). Relation of Parental Involvement, Empowerment, and School Traits to Student Academic Performance. Educational Research, 33-41. Ouellette, P. M. (2008). 'They won't come': Increasing parent involvement in parent management training programs for at-risk youths in schools. School Social Work Journal, 39-53.