Encouraging Parent Involvement Through the Use of a Class Website

(Chapter One)

A Project Presented to the Faculty of the College of Education

By Michelle Stephens

Touro University

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of

MASTERS OF ARTS

In

Educational Technology

By

Michelle Stephens

December, 2011

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Abstract

In the face of mounting academic requirements, teachers and parents must come

together in an educational partnership to better support students. A class website

can provide teachers and parents with a dynamic venue for collaboration and

communication. This project provided parents of a second grade class with an

interactive class website. The website promoted parent engagement through the

use of parent blogs, tutorials, web links, and educational resources.

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CHAPTER 1

Introduction

The ability to communicate using a class website could provide teachers with

an invaluable tool to connect with parents and gain their support outside of the

classroom. This underutilized venue of communication has the unique potential to

bridge the disconnect that often lies between home and school and tap into a vast

resource of parent support. Using a class website can help streamline

parent/teacher communication, clarify what parents can do at home to help their

child, and avoid problems often associated with more traditional forms of

communication.

It is essential that today’s educators use every resource available to help

families cope with ever-increasing demands on their children. In today’s fast paced

society, many families have little time or inclination to focus on their child’s

academics at home. Time is a limited commodity, especially when sports and other

extracurricular activities are factored in. Students are being asked to learn at a

faster pace, at an earlier age, and learn greater amounts of material than ever

before. Combine all of these factors and a time crunch of epic proportions emerges.

A class website can ameliorate this by providing timely communication between

parents, teachers and students. The website can allow parents access to the material

being covered at school, related educational resources, as well as, offer a venue to

communicate with the teacher outside of the classroom at their convenience. The

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ability of a class website to extend learning beyond the classroom gives it an

unmatched advantage as a communication tool.

Frequent home/school communication is vital, in light of the dramatic

changes being wrought on our educational system. Parents are at a loss when faced

with the dichotomy of the educational system of their childhood and the rigors of

today’s educational expectations. A growing question among parents about their

child’s education is, “Has it always been this academic?” and “I don’t remember

learning so much at this age.” The current focus on standards and school

accountability has risen dramatically in the last 15 years. Teachers need to provide

the support necessary for parents to take an active role in their child’s education at

home by delivering crucial information about the curriculum taught at school. “The

problem is that collaborations like these take great communication and planning,

which, in turn, takes time” (Johnson, 2000, pg.2). Johnson clearly identifies the

inherent issue with the home/school partnership; the excessive amount of time and

planning required for it to be successful. A class website is especially well suited for

this because it functions as a window, providing the transparency needed for

parents to see into the classroom and become familiar with the curriculum. Parents

can take a more active role in their child’s education by utilizing tutorials, tips, and

other resources, which it provides.

The use of a class website also has the advantage of circumventing the

inherent drawbacks of other more traditional modes of home/school

communication. Some examples Johnson identifies are: Printed materials not

making it home or frequently ending up in the bottom of a backpack; and the

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difficulty of scheduling parent teacher conferences due to time constraints on both

parties. The use of a class website can help avoid these common pitfalls by

providing both teachers and parents with a consistent and accessible means of

communication. Teachers can use class websites to inform parents of upcoming

due dates, class events, assignments, and even current grades for each student.

Also, parents and teachers can avoid the constraints of finding a common time to

have a conference by using a class website to communicate. There is no longer a

need for synchronicity, each participant can access the website when it is

convenient for him or her.

Statement of the Problem

Teachers are often faced with students working well below their ability

levels because of deficient parental support. Differing levels of parental

participation and academic expectations can have a monumental affect on a

student’s academic success. This discrepancy is often overlooked by educators or

viewed as beyond the ability of the teacher to control. Kim Walters-Parker points

out in her recent article “Communication with Parents to Enhance Learning,” that this

perception may be due to miscommunication between teachers and parents. When

parents are unclear what the teacher is asking them to do, they don’t take action.

Their inaction may be misconstrued by the teacher as indifference. Walters-Parker

states:

“The parent who does not know how to comply with the teacher's

request may perceive vagueness (of the request) as a reflection of

indifference or insensitivity to the parent's needs. When the parent

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does not comply, the teacher perceives the noncompliance as

indifference on the part of the parent. In this scenario, what started as

a well-intended suggestion resulted in a mutual perception between

the parent and the teacher that the other is indifferent to the child's

needs” (Walters, Education.com, 2009, pgs. 5-6)

This quote identifies how the lack of specific and timely communication can create a

negative perception on both the part of the teacher and the parent. This negative

perception can greatly hinder the parent/teacher partnership, and the needs of the

child could remain unmet.

The pivotal role that parental involvement and expectations play in a

student’s achievement can best be illustrated by a comparison of two dissimilar

student case studies. The first case study examines an energetic, curious second

grade student named Jasper. He is reading below grade level and has been

identified as “at risk,” meaning his reading level could directly affect his academic

success. Jasper currently reads at a fluency level of 23 words per minute. He

frequently is unable to sound out sight words and struggles to decode multi-syllable

words. Jasper likes school and for the most part is successful. When reminded to

practice his reading at home, Jasper has shared that no one has time to read with

him. His mom is taking care of his new baby sister and his dad doesn’t get home

until his bedtime. At parent teacher conferences, when the topic of Jasper’s reading

comes up, his mom volunteers that between football practices and play-dates, Jasper

is just too tired and busy to find time to read. She inquires, “Is it really that

important?” Jasper’s mom wants her son to succeed in school, but doesn’t see the

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importance of becoming more involved. The teacher, when faced with seemingly

indifferent and lacking parent support, lets the issue subside. These factors

contribute to Jaspers’ slow progress in reading.

Contrast this family tableaux with the second case study subject, an

inquisitive, confident, second grade student named Jenny. She loves school and

often plays “school” with her sister at home. Jenny has been reading independently

since kindergarten and she now reads at a fluency level of 102 words per minute.

One of Jenny’s favorite activities is reading with her father every night. She

especially loves the popcorn game where he will stop reading mid-sentence and she

has to take over. Some of Jenny’s earliest memories are reading with her parents.

Jenny’s mom often consults with Jenny’s teacher about what books are suited to her

level and what she can do to challenge her at home.

When the two situations are juxtaposed, a glaring difference becomes

obvious. Herein lies the crux of the problem, although both sets of parents love their

children and want them to succeed, the amount of parent participation and level of

expectation for their child’s educational achievement varies drastically. Jasper’s

parents find it difficult to support his efforts at home and have low expectations for

him academically. Conversely, Jenny’s family has integrated academic support in

their everyday routine. Her parents are active participants in her educational

development and have high academic expectations for her. This discrepancy plays a

pivotal role in the academic success of their children. Jasper may not meet the

second grade reading fluency benchmark of 90wpm (Dibels, 2011, pg. 5). and will be

flagged as “At Risk." Oppositely, Jenny will not only make adequate progress, but

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will even exceed the second grade reading fluency standard. In each case, the

teacher provides the student with individualized attention and support in the

classroom. Both students enjoy reading and want to make progress. However, the

teacher did not provide adequate information and motivation to Jasper’s family

because of the parent’s perceived indifference. Jenny’s family took a more proactive

role and requested the needed information to help their child succeed. Not only can

the differing parent involvement and expectations play a key role on each child’s

academic outcome, but the teacher’s perception of the parent’s interest can

contribute to the situation as well.

Background and Need

Several significant factors have contributed to the shift of education

extending beyond the walls of the classroom and into the home. Teachers today are

faced with the monumental task of effectively covering a vast amount of standards

within the time constraint of the average school day. When calculating the

mounting number of standards teachers are required to address, Marzono and

Kendall in their article “Awash in a Sea of Standards”, found that, “If American

educators were to adequately cover all of the knowledge identified in the current set

of standards for the core subject areas, it might take as much as 22 years of

schooling within the current structure“ (Marzano and Kendall, 1998, pg. 1). Savvy

administrators, acknowledging the futility of addressing every standard, have

instructed teachers to focus on key standards or “essential standards.” These are

typically the standards identified as the most crucial areas for students to master.

However, attempts by administrators to staunch the current flood of educational

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standards seem to have little or no effect. Teachers remain unable to introduce all

the material and provide enough time for student mastery even when focusing

solely on “essential standards”.

This leads to a challenge for teachers to educate their students as efficiently

as possible. Teachers are utilizing every minute available during school, and even

outside of school hours to ensure that their students are meeting these “essential

standards.“ Some teachers work through recess and lunch to offer their students

the one–on-one tutoring they need. Others pull students aside before or after school

to work with them. Even these well-intentioned interventions are sometimes not

enough to help students achieve success. Marzano and Kendall, advocate two main

options for educators to meet the growing number of standards. The first is to

increase the amount of instructional time or secondly, to decrease the number of

standards that must be addressed (Marzano and Kendall, 1998, pgs. 11-15). While

these two options could remedy the situation, neither option is currently available

to the average teacher. Therefore, teachers need to draw on any and all methods

available for improving student success.

One proven method of increasing student achievement is to increase parent

involvement. There is a strong positive correlation between parent involvement

and academic achievement. According to Jeynes’ 2005 meta-analysis, which drew

from 77 studies and looked at the effects of parent participation and student

achievement of over 300,000 students in grades 1-12, researchers found that

greater parent participation led to higher student achievement across all socio-

economic and cultural groups. The study also found that the manner of parent

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involvement was a determining factor as well. Parents who invested more time

reading with their child and had higher expectations for them had a greater impact

on student success (Jeynes, 2005, pgs. 241-243). This meta-analysis demonstrates

the potential to improve all students’ academic outcomes by tapping into a more

active parent support system. It clearly illustrates the benefits of the

interrelationship between teachers, students and parents all working together to

achieve a common goal. Teachers must provide parents with the tools necessary to

help their child successfully navigate through the plethora of increased educational

demands. Student learning is more effective if it is not solely sequestered to the

brief time students are in the classroom. It is now more crucial than ever to enlist

the support of parents to help educate their child.

There is a scarcity of information about the efficacy of the use of class

websites. Zafer Unal, addressed the shortcomings of the literature on the subject by

conducting an online survey of 244 Elementary school teachers and 483 parents

about the ideal content and favorite features of class websites. According to Unal,

the majority of parents and teachers agreed that a class website was the favored

form of communication between home and school for three main reasons. The first

was that a class website provided parents access to information about class news,

upcoming events, homework and what is happening daily at school in a timely

manner. Secondly, some of the parents indicated that the website allowed them to

feel more involved in their children’s education by “break(ing) the place and time

requirements and limits of the physical classroom.” Thirdly, the participants felt

that the website provided valuable resources for parents which helped them to

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“expand the learning possibilities beyond the classroom walls” (Unal, 2008, pg. 9).

These findings demonstrate how both parents and teachers can gain a deep

connection and commitment to the partnership by using a class website. A class

website can provide a link between parents (who want to help their child, but don’t

know how,) and teachers (who need their help, but are unable to connect in a

meaningful manner.) The need for a flexible, timely, personalized communication

tool for parents and teachers is at hand. Traditional forms of parent/teacher

communication are no longer enough. Parents, teachers, administrators, schools

and districts must consider this new communication tool in order to reach the next

developmental stage in our ever-changing educational system.

Purpose of the Project

The purpose of this project is to create and implement an interactive class

website, to be used by the teacher, parents and students in a second grade

classroom at Pleasant Valley Elementary, in Novato, California. Class websites have

been shown to be an effective communication tool to enhance the home/school

connection. The goal is to provide parents with this interactive tool, which will

enable them to become more engaged in their child’s education. Based on a

compilation of studies, several significant website elements were identified. The

website will contain, but is not be limited to the following key elements which will

be updated and modified frequently and as needed:

Teacher Information:

o E-mail Address

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o Short Autobiography/Resume

o Picture

Parent Information:

o Parent Blog

o Parent Contact Information

o Parent Survey

o Parent Conference Information

o Suggestions for at Home Support Activities

o Parent Tutorials for Accessing Web-link Resources

Student Information

o Student Challenge

o Star Student Downloadable PDF

General Class Information:

o School/Class Calendar of Important Events

o Supply List/Class Donation Needs

o General Daily Schedule

o Class Pictures (Privacy Protected)

Homework Information:

o Daily Overview/Expectations

o Tutorials

Project Objectives

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The class website project will meet the following objectives:

1. Parents will use the class website to access current information about

classroom activities and specific ways they can support their child at home .

2. Parents will use the resources provided by the website to work with their

child at home.

3. Parent usage and perception of the website will be measured via parent

surveys and interviews conducted before, during, and after implementing the

webpage.

Definition of Terms

At Risk: A student who does not meet grade level standards in a particular area for

example, reading, writing or math. This could have a potentially negative

impact on their academic progress.

Blog: Is a blend of the term “web log” and is a dynamic webpage, which allows users

to post comments about a related topic.

Class Website: A website which is hosted and managed by the teacher. The website

contains a combination of webpages which are either private, password

protected (eg. picture gallery or student grades) or public (general class

information.) The website is open to the students and parents in the class.

Essential Standards: Grade level/content standards that students must master in

order to be successful in school. These standards are the highest priority for

instructional time, attention and resources.

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Parent Blog: Is an interactive webpage included on the class website which allows

parents to communicate openly with each other and the teacher about

classroom questions or issues.

Web-link Resources: These are links to educational web resources specifically

designed to support parents and help students master the curriculum.

Webpage: A webpage is an individual HTML document which may be static (non-

changing like a PDF or read only text) or dynamic (interactive or content that

can change with each use like a Blog.)

Website: A website is a collection of related webpages, which can contain images,

text, videos and other electronic resources.

Summary

Teachers need to provide parents with every educational tool available to

promote active academic engagement and high academic expectations. Increased

parent involvement and expectations can positively and directly affect the progress

of a struggling student. A class website can offer parents an essential, personalized

teaching tool which is at their disposal any time of day or night. Teachers need to

provide the information, teaching tips, and at home strategies. Parents need to

work with their child at home at a convenient time. If both parents and teachers

perform their role in this partnership, they create a symbiotic relationship where

the child reaps the benefits. This project will provide a class website which can be

used as a means of communication between parents and the teacher. The website

will also provide information and resources to parents to enable them to become

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more involved in their child’s education. The project will measure changes in parent

usage and perception of the website based on surveys and interviews.

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References

Dibels Next Benchmark Goals and Composite Score (2010). Dynamic Measurement Group Inc, 2, 14.

Jeynes, W. H. (2005). A meta-analysis of the relation of parent involvement to urban elementary school student academic achievement. Urban Education, 40, 237-269.

Johnson, D. (2000). Teacher Web Pages That Build Parent Partnerships. Multimedia Schools, 7(4), 48.

Marzano, R., Kendall, J. S. (1998). Awash in A Sea of Standards. mcrel.org, 1-28.

Tubin, D.,Sarit, K. (2007). Designing a School Website: Content, Structure and Responsiveness. Planning and Changing. 38, (3&4), 191–207.

Unal, Z. (2008). Going The Extra Step For Parental Involvement: Connecting Family And School With The Power Of Teacher Websites. Journal of College Teaching & Learning , 5 (6), 41-49.

Walters-Parker, K. (2009). Communication with Parents to Enhance Learning. Education.com, 1-10.

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