PTA RESOURCES

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

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School Improvement Teams/School Leadership Teams

A School Improvement Team/School Leadership Team (SIT/SLT) is a group of people who implement school-based management at a local school by developing a plan to enhance student achievement. It is a decentralized, shared process that includes people such as administrators, teachers, support staff, students, business leaders, and parents who sincerely care about all the students in that school and what they need to learn to succeed.

The state law mandates the inclusion of parents on the team. Parent representatives must be elected by parents of children enrolled in the school in an election conducted by the PTA, or if none exists, by the largest organization of parents formed for this purpose. The law also does not specify the number of team members. This is left up to each local school. However, the law implies that there should be at least two parent members. Teams must be large enough to include representation of each of the specified educator groups and include the racial/socio-economic mix of parents, but small enough to accomplish the tasks related to school improvement.

Article: Positive Parent-Teacher Communications Help Everyone

National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement Programs

Source is National PTA Web Site.

1. Communicating - Communication between home and school is regular, two-way, and meaningful.
2. Parenting - Parenting skills are promoted and supported.
3. Student Learning - Parents play an integral role in assisting student learning.
4. Volunteering - Parents are welcome in the school, and their support and assistance are sought.
5. School Decision Making and Advocacy - Parents are full partners in the decisions that affect children and families.
6. Collaborating with Community - Community resources are used to strengthen schools, families, and student learning.

Parent and Family Involvement and Student Success

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• When parents are involved, students achieve more, regardless of socio-economic status, ethnic/racial background, or the parents' education level.
• The more extensive the parent involvement, the higher the student achievement.
• When parents are involved in their students' education, those students have higher grades and test scores, better attendance, and complete homework more consistently.
• When parents are involved, students exhibit more positive attitudes and behavior.
• Students whose parents are involved in their lives have higher graduation rates and greater enrollment rates in post-secondary education.
• Different types of parent/family involvement produce different gains. To have long-lasting gains for students, parent involvement activities must be well-planned, inclusive, and comprehensive.
• Educators hold higher expectations of students whose parents collaborate with the teacher. They also hold higher opinions of those parents.
• In programs that are designed to involve parents in full partnerships, student achievement for disadvantaged children not only improves, it can reach levels that are standard for middle-class children. In addition, the children who are farthest behind make the greatest gains.
• Children from diverse cultural backgrounds tend to do better when parents and professionals collaborate to bridge the gap between the culture at home and the learning institution.
• Student behaviors, such as alcohol use, violence, and antisocial behavior decrease as parent involvement increases.
• Students are more likely to fall behind in academic performance if their parents do not participate in school events, develop a working relationship with their child's educators, or keep up with what is happening in their child's school.
• The benefits of involving parents are not confined to the early years; there are significant gains at all ages and grade levels.
• Junior and senior high school students, whose parents remain involved, make better transitions, maintain the quality of their work, and develop realistic plans for their future. Students whose parents are not involved, on the other hand, are more likely to drop out of school.
• The most accurate predictor of a student's achievement in school is not income or social status, but the extent to which that student's family is able to (1) create a home environment that encourages learning; (2) communicate high, yet reasonable, expectations for their children's achievement and future careers; and (3) become involved in their children's education at school and in the community.

10 Ways to Help your Child Succeed

It's not a secret–parent involvement increases student success. Years of research confirm that when parents are involved, children achieve more, not only academically, but also in life.

Now the PTA has developed a new component to that program called How to Help Your Child Succeed. Here are the key points of the program: 10 ways to foster your child's success.

1. Talk with your child. Talking early and often with your children helps them trust you as a source of information and guidance.
2. Set high but realistic expectations. Paying attention to your children's strengths, while acknowledging where they need assistance can help children develop realistic self-expectations.
3. Build your child's self-esteem and confidence. Encourage your children to make choices even if it means making mistakes. This is how children learn and grow.
4. Keep your child healthy. Promote your children's physical, emotional, and social health.
5. Support learning at home. Show that education is important to you and that you value learning.
6. Communicate with your child's school. Communicate on a regular basis with the school to stay informed and involved.
7. Encourage exploration and discovery. By encouraging your children to develop their interests and seek opportunities to try new things you help them make the most of the world around them.
8. Help your child develop good relationships. All children want to fit in and belong. Helping your children develop friendships that affirm them will go a long way to helping them build solid relationships as adults.
9. Keep your child safe. Teach your children safety procedures and how to avoid dangerous situations.
10. Participate in community service. Children's positive energy and talents can be acknowledged beyond the classroom when used to serve or help others.

From How to Help Your Child Succeed, a part of National PTA's Building Successful Partnerships program. How to Help Your Child Succeed is available as a two-part workshop in which participants learn more about the 10 ways and how to put them into practice. To find out how to bring a workshop to your community visit the How to Help Your Child Succeed area on the National PTA Web Site.

Conflict Resolution Tips for Parents

There's a lot you can do to create a peaceful home — and teach your kids to handle conflict constructively:

The first step in managing anger and family conflict is awareness. Identify your style of dealing with anger, then recognize other OPTIONS:

• Offer alternate times or actions;
• Problem-solve in pairs or as a family;
• Tackle the issue together through compromise or collaboration;
• Ignore the problem temporarily;
• Order the necessary action clearly and respectfully;
• Nip the conflict in the bud by creating a setting that produces peace;
• Surprise or humor the angry parties.

"If the only tools you have are hammers, every problem begins to look like a nail." The words of psychologist Abraham Maslow apply to conflict. If the only tool a child has is fighting, that will be the child's first and only method of coping with conflict.

• Be a good role model. Children learn general approaches to resolving conflict by watching their parents and other adults in their lives. How do you negotiate? When do you give in? How do you see the other person's point of view? Can you afford to admit that you've been wrong?
• Take every opportunity to enhance your child's self-esteem.
• Children are more likely to fight when they feel powerless. Give your child a voice in family discussions and decisions.
• Set aside special times with your children to give them your undivided attention.
• Encourage your children to express all their feelings-feelings of anger or hostility as well as sad and happy feelings. In turn, share your feelings with your children.
• Check and see if your school has a conflict resolution program. If not, your PTA might work with the principal and teachers to learn more about how schools deal with conflict resolution.

Excerpt from the PTA Parenting Guide: Programs and Resources; Copyright 1994 by the National PTA®; 330 North Wabash Ave., Suite 2100; Chicago, Illinois; 60611-3690.