it takes a parent: transforming education in the wake of the no child left behind act

It Takes a Parent:Transforming Education in the Wake of the No Child Left Behind Act

Appleseed

Local Direction, National Connections.

We are a growing network of local organizations, rooted in and responsive to their own communities, backed with national expertise and resources.

The Project

• Assessment of Parental Involvement, particularly since the No Child Left Behind Act

• Six states: Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, New Mexico, Texas and Washington

• 18 school districts – city, suburban and rural, including one that is predominantly Navajo

The Project

• Partners: Holland & Knight, DLA Piper, Columbia Teachers College, Pricewaterhouse Coopers

• Interviews of federal and state officials

• Interviews of community groups

• Focus groups with parents

• Review and inclusion of social science literature supporting effectiveness of parents in raising academic performance

Why Is It Important?

• Goes to the heart of NCLB

• Parents are largely overlooked as a key strategy in school improvement

• Parents can help to close the persistent achievement gaps

• Fulfills the mission of public school as open to all (including low-income and second language)

Why Is It Important?

• Turns parents into active advocates rather than just passive recipients

• Creates a more welcoming environment and thereby a more collaborative educational approach

• Social science research supports the proposition that more parent involvement equals higher academic performance

• Mandated by law

What is at stake?

• More than 50 million K-12 public school students

• More than 15,000 public school districts

• Equal opportunity for low-income and second-language families

• Fulfillment of the promise of NCLB as a parent empowerment measure

• Parents on par with other school improvement strategies

Compare the Headlines

• Standardized Testing

• High Standards

• Annual Yearly Progress

• Supplemental Education Services

• Consequences to Schools for low-achievement

• Persistently dangerous

What Is This Animal?

NCLB Parental Involvement Requirements

For all schools:

• Report cards to parents and the public• Diagnostic reports for parents• Right to transfer children out of persistently

dangerous schools

NCLB Parental Involvement Requirements

For Title I Schools:

• Written school and district parental involvement policy

• School-parent compact• Annual meeting for parents to explain Title I• Parental right to participate in developing

school improvement plan• Rights for parents of English language

learners• Transfer & Supplemental Education Services

Detailed Requirements

Additional requirement information available in our report:

www.appleseednetwork.org

Findings

Finding 1: Too many parents fail to receive clear and timely information about their children and their schools.

EXERCISE #1

What NOT to do

What NOT to do

“At least 95.0% tested for Reading and Mathematics for the All Group and Subgroups. If the current year’s participation rates are less than 95%, the participation rate for AYP will be considered sufficient if the average of the current year and the preceding year is at least 95%, or if the average of the current year and the two preceding years is at least 95%. Only actual participation rates are printed. If the participation rate printed is less than 95% but ‘Met AYP’ is ‘Yes’, it means the 95% condition was met by averaging.”

Data-Driven to Distraction

“Education leaders need to make data ‘real’ for parents”

– State of Washington community group participant

* * *

“The problem…is not a lack of data but that there is no way to extract simple, clear, consistent and valued messages for the parents to understand out of all the data”

– Texas school district administrator

Findings

Finding 2: Poverty, limited English proficiency, and varying cultural expectations are among the biggest barriers to parental involvement.

“The teachers in our school system don’t understand

our culture” – a Connecticut parent

Findings

Finding 3: Poor communication with parents hinders their ability to exercise NCLB’s choice and supplemental education services options.

Finding 4: Creative, multi-faceted communication and engagement strategies can promote better parental involvement in schools.

Findings

Finding 5: Parental involvement is not uniformly valued by school leaders as a key accountability strategy.

Recommendations for Action

1. Quality of Information: Provide understandable and timely information.

2. Proactive, Targeted Engagement: Pursue multiple strategies– particularly for low-income and non-English proficient parents.


3. Community Support: Leverage resources by engaging community organizations.

4. Professional Development: Prioritize and fund professional development for teachers and administrators.


5. Better Implementation and Stronger Accountability: Recognize parental involvement as central to school improvement.

Action ItemsSchool Districts/School Buildings:

• Provide clear information

• Factor in timely response when deciding when to give tests

• Translate written materials to other languages

• Hire interpreters liberally


• Reach out beyond schoolhouse doors with creative outreach programs

• Invest in training parents who can facilitate communication

• Evaluate student needs and available resources

• Ensure staff will be charged with making community connections


• Prioritize and fund professional development on the subject of parental engagement

• Work with community groups

• Associate key parent engagement strategies with school reform

• Know the goals, objectives and strategies behind parental involvement and measure results

Action ItemsState: • Make parental involvement part of the

certification process for licensing teachers and administrators

• Prioritize and fund professional development (with a special emphasis on understanding cultures and creating a welcoming environment)

• Require SES providers to disclose credentials and experience to parents – giving them something to compare

Action ItemsState: • School support teams – particularly those in the

field – should include individuals who are able to train teachers and administrators in effective parental involvement approaches.

• Promote effective district/Supplemental Education Services (SES) collaboration

• Include training in parental involvement as part of the technical assistance-style support for schools and districts

Action Items

Federal: • Prioritize and fund professional development

(with a special emphasis on understanding cultures and creating a welcoming environment)

• Provide federal incentives for training in parental involvement

• All teacher and principal training funded with federal dollars should include attention to parental engagement

Action ItemsFederal: • During reauthorization provide an expanded role

for parents in school improvement plans. Emphasize role of district-wide policy so not viewed as exclusively a failing school strategy.

• Create more strategic, focused role for the Parent Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs)

• Promote effective district/Supplemental Education Services (SES) collaboration

Advocacy

• Seek to be a part of Congressional hearings on NCLB

• Work with the Education Department on Accountability for Title I Parental Involvement Dollars

• Seek a broader role in school improvement plans and parental involvement policies

Advocacy

Hold targeted conversations with key legislators around three recommendations in the report:

• Funding for professional development for teachers and administrators earmarked for parental involvement

• Strengthening enforcement mechanisms and possible consequences for non-compliance, ensuring that parental involvement is on par with other NCLB requirements

• Funding for states to develop clear and effective measures of successful parental involvement initiatives

Notable Practices

Parental Involvement Reporting LawConnecticut General Assembly

In June 2006, the CT General Assembly became one of the first in the nation to require local and regional boards of education to report parental involvement measures in annual school profile reports. The legislation requires reporting for each school in the district and for the district as a whole on the measures the district has taken to improve parental involvement.

Public Act No. 06-167

www.cga.ct.gov

Notable Practices

Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs

Few pre-service teach education programs focus on educating their students (future teachers) about how to interact with families.

• The Parent Power Project, CSU-Fresno, matches up a family and pre-service teacher for ten weeks.

• The Rural Special Education Project, NAU-Flagstaff, provides direct experience with families and communities through cultural immersion.

Notable Practices

Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs

• The Urban Teacher Education Program, IUN-Gary, provides for pre-service teachers to be observed by a UTEP coordinator in various parent involvement situations, such as parent-teacher conferences.

• The University of Houston at Clear Lake teacher-family project began as a pre-service program for bilingual education teachers but has been expanded to prepare other teachers to work with parents.

Measurable Benchmarks

Benchmark 1: Parental involvement is included as a central element in any accountability plan, especially with a focus on school and district improvement goals.

Benchmark 2: Funding and support is provided for efforts to build the capacity of principals, teachers and parents to engage in effective parental involvement efforts designed to provide at-home and at-school support for underachieving students.


Benchmark 3: Staff time is dedicated to facilitating communications and engagement with low income and non-English proficient parents, with clear objectives linked to improving student performance.

Benchmark 4: Multiple, research-based outreach and communication strategies are pursued in order to reach parents regarding student and school performance (and actions they should consider in response)


Benchmark 5: Community resources are leveraged in order to enhance the ability of schools to support parents and students in need.

“Effective parental involvement can be achieved when community groups can work directly with schools and organize parents in collaboration with principals and staff.”

- Texas district official

School/District Assessment

• How do you define parental involvement?

• Are your parental involvement activities coordinated with other activities or programs?

• How do you measure parental involvement and gauge the degree to which particular initiatives are having the desired effect?

School/District Assessment

• Do you partner with community organizations to further your parental involvement activities?

• Have you undertaken a parent satisfaction survey? How have you used the results?

• What are the obstacles to providing better information to and achieving greater involvement by parents?

• What are these obstacles specifically with regard to NCLB public school choice and SES?

Bottom Line

Research studies published between 1995 and 2002 consistently “showed a relationship between parent involvement…and improved student achievement. This relationship holds across families of all economic, racial/ethnic, and educational backgrounds and for students of all ages”

– The National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools

it takes a parent: transforming education in the wake of the no child left behind act

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