1. “No! I don’t want to get involved!”
Overcoming barriers to parent engagement
Data compiled by Susan Hamann; President-Elect, Oregon PTA
Presented by Oregon PTA’s Executive Director, Carol Wire

2. Agenda What is parent engagement and why is it important?
What are the challenges and barriers related to parent engagement?
How can I help parents at my site overcome these barriers?
Oregon PTA

3. 4 versions of partnership
Review the four versions of Family-School Partnerships
Partnership School
Open-Door School
Come-if-We-Call School
Fortress School
Follow the instructions on the rubric and score your site.
Where does your school fit?
Where does your program fit?
Is there a difference?
Share your results with your table mates.
Source: Beyond the Bake Sale—The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships (2006)
Oregon PTA

4. Why engage families? Boost grades and test scores Improve attendance
Foster positive social skills
Increase graduation rates and increase higher education attainment
Improved relationships between parents and kids
Improved outcomes for after school programs
Source: Focus on Families! How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in After School. Harvard Family Research Project
Build the Out-of-School Time Network (BOSTnet). 2006
Oregon PTA

5. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Parenting: Helps all families establish environments to support children as students
Aligns with PTA Standard for Family-School Partnerships (#3)
Supporting Student Success: Families and school staff continuously collaborate to support students’ learning and healthy development both at home and at school, and have regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills to do so effectively.
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Ready, Set, Lead! PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships
Oregon PTA

6. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Parenting: Helps all families establish environments to support children as students
Barriers and Challenges
Information is not accessible to all families
Translation and interpretation services are an added cost
Information may be too academic
Parent education opportunities should be linked to student success
A family’s financial situation may not support the home environments being promoted
Can they afford fresh, healthy food?
Parents work in the evening (can’t be there to help with homework)
Oregon PTA

7. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Parenting: Helps all families establish environments to support children as students
Ideas:
Offer parent education opportunities
Parenting, language, healthy living, helping with homework
GED, literacy, college credit
Neighborhood meetings that help parents understand school
Offer parent/teacher conference success tips
Offer parent involvement ideas to the community
Newsletter articles
Signs at site
Local newspaper
Oregon PTA

8. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Parenting: Helps all families establish environments to support children as students
Outcomes for kids
Increased respect for parents
Higher self-esteem
Better health
Students feel supported at home
Oregon PTA

9. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Communicating: Design effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and children’s progress.
Aligns with PTA Standard for Family-School Partnerships (#2)
Families and school staff engage in regular, two-way, meaningful communication about student learning.
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Ready, Set, Lead! PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. 2009
Oregon PTA

10. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Communicating: Design effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and children’s progress.
Barriers and Challenges:
Language – non-English speaking families
Translation and interpretation are an added cost to programs
Information sent home is:
Unclear
Too academic, full of teacher-ese and acronyms
Frequent communication adds to the work load of staff
Oregon PTA

11. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Communicating: Design effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and children’s progress.
Ideas
Assist with parent teacher conferences
Find translation and interpretation services
Communicate frequently and consistently
Sponsor events that reach all parents
Events should allow staff and parents to mingle
Provide a calendar of school events
Oregon PTA

12. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Communicating: Design effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications about school programs and children’s progress.
Outcome for kids
Understanding of their own progress
Understanding of school policies
Informed decision making
Awareness of role in communication
Students as messengers of information
Back pack mail
Oregon PTA

13. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Volunteering: Recruit and organize parent help and support
ARTICLE: “It’s O.K. to Skip That Bake Sale” By Bruce Feiler
Barriers and challenges
Encouraging all families to participate
Scheduling
Working parents, parents with really little kids
Training volunteers for specific tasks
Matching talents with needs of the program
School culture may not support parent volunteers
Article: “A New Breed of Volunteer Calls for a New Volunteer Culture” by Thomas McKee
School climate survey
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Beyond the Bake Sale—The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships (2006)
Oregon PTA
We tend to get stuck, here, as if this is the only level of parent engagement. There are levels above and below that often get ignored. There are so many barriers and challenges here! Time may be better spent on the first two levels, then the progression to volunteering can happen organically.

14. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Volunteering: Recruit and organize parent help and support
Ideas
Recruit widely
Address school culture
Create a community room for:
Volunteer work
Meetings
Family resources
Organize volunteers
Create schedules
Offer specific tasks
Oregon PTA

15. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Volunteering: Recruit and organize parent help and support
Outcomes for kids:
Builds communication skills between children and adults
Targeted attention from volunteers builds skills
Increased awareness of talents in the community
Future occupations, hobbies
Oregon PTA

16. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Learning at Home: Provide information and ideas to help students at home with homework and other curriculum related activities, decisions and planning.
Aligns with PTA Standard for Family-School Partnerships (#3)
Supporting Student Success: Families and school staff continuously collaborate to support students’ learning and healthy development both at home and at school, and have regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills to do so effectively.
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Ready, Set, Lead! PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships
Oregon PTA

17. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Learning at Home: Provide information and ideas to help students at home with homework and other curriculum related activities, decisions and planning.
Barriers and Challenges
Leaving the responsibility to students to communicate HW expectation, deadline and decisions
Involving families in curriculum related decisions
Language barrier
parents may feel uncomfortable helping kids with homework
Parents may dislike/distrust academic world
Parent time
Poverty stress, multiple children, multiple jobs or difficult working hours
Oregon PTA

18. Group Discussion
Parents without adequate resources often feel overwhelmed. Families suffering from economic stress must address their own needs for food, clothing, and shelter before they can see clear to become more involved in their children’s education.
Brainstorm some strategies with a neighbor.
Oregon PTA

19. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Learning at Home: Provide information and ideas to help students at home with homework and other curriculum related activities, decisions and planning.
Survey: How closely is your school’s parent involvement program linked to student learning?
Ideas
Accessible information for parents
Policies, guidelines, expectations, how to help with HW
HW schedules
Academic family activities at school
Goal setting, college planning
Open staff development to parents
Oregon PTA

20. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Learning at Home: Provide information and ideas to help students at home with homework and other curriculum related activities, decisions and planning.
Outcomes for kids
Gains in skills and abilities linked to homework
Higher grades due to homework completion
Higher self-esteem as a learner
Kids feel supported at home
Parent and school present a united front
Oregon PTA

21. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Decision Making: Include parents in school decisions, developing parent leaders and representatives
Aligns with PTA Standard for Family-School Partnerships (#5)
Sharing Power: Families and school staff are equal partners in decisions that affect children and families and together inform, influence and create policies, practices and programs.
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Ready, Set, Lead! PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. 2009
Oregon PTA

22. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Decision Making: Include parents in school decisions, developing parent leaders and representatives
SURVEY: How well does your school support parents as advocates?
Barriers and Challenges
Parents leaders are reflective of the all the groups at the site
Ethnic, SES, racial, LGBT
Offering training that is accessible to all
Including students in decision making
Sources:
Beyond the Bake Sale—The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships (2006)
Oregon PTA

23. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Decision Making: Include parents in school decisions, developing parent leaders and representatives.
Ideas
Organize parent groups (PTA!)
Parent Advisory Council
Site Council
How can parents support the school improvement plan?
Committees
Site level district level regional level  state level
Engage in local elections
Candidates forum, education
Create a parent involvement policy
Oregon PTA

24. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Decision Making: Include parents in school decisions, developing parent leaders and representatives.
Outcomes for kids
Students feel that their family has a voice
Students’ rights are protected
Benefits are linked to policies enacted by parents and experienced by students
Oregon PTA

25. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Collaborating with the Community: Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices and student learning and development.
Aligns with PTA Standard for Family-School Partnerships (#6)
Families and school staff collaborate with community members to connect students, families and staff to expand learning opportunities, community services and civic participation.
Sources:
Joyce L. Epstein, Ph.D., et. al., Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools
Ready, Set, Lead! PTA National Standards for Family-School Partnerships. 2009
Oregon PTA

26. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Collaborating with the Community: Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices and student learning and development.
SURVEY: How well is your school sharing power and practicing democracy?
Barriers and Challenges
Communicating with families about opportunities
Equity
Whose responsibility is it?
Funds, staffing, locations
Community contributions should integrate with program needs
Sources:
Beyond the Bake Sale—The Essential Guide to Family-School Partnerships (2006)
Oregon PTA

27. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Collaborating with the Community: Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices and student learning and development.
Ideas
Distribute resource information
Alumni participation
Reach out widely
Resource fair
Engage older adult community
Press relaeses
Service learning
Oregon PTA

28. Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Involvement
Collaborating with the Community: Identify and integrate resources and services from the community to strengthen school programs, family practices and student learning and development.
Outcomes for kids
Increased skills and talents
Greater awareness of career options, education opportunities
Linking resources to people who need them.
Oregon PTA

29. Involved vs. Engaged Whose energy drives it? Invitation
Involved: Ideas and energy come from the school/site.
Engaged: Ideas and energy come from parents
Invitation
Involved: “We’re” involving “them”
Engaged: Starts with building relationships. Parents are challenged to do something.
Roles of Parents and Staff
Involved: Families complete school/site directed tasks
Engaged: Community organizers who do things for themselves with the support of the school.
Source:
Oregon PTA

30. Questions? Comments?
Oregon PTA