I initially became interested in parental involvement after reading Sylvester Monroe's November 2008 article on Bill Cosby's Crusade. This article tackled the issue of the "lost Black America" and why the Black family, according to Cosby, has let us down. There were many opponents, namely in the African-American community, who were furious with Cosby for airing this laundry. As a member of this community, I felt he was one to something and I was delighted that we passionately responded. I thought change was on its way. Two years later we are examining the same issue and asking, “how can we make it better?” Cosby concludes that we need to get back to the basics, restore the importance of education to Black families who have lost it. How do we do this? I work with 108 juniors and seniors daily at E. E. Waddell High School (70% of African-African, 27% Hispanic and 3% all other). I experience first hand the lack of parental involvement. It’s a challenge for me to keep up with perpetually changing phone numbers and addresses. There is no responsibility on the parents’ part to update the school records. I am dumbfounded. It is a rare case to see parents at the school inquiring about changes in rules or policy. Moreover, it is difficult to get the parents to come up for a parent/teacher conference, whether good or bad. Is this the case across the district or is this specific to Waddell? How important is parental involvement as it relates to these students being successful in their academics? Alberta Initiative for School Improvement, like CIS, focuses on high school completion. After conducting a 3-year cycle evaluative summary, parental/home environment was one of the five themes that derived from their report (2009). Gunn and colleagues reports the importance of parental involvement by stating, “in order for students to understand the importance of education, parents must be active participants, advocates, and mentors” (2009, pg. 21). Still, as in my experiences, the number one item that did not work well in this report was the parental involvement (2009). While reading the Smith, Stern and Shatrova piece, I was able to draw some parallels as it relates to the involvement of my Hispanic families: failure of school to send home bilingual literature, English is not parents’ first language and therefore they are not comfortable going against administration and advocating for their child (2008). The surprising fact is that my Hispanic families, despite these evident challenges, have been the most involved. I have three families that have participated in all of my events. Their students are excellent at conveying the importance of these sessions and relaying pertinent information during the workshops. How can CIS, which student demographics matches that of my caseload – 70/30 ratio, get their majority more involved? These are just some of the questions that spark my interest. I hope to be able to find some useful information that will assist in the engagement of parents in their child's pursuit of academic success. Through this evaluative research project, I hope CIS of Charlotte is able to brainstorm, develop and implement strategies that are based on sound research and experiences that will get their parents involved. Gunn, T., Chorney, D., & Poulsen, J. (2009). High School Completion: A Comprehensive Review of Projects Directed toward Keeping Students in School. Journal of At-Risk Issues, 15(1), 17-24. Retrieved from ERIC database. Smith, J., Stern, K., & Shatrova, Z. (2008). Factors Inhibiting Hispanic Parents' School Involvement. Rural Educator, 29(2), 8-13. Retrieved from ERIC database.
I work with 108 juniors and seniors daily at E. E. Waddell High School (70% of African-African, 27% Hispanic and 3% all other). I experience first hand the lack of parental involvement. It’s a challenge for me to keep up with perpetually changing phone numbers and addresses. There is no responsibility on the parents’ part to update the school records. I am dumbfounded. It is a rare case to see parents at the school inquiring about changes in rules or policy. Moreover, it is difficult to get the parents to come up for a parent/teacher conference, whether good or bad. Is this the case across the district or is this specific to Waddell? How important is parental involvement as it relates to these students being successful in their academics?
Alberta Initiative for School Improvement, like CIS, focuses on high school completion. After conducting a 3-year cycle evaluative summary, parental/home environment was one of the five themes that derived from their report (2009). Gunn and colleagues reports the importance of parental involvement by stating, “in order for students to understand the importance of education, parents must be active participants, advocates, and mentors” (2009, pg. 21). Still, as in my experiences, the number one item that did not work well in this report was the parental involvement (2009). While reading the Smith, Stern and Shatrova piece, I was able to draw some parallels as it relates to the involvement of my Hispanic families: failure of school to send home bilingual literature, English is not parents’ first language and therefore they are not comfortable going against administration and advocating for their child (2008). The surprising fact is that my Hispanic families, despite these evident challenges, have been the most involved. I have three families that have participated in all of my events. Their students are excellent at conveying the importance of these sessions and relaying pertinent information during the workshops. How can CIS, which student demographics matches that of my caseload – 70/30 ratio, get their majority more involved?
These are just some of the questions that spark my interest. I hope to be able to find some useful information that will assist in the engagement of parents in their child's pursuit of academic success. Through this evaluative research project, I hope CIS of Charlotte is able to brainstorm, develop and implement strategies that are based on sound research and experiences that will get their parents involved.
Gunn, T., Chorney, D., & Poulsen, J. (2009). High School Completion: A Comprehensive Review of Projects Directed toward Keeping Students in School. Journal of At-Risk Issues, 15(1), 17-24. Retrieved from ERIC database.
Smith, J., Stern, K., & Shatrova, Z. (2008). Factors Inhibiting Hispanic Parents' School Involvement. Rural Educator, 29(2), 8-13. Retrieved from ERIC database.