Parent, Family & Community Involvement in Schools

Background
Background Everyone benefits when parents and families get involved in their children's education. In fact, parent and family involvement in education is key to the academic success of every child because the parent is a child's first and primary educator. Research confirms that family involvement is positively associated with success in school. Students do best when parents are supportive and expect them to achieve at the top range of their abilities.

Legislative History

WEAC supports initiatives to increase partnerships that respond to the varying needs of families and communities.

Key Components of Parent and Family Involvement Legislation:

. Creation of a Council on Parental and Family Involvement - Establish a nine-member advisory council in the Department of Public Instruction that would offer recommendations on parental/family involvement programs; provide training including skill development for appropriate family involvement in school governance; facilitate coordination among school officials, parents, educators and community leaders; coordinate services with other state agencies; and create an evaluation instrument to monitor the progress of parental/family involvement programs.

. Establishment of parental/family involvement programs in schools - Require local school boards, in conjunction with parents, educators, school officials and community leaders, to develop programs aimed at increasing support for education. These programs should establish partnerships within the community, design and implement effective two-way communications, and build a support system for families.

. Creation of a parent/family center in every school building - Each program developed by local school boards should include a suggested structure for a school-based parent/family center that would serve as a base for parents when they visit their child's school.

. Creation of a new categorical grant that provides $5.00 per student in each public school district - The Department of Public Instruction would administer the grants to ensure the funds are used for parent and family involvement programs. An annual report on how these funds are spent would be submitted to the local school board and made part of the public record.

WEAC Position

The Wisconsin Education Association Council strongly supports legislation to create parental and family involvement programs at every public school in Wisconsin, create a categorical grant program and form a statewide Council on Parental and Family Involvement. WEAC also supports expanding the family leave law to include school conferences and activities leave.

Talking Points

. The school, family, and community are overlapping influences on students' growth and development. As children's first teachers, family members have a profound and continuing impact on students' growth and development. A strong commitment to creating parental/ family involvement programs in the schools is an essential part of a student's educational development.

. Parental/family involvement programs and parent centers in the schools would help to establish partnerships and provide the opportunity to bring the influence of the school, the family, and the community into balance.

. Families that stay informed about their children's progress at school have higher-achieving children. A state-supported categorical grant program to help create family involvement programs at every school will help to bridge the communication gap that sometimes exists between families and their schools.

. Even as far back as 1994, a study by the Rand Corporation found that the most important factor affecting student achievement is the parents' level of formal education (especially the education level of the child's mother). Although true, this does not mean that there is little hope for children whose parents have had little formal education. It simply means that extra effort may be required to have all parents become more involved in the education of their children. A solid body of research tells us what parents and schools must do to enhance family involvement in the education of children; the challenge is to find ways for teachers and parents to work together effectively to help all students succeed.

Additional Information

Contact Deb Sybell, WEAC Legislative Program Coordinator, at 800-362-8034 ext. 227 or by e-mail at sybelld@weac.org with any reactions, comments or questions.

Posted May 4, 2006