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Obama on Parental Involvement
“In the end, there is no program or policy that can substitute for a parent -- responsibility for our children's education must begin at home. That is not a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. That's an American issue."
 


Obama on Outsourcing Parenting
President Obama addressing the NAACP on its 100th anniversary, stressing the importance of parenting and responsibility. "That means putting away the X-Box."




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The No Child Left Behind Act is up for renewal this year, so Katie Couric wonders whether standardized tests truly measure how kids do in school and life. (CBSNews.com)



New Rule: Don't Blame Teachers When there are no books in the house, and there are no parents in the house, you know who raises the kids? That's right, the television. Kids aren't keeping up with their studies; they're keeping up with the Kardashians. We're allowing the television, as babysitter, to turn us into a nation of idiots.



Fitness: Childhood Obesity!
First Lady Michelle Obama kicks off “Let’s Move”, a program designed to tackle childhood obesity by encouraging exercise and healthy eating.



Family Time During School
It can be difficult for parents to keep on top of what their children are doing, especially when those parents work at night. a Clovis Elementary school is trying to help those families by encouraging family time during the school day.


Low Student Achievement
A national report found that an alarming number of high school seniors lack proficiency in reading and math. Katie Couric says we must do a better job of educating our kids. (CBSNews.com)

A 10 Step Family Engagement Plan for Schools

Put Your Parental Involvement Pledge Into Action
The most important and most effective way to get the word out about the Parental Involvement Pledge is to use it in all parts of your school program. Make the Parental Involvement Pledge an integral point of reference for all that you do at your school. In this way, all partners will understand how their commitments and their actions contribute to improved student learning and high achievement for all students. Here are some ways you can make your Parental Involvement Pledge count.

Use the Pledge to:
  • Discuss student progress during parent-teacher conferences.
  • Explain the school's high academic standards and high expectations for all students.
  • Help launch programs for family involvement.
  • Support training for teachers and other staff to work effectively with families.
  • Complement school improvement plans.
  • Help partners discuss their responsibilities in meeting the goals of the school.
 

Engagement Starts With You
Passing out the Parental Involvement Pledge to parents and hoping for the best -- will not work! Using your Pledge is the critical step that moves the Parental Involvement Pledge from planning to action, from paper to partnership with parents. First, people need to know about the Parental Involvement Pledge--what it is and how they can get involved. Launching the Parental Involvement Pledge is a great opportunity to create new partnerships and to reach out to families and community members who have not been involved at the school before.

One of the biggest challenges will be keeping people's attention on the Parental Involvement Pledge once you launch it. Your Parental Involvement Pledge partners will need constant reminders of how their daily activities -- whether helping a student with homework or attending a meeting at school -- fulfill the commitments in the Parental Involvement Pledge.

Successful school-family partnerships require the sustained mutual collaboration, support, and participation of school staffs and families at home and at school in activities that can directly affect the success of children's learning. If families are to work with schools as full partners in the education of their children, schools must provide them with the opportunities and support they need for success.

Remember that the Pledge works! U.S. Department of Education research shows that schools with properly implemented compacts like the Pledge, raise student achievement higher than at similar schools without pledges. That is why Title I requires every school it serves to form a pledge. Pledges have a greater impact on student learning than other types of home-school interactions. Principals of schools with pledges report greater family involvement in homework and more parents reading with children at home. Best of all, schools with the greatest needs seem to benefit the most ((Prospects Study 1993).


Recruit Parent Volunteers Utilizing The Pledge

Almost every day, citizens are urged to lend a hand at schools. Educators welcome volunteers, but we all know that good volunteer programs don't happen by accident. Schools that are most successful in engaging parents and other family members in support of their children's learning look beyond traditional definitions of parent involvement-participating in a parent teacher organization or signing quarterly report cards-to a broader conception of parents as full partners in the education of their children.

Rather than simply asking and expecting parents to volunteer in schools, use the Parental Involvement Pledge to canvass the entire school-community during the school year and into the next. Below are some action steps that can be used to make your Parental involvement Pledge effort a big success. Some steps may not apply to your school or district.

1. Parent/Teacher Conferences

The process can begin with the distribution of the Parental Involvement Pledge -- with a cover letter (download sample cover letter) -- at parent/teacher conferences. (Required by Title I, Section 1118, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, No Child Left Behind. Pledge rate of return more than 35%).

2.a. Mail Distribution Along With.....

Parental Involvement Pledge are sent to parents by U.S. Mail with with a self-addressed return envelope. Now only if someone would call these parents to remind them to return the Pledge!

2.b. ....Recorded Phone Calls

While Parental Involvement Pledges are distributed by U.S. Mail, the school/district telephone auto-dialer, normally used for attendance calls, could be used to call parents to remind them to volunteer by completing the mailed Parental Involvement Pledge and returning them to school. Recorded message should be from the principal or superintendent. If the school has no auto-dailer, let your fingers do the walking! Call the parents using live people! (Pledge rate of return is expected to exceed 20%)

3. Data Base Engagement

Input all parents who take the Pledge into Project Appleseed's Parent Organizing Database 1.0.1 software runs on any Windows computer, and is easy enough for everyone to learn. Features List.


4. Student Backpack Distribution

Pledges can be sent home with the students. Compliance by students will be weak so incentives should be considered for the teacher or staff member who returns the highest number of Pledges (Rate of return is not expected to exceed 10%)

 

5. Reprint the Pledge In Newsletters

A full-page or half-page reprint of the Parental Involvement Pledge in the schools newsletter will raise awareness about your school's Parental Involvement Pledge drive (Rate of return is expected to be 1% to 2%).

 


6. Live Phone Calls

Live phone calls should be made to parents asking them to volunteer by taking the Pledge over the phone (Positive response rate exceeding 30%).

 

 

7. Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parental Involvement Pledges are again distributed at the next parent/teacher conferences.

 

8. Home Visits/Door-to-Door Canvassing

Weekend door-to-door canvassing will also be a valuable technique in recruiting parent volunteers for hard to reach parents.

 
 

9. Computer Open House

At school open houses parents can take the Pledge on-line through any school computers connected to the Internet.

 

10. Repeat Action Steps Again

Did you get the number volunteers that you wanted? Repeat this process over and over until it becomes a regular part of your school's culture.

 
Get the Word Out

Today, everyone is overwhelmed with information, and many people have trouble listening to any message closely. Experts say that it often takes eight reminders or notices for someone to say finally, "I've heard of that." When spreading the word about the Parental Involvement Pledge and encouraging people to support it, be patient: you can count on having to remind people many times. Identify and seek out those in the school community who need to endorse the Parental Involvement Pledge to make it work: teachers, school staff, parents, students, professionals and business people, the superintendent, the school board, the mayor, and others. Keep track of how many times you disseminate information about the Parental Involvement Pledge and how you do it, so that you can pinpoint the most successful means of communicating the message of shared responsibility. Remind your partners that the Parental Involvement Pledge is more than a piece of paper, that it is an action plan for student success and school improvement.

Here are some ways to publicize the Parental Involvement Pledge

  • Include the Parental Involvement Pledge in the school newsletter.
  • Send home copies with students.
  • Attach it to the weekly lunch menu.
  • Send home flyers telling parents about your school's Parental Involvement Pledge On-line. Link it to your school's Web site where people can share what they are doing to support a partnership for learning.
  • Send e-mail messages to parents, employers, and other community organizations about how they can get involved.
  • Start a listserv for Parental Involvement Pledge partners.
  • Add information about the Parental Involvement Pledge partnership to the schools voice-mail system.
  • Send out a mailing to the community.
  • Print the Parental Involvement Pledge in the local newspaper.
  • Get the community involved through neighborhood get-together.
  • Do a speaking tour of local groups and community organizations.
  • Host a special event on the Parental Involvement Pledge in conjunction with parent-teacher conferences.

Your Parental Involvement Pledge can be as far-reaching as you would like. Whatever you choose to do, link the Parental Involvement Pledge to action so that families, school staff, and the community see how the Parental Involvement Pledge can work to make things happen in your school.


Press release writing tips that get your Parental Involvement Pledge news noticed.

Whether your group is an individual school or an entire school district, effective use of the Parental Involvement Pledge includes community outreach. Consider sending a one-page press release to the newspapers, television and local radio stations announcing the distribution of the Parental Involvement Pledge. Invite all interested parents to take the Parental Involvement Pledge and to contact your school(s). Discover what's newsworthy about parental involvement in your school so you draw the proper attention to your release. And learn how to get your releases into the hands of the right editors.

A headline that gets to the point. Craft a headline which conveys immediately why this news is important. Avoid promotional sounding words. What you say here determines whether the reader will read the rest of the release.

A strong leading paragraph. Answer who, what, where, when, why, and how. Use this paragraph as an abstract or summary for the release.

Make it newsworthy. Are you solving a parent/school problem or filling your parent/school needs? Pinpoint what that need or problem is and write the release from that perspective.

Detailed explanation from the reader's perspective. Give details of the school(s) so the editor understands why it's important to his/her readers. Highlight your association with Project Appleseed, this will illustrate the importance of this news. If you're announcing a Parental Involvement Pledge effort, mention when and where the Pledge will be distributed (concentrate your efforts on parent teacher conferences) and where parents can obtain extra copies.

Short school or district summary. Include especially any information about parental involvement activities of note in your school. Also mention your location. Keep it short.

Include complete contact information. Contact name, school name, full address, phone number, email address, and Web site URL. The contact name should be someone who's available and capable of answering questions.

Keep it short. Maximum length should be one to two pages and no more than 500 words.  Not all journalists want to receive press releases via email -- be careful to contact them in the way they want to hear from you.


Provide the Necessary Support

Your Parental Involvement Pledge is an evolving plan. It is important to decide each year how to support it. One way to ensure that the Parental Involvement Pledge is used is to make it part of your school's annual plan -- supported by financial resources. Allocating resources makes a strong statement about a school's priorities and its commitment to family involvement.

What do you need to make the Parental Involvement Pledge work?

Funding: Title I funds* may be used to pay reasonable and necessary expenses associated with local parental involvement activities, including transportation and child care costs, to enable parents to participate in school-related meetings and training sessions. Consider using PTO/PTA fund raising profits, district funds, financial support through community and business partnerships.
  • Training for teachers and school staff, including release time.
  • Resources for parents: workshops, mailings, a newsletter, a parent library, a parent coordinator.
  • Communications technology: a homework help line, an interactive voice mail system, an informational phone tree, a Web site.

*All school districts are now required to reserve "not less" than 2 percent of the Title I funds received (unless this amount is $50,000 or less) to support these activities, including family literacy and parenting classes. In addition, school districts, at their own discretion or at the request of constituents, may provide more than the minimum funds for these activities.