In what other ways can parents and community leaders be involved in the school performance?

Family-school-community partnerships are a shared responsibility and reciprocal process whereby schools and other community agencies and organizations engage families in meaningful and culturally appropriate ways, and families take initiative to actively support their children’s development and learning. Schools and community organizations also make efforts to listen to parents, support them, and ensure that they have the tools to be active partners in their children’s school experience.

Partnerships are essential for helping students achieve at their maximum potential and while parent and community involvement has always been a cornerstone of public schools, greater recognition and support of these collaborative efforts is needed.

Research shows that when schools, parents, families, and communities work together, students:

• earn higher grades;

• attend school more regularly;

• stay in school; and,

• are more motivated.

This is true for students of all ages, all backgrounds, and across race and ethnicity. Furthermore, a variety of supports cutting across the spectrum of social, health, and academic needs may be necessary for school success. High quality schools have demonstrated track records connecting with community resources and families to improve student outcomes in all domains of development.

Although schools may interpret lack of involvement of immigrant or non-English speaking families as “not caring” about their children’s education, this is most often NOT the case. Bilingual resources and staff, programs to help parents understand how to support their children’s education, and parent liaisons who can connect the school and families to linguistically and culturally diverse community resources can be highly effective strategies for developing partnerships between schools, families, and the community.

Foundations for academic success begin in early childhood and are further developed during elementary school years. Conversely, patterns of failure and disengagement also begin early. For example, struggling readers are likely to continue to experience ongoing difficulties in secondary school if they are not supported early in their development. Continuity with family engagement strategies and partnerships with community programs from Pre-K/Elementary School to middle and high school can help support academic achievement throughout students’ school tenure.

Adelman, H. & Taylor, L. (2007). Fostering School, Family, and Community Involvement. The Hamilton Fish Institute on School and Community Violence & Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Available at: http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/publications/44%20guide%207%20fostering%20school%20family%20and%20community%20involvement.pdf

Epstein, J. L. et al. (2009). School, family, and community partnerships: Your handbook for action. Third edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 

Family Support. (n.d.). National Education Association. Available at https://www.nea.org/student-success/engaged-families-communities/family-support

Handbook on Family and Community Engagement. (2011). http://www.families-schools.org/downloads/FACEHandbook.pdf

National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group: Recommendations for Federal Policy . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Family Research Project; 2009. Available at https://archive.globalfrp.org/family-involvement/publications-resources/national-family-school-and-community-engagement-working-group-recommendations-for-federal-policy

National Network of Partnership Schools’ (NNPS). (n.d.). Available at https://nnps.jhucsos.com/