Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":
Philadelphia Inquirer’s Editorial On “Opting-Out”
Here’s an excerpt from Valerie Strauss’ piece at The Washington Post: The editorial board of a big-city newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, has gone on record as not only supporting the right of parents to have their children opt out of high-stakes standardized tests but also saying they are “right to protest” in this manner. I’m adding it to The Best Posts On Parents “Opting-Out” Of Standardize
“Standing Up to Testing”
Standing Up to Testing is a New York Times article on parents opting their students out of standardized testing in New York City. Here’s an excerpt: This movement of refusal does not evolve out of antipathy toward rigor and seriousness, as critics enjoy suggesting, but rather out of advocacy for more comprehensive forms of assessment and a depth of intellectual experience that test-driven pedagogy
New Game: “Start the Talk: A Parent Learning Tool”
Here’s a new well-done online Choose Your Own Adventure game that is being nominated for an award at the Games For Change Festival: Start the Talk: A Parent Learning Tool. It’s designed as a role-playing exercise for parents so they can practice speaking with their children about under-age drinking. Surprisingly — at least to me — it seems to offer some very good advice, and I can see it being use
“3 Things Parents Wish Teachers Knew: We Can Handle the Truth”
3 Things Parents Wish Teachers Knew: We Can Handle the Truth is an interesting post at The New York Times by Jessica Lahey. It’s worth a “read.”
“Cartoons about Families and Schools”
Cartoons about Families and Schools is a fun collection over at Larry Cuban’s blog. If you could use a laugh — and who can’t? — check them out!
“Trying to Close a Knowledge Gap, Word by Word”
Trying to Close a Knowledge Gap, Word by Word is an article and video from The New York Times that gives a pretty good over of research, concerns and potential strategies related to the “word gap.” It includes discussion about the Rhode Island that’s inserting recording devices into children’s clothing, which I have previously posted about skeptically (though I’ve tried to maintain an open mind).
“Questioning Parental Involvement”
Questioning Parental Involvement is an excellent short post by Walt Gardner at Education Week. He provides some very good critiques of a new book and research about parent involvement that I posted about a few days ago — New Book & Research On Parent Involvement, & It’s Potentially Very Unhelpful. Here’s an excerpt from his post: Yet I wonder if using test scores as the primary basis for t
“8 Tips for Reaching Out to Parents”
8 Tips for Reaching Out to Parents is a very good list of suggestions by educator David Cutler that has been published by Edutopia. Here is one of his suggestions: 6. Call Home to Report Good News Parents rarely receive a positive call home. Twice a semester, I make a point to call and tell them how impressed I am with something their student did or said. It surprises me when parents nervously ans
MAR 24
“Chicago Public Schools had the law on its side, but wisdom was nowhere to be found”
A few days ago, I posted about the inappropriate actions by the Chicago Public Schools in interviewing elementary schoolchildren — without parental permission — about a standardized test boycott (see I Don’t Get A Sense That The Chicago School District Has A Clue About Parent Engagement). Now the Chicago Sun Times has published an editorial on it, which they’ve titled Terrible idea to interrogate
New Book & Research On Parent Involvement, & It’s Potentially Very Unhelpful
Don’t Help Your Kids With Their Homework is the title of an article in The Atlantic by Dana Goldstein. It describes research shared in a new book, The Broken Compass:Parental Involvement With Children’s Education by two professors which, at least according to Dana Goldstein, questions most the effectiveness of what most of us would typically consider parent involvement/engagement. Based on what Th
“School funding reforms spark push to get parent input”
School funding reforms spark push to get parent input is a new article at Ed Source describing what districts are doing to hear from parents about funding priorities (it’s a requirement of California’s new funding formula). It sounds like most districts are doing a fair amount of work. However, I’ve got to wonder how many of them — if any — are doing it with a long-term parent engagement strategy
MAR 21
I Don’t Get A Sense That The Chicago School District Has A Clue About Parent Engagement
Following the backlash from closing huge numbers of neighborhood schools and making it difficult for parents to opt-out of standardized testing, you’d think that the Chicago school district would have learning something about the importance parent engagement. No such luck. This week they “yanked-out” elementary students for interviews to see if their teachers influenced them to opt-out of a test t
Secretary Duncan Visits Los Angeles Family Center
U.S. Education secretary praises L.A. program is the headline of a Los Angeles Times article on a visit Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently made to a center designed to provide support to both parents and students. It sounds like an interesting program, and is part of the Promise Zone initiative. You might also be interested in My Best Posts On The Harlem Children’s Zone & Other “Promise
MAR 20
I’m Interviewed In Podcast “Parent Involvement Versus Parent Engagement: Is There Really a Difference?”
I was a guest during #PTchat on Twitter last week discussing the difference between parent engagement and parent involvement (you can see the tweets here). As a follow-up to that conversation, I was a guest on PTchat Radio, and you can listen to it here. I’m adding it to My Best Posts, Articles & Interviews On Parent Engagement.
REALLY Interesting Story About New York City Public School Begun By Parents
At a new school started by parents, uncertainty about how to include them is the headline of an article over at Chalkbeat that is one of the more interesting pieces on parent engagement I’ve read in awhile. Here’s an introductory excerpt: Over the course of nearly a decade, the parents recruited local clergy and elected officials to join a coalition, met with Department of Education officials, and
MAR 17
“Efforts To Close The Achievement Gap In Kids Start At Home”
I’ve been a little skeptical about the effort in Providence to have children wear clothes with built-in audio recorders to county the number of words heard at home (you can see those pieces at The Best Resources For Learning About The “Word Gap”). NPR just ran a piece on it titled Efforts To Close The Achievement Gap In Kids Start At Home. I’m still skeptical, but would be happy to be proven wrong
“Anti-Bullying from the Parent’s Perspective”
Anti-Bullying from the Parent’s Perspective is a useful post from Think Inclusive. I’m adding it to The Best Resources — Specifically For Parents — On Bullying.
MAR 16
“Parental engagement in learning and schooling: Lessons from research”
Parental engagement in learning and schooling: Lessons from research looks like a useful review of studies on the topic. It’s a report by the Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth for the Family-School and Community Partnerships Bureau. Thanks to Joe Mazza for the tip. I’m adding it to “The Best Research Available On Parent Engagement.”
Video: “Parent Involvement Builds Academic Success”
Five hundred parents and educators recently met at a family engagement conference in Reno, Nevada. Here’s news video coverage of the event:
MAR 15
“5 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew: Your Children Can Do More Than You Think”
5 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew: Your Children Can Do More Than You Think is a good piece by Jessice Lahey in The New York Times. You might also be interested in My Advice To Parents In “USA Weekend.”
Official Common Core Site Tries To Makes Itself More “Parent-Friendly”
The official Common Core Standards site unveiled a redesign this week in an effort to make it more accessible and understandable to parents. I’m adding this info to The Best Resources For Talking To Parents About The Common Core Standards.
The Difference Between Parent “Involvement” & Parent “Engagement”: Selected Tweets From #PTchat
I was a guest on a recent #PTchat to discuss the difference between parent “involvement” and parent “engagement.” Here are some selected tweets from that chat. [View the story "The Difference Between Parent \"Involvement\" & Parent \"Engagement\": Selected Tweets From #PTchat" on Storify]
“Teacher Home Visits: The Importance of Sharing a Meal”
Teacher Home Visits: The Importance of Sharing a Meal is a nice post in Education Week by a teacher in Minnesota. Here’s the last paragraph: That home visit was the best way for me to get to know Omar and his family. It made the task of teaching him come alive by attaching their story, their life, to him. There is nothing quite like sharing a meal with someone to bring you closer together. It is w
MAR 11
“school districts across the country are doing a terrible job of being responsive to parents” who want to opt-out of testing
Yesterday, I posted about the unwise response by administrators in Chicago and Colorado to parents who want to opt-out their children from standardized testing. Today, Esther Cepeda, with whom I usually disagree, came out with a column condemning that administrative response. Here are a couple of excerpts: But though I believe standardized testing is essential, school districts across the country
Schools in Chicago & Colorado Making It VERY Difficult For Parents To “Opt-Out”
It appears that some schools are making it very difficult for parents to “opt-out” of standardized testing for their child. I’m not sure if this attitude is the best one to take to further parent engagement…. Read about what’s happening in Colorado and in Chicago. I’m adding this info to The Best Posts On Parents “Opting-Out” Of Standardized Tests For Their Children.