Better Education Is Everybody

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Better Education Is Everybodys Business!

• The Partnership for Family Involvement in
  Education
• A nationwide effort to increase family
  involvementat home and at school
• and to
• Promote childrens learning and achievement

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Its a fact! Family involvement contributes to
childrensacademic success

• Thirty years of research show that greater family
  involvement in childrens learning is a critical
  link to achieving a high-quality education.
• Schools with high family involvement benefit from
  greater parent satisfaction with the school, and
  have improved teacher morale and more community
  support. (Henderson and Berla, 1994)
• Positive attitudes of families and teachers
  toward learning are consistently related to
  childrens academic success. (Henderson and
  Berla, 1994)

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Recent research again shows

• High involvement by families can make a positive
  difference for childrens learning across grades
  K-12.
• High involvement in this study means both
  parents have done three or all of these
  activities in a school year attend a general
  school meeting, attend a regularly scheduled
  parent-teacher conference, attend a school or
  class event, and serve as a volunteer at school.
  (National Center for Education Statistics, 1997)

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According to teachers

• The single most important thing public schools
  need to help students learn is involved parents.
  (Public Agenda, 1996)

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According to parents

• The school treats them as important partners in
  childrens learning(89 percent said this).
• They want to learn more about how to become
  involved in their childrens learning (77 percent
  said this).
• They want to be more involved at their childs
  school. (72 percent said this).
• (GTE, 1997)

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Who is responsible for maximizing childrens
learning?

• Responsibility should be shared by educators and
  families with support from the larger community,
  community and nonprofit organizations, business,
  faith communities and government. (Henderson and
  Berla, 1994 as cited in New Skills for New
  Schools, 1997)

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Barriers to family involvementin education

• Lack of time
• Not knowing what to do
• Differences in language and culture
• Unsafe neighborhoods
• Schools lacking a family-friendly environment
• Schools not organized to work with families

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Solutions to barriers to family involvement in
education

• Overcome time and resource constraints
• Provide information and training to parents and
  school staff
• Restructure schools to support family involvement
• Bridge school-family differences
• Tap external support for partnerships from the
  local community, nonprofit organizations,
  businesses, government and faith communities

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Who we are

• We are thousands of partners joined together in a
  growing grassroots movement to support student
  learning according to high standards. We come
  from families, schools, and a variety of
  businesses, communities, and religions, and are
  organized into four groups Family-School
  Partners, Employers for Learning, Community
  Organizations and Religious Groups.

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How we are organized

• The Partnership for Family Involvement in
  Education is organized into four groups
• Family-School Partners
• Employers for Learning
• Community Organizations
• Religious Groups

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These partners have pledged to

• Increase opportunities for families to be more
  involved in their childrens education at home
  and at school
• Promote childrens learning and achievement

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What the Partnership for Family Involvement does

• We address issues, provide information, expand
  professional development, and offer opportunities
  for sharing and networking through
• Convened meetings
• Materials (guides, kits, reports, CDs and videos)
• Hosted teleconferences
• A monthly newsletter (Community Update)
• Directed research
• A Web site
• Extended technical assistance

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The benefits of joining the Partnership

• Share and exchange good ideas and exemplary
  practices with partner leaders
• Access the latest information and research about
  family involvement in education
• Help families help their children succeed in
  school
• Work with other partners to develop a common
  vision to improve efforts to help children learn
  and generate enthusiasm for learning
• Promote effective ongoing two-way communication
  between home and school
• Receive recognition for your commitment to
  education
• Promote the arts, a second language and
  technology as integral to learning

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How we achieve our goals

• We come together as a team. A team could include
  representatives from a school communityfamilies,
  teachers, principals, students and concerned
  community leaderswho agree to share
  responsibilityfor student learning.
• We identify and commit to shared
  responsibilities.
• We evaluate the results of the partnership.
• We strengthen, improve and expand your
  partnership.

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Partners and partner groupswork with

• Community Centers
• Community Organizations
• Local, State and National Government Agencies
• Faith Communities
• Youth Groups

• Schools
• School Districts
• Classrooms
• Students
• Teachers and Administrators
• Families

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What partners doin the Partnership

• Participate as volunteers, tutors, and mentors
• Make work and community sites available as
  learning sites for students, teachers and
  families
• Promote improvement of schools and teaching in
  order to reach high standards
• Elevate excellence throughout the teaching
  profession
• Support leadership, training and support for
  principals
• Adopt family- and student-friendly business
  practices
• Provide before- and after-school learning
  activities for children in safe, drug-free
  environments

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What partners doin the Partnership (cont.)

• Make effective use of facilities (for example,
  schools, community buildings and churches) for
  childrens and families learning
• Give families increased access to resources,
  training and information to help children learn
• Provide educators with a broad range of tools to
  better engage families in childrens learning
• Wire and connect schools, students, teachers,
  community centers and families to the Internet
• Prepare future and experienced teachers as well
  as students and families to maximize the use of
  technology for instruction

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The spectrum of partner involvement in education
College-Going
Establish mentoringprograms for students
toprepare them for college
Mathematics
Train teachers inreal-world applicationsof
mathematics
Provide financialaid informationto parents
Provide information toparents on math
classeschildren should take
Reading
Establish literacy as acommunity priority
throughintegrated tutoring programs
Partners
Donate Books
Low Involvement
High Involvement
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PFIE goal Increase opportunitiesfor families to
be more involved intheir childrens education

• Give families the resources, training and
  information they need to help children learn
• Strengthen family-school partnerships Extend
  ongoing two-way communication and information
  sharing, and work together for childrens learning

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PFIE goal Promote childrens learning and
achievement

• Help children read well and independently by
  third grade
• Support learning right from the beginning of the
  school yearand beyond
• Turn around student achievement in mathematics
  and science
• Keep kids safe and smart before, during and after
  school
• Give teachers and principals the tools they need
  to engage families and their support for learning

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How-To resources available from the Partnership
for Family Involvement

• For All Partnership Members
• The Compact for Reading Guide(available online
  at pfie.ed.gov)
• A Compact for Learning An Action Handbook for
  Family-School-Community Partnerships
• Especially for Family-School Partners
• Working for Children and Families Safe Smart
  IIAfter-School Programs
• Preparing for Learning Preparing Teachers to
  Involve Families (CD-ROM)
• Especially for Community Organizations
• Investing in Partnerships for Student Success A
  Basic Tool for Community Stakeholders to Guide
  Educational Partnership Development and Management

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How-To resources availablefrom the Partnership
for Family Involvement (cont.)

• Especially for Employers
• The Corporate Imperative A Business Guide for
  Implementing Strategic Education Partnerships
• A Business Guide to Support Employee and Family
  Involvement in Education
• Using Technology to Strengthen Employee and
  Family Involvement in Education
• Especially for Religious Groups
• Faith Communities Joining with Local Communities
  to Support Childrens Learning Good Ideas

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How to access resources fromThe Department of
Education

• 1-800-USA-LEARN
• 1-877-4ED-PUBS
• www.ed.gov
• pfie.ed.gov