1. Families In Schools 1

2. “Students need to realize they must put forth effort. The fact is it is the communities and parents who are failing. Just look at the bars on the windows and tagging. Clean up your own house before you come after those working to give your kids an education.” 2

3. Parent engagement is NOT part of the problem, it IS part of the solution! 3

4. History as “requirement” to funding (Title I Advisory) as “consequence” to not meeting benchmarks (e.g. parent trigger) impacts few parents led by central office or parent center at best 4

5. History Title I and Parent Involvement: Lessons from the Past, Recommendations for the Future Karen L. Mapp, Harvard Graduate School of Education http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/issues/2012/03/ pdf/titleI_parental_invovlement.pdf 5

6. Solution When done right, parent engagement: Decreases costs to the state Improves teacher satisfaction and turnover Student attendance increases (school funding increases) Student outcomes increase 6

7. 7 Long-term study of Chicago schools found five essential supports for school improvement: school leadership, parent- community ties, professional capacity, student-centered learning, instructional guidance Schools with strong family and community ties are 4x more likely in reading, and 10x more likely in math, to make significant gains. Anthony S. Bryk et al, (2010) Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) Research

8. 8 Reading 11% 10% 9% 16% 10% 43% 40% 47% 36% 45% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% School Leadership Parent Involvement Work Orientation Safety & Order Curriculum Alignment Percentage of Schools that Substantially Improved in Reading Weak Strong Research

9. Beyond the Bake Sale Anne Henderson, Karen Mapp, Vivian Johnson, and Don Davies http://www.hfrp.org/evaluation/the-evaluation- exchange/issue-archive/building-the-future-of-family- involvement/beyond-the-bake-sale-how-school-districts- can-promote-family-involvement 9

10. Beyond Compliance Schools have role to play Focus at the school/classroom level Create a welcoming environment Increase learning opportunities Increase communication/trust Train staff and leadership Increase volunteer and leadership opportunities 10

11. Become A Champion Collaborate with community organizations A school improvement strategy Funding that supports parent engagement Raise awareness Improve monitoring/accountability Options and choices 11

12. Families Improving Education 11 organizations from the Central Valley & Inland Empire (over 130 parents, civic leaders, board members). Working to improve education in their communities Key problems: High dropout rates Low ELL reclassification Lack of welcoming environment Unfair education policies One solution An education system that welcomes parents and makes them part of the solution 12