The Role of Parents and Community in Supporting Student Success

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The Role of Parents and Community in Supporting
Student Success

• A Review of AISI Projects,
• 2000-2008
• Cycles One, Two and Three.

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It Take A Village to Raise a Child

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• Learning from parents and communities requires
  building caring, trusting, respectful and
  reciprocal relationshipsparents are vigorous
  participants in improving the childrens
  opportunities.
  Hargreaves 2003

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The purposes for this session are to highlight

• AISI partnerships
• AISI review process
• Key findings from the U of C review
• Implications for future initiatives

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• In his chapter on Breadth in Sustainable
• Leadership, Andy Hargreaves states,
• Communities include not only the teachers but
  also students, parents and the growing number of
  other adults and assistants who work alongside
  teachers in their classrooms and schoolsstrong
  cultures and communities of distributed
  leadership are not only emergent but are
  assertive and resilient.
• Hargreaves, 2006

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AISI is a partnership amongst teachers,
superintendents, trustees, business officials,
universities, parents and government.
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• By working together, the partners continue to
  develop new relationships, strategies and
  practices that provide long term benefits to
  teaching and learning in our province.
  
• AISI fact sheet,
  2007

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• Review process
• What was the purpose in doing the review?
• How were the projects selected?
• How was data collected?
• How were the findings determined?

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Key Findings

• Parent involvement included
• Volunteering in the school
• Participating in parent education
• Supporting students at home
• Helping to develop and implement projects
• Advancing beliefs, values, cultures and languages
• Sharing expertise, knowledge, talents and gifts

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• Key Findings
• Effective communications strategies
• included
• Well articulated pedagogical stances
• Knowledge sharing about curriculum, pedagogy,
  learning strategies, alternative forms of
  assessment
• Effective use of technologies
• Adaptations to address culture, language, time,
  availability, personal beliefs

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Focus Group Findings

• The focus group findings emphasized three
• critical areas as important to this topic
• Educational Context
• Trust
• Resources

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For such partnerships (with parents) to be
meaningful, they must move beyond fundraising,
compliance with homework and discipline policies
and general supportiveness to the core of
teaching and learning as it affects parents own
children.Hargreaves and Fullan, 1998
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Implications for the Future

• Collaboration, shared leadership, support of
  those who will implement the projects and
  meaningful involvement of the school community
  are essential elements for school improvement.
• AISI
  Handbook for Cycle 4

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Area of Focus For Cycle 4

• Increased emphasis on the involvement of
  parents, students, and the community in the
  development and implementation of AISI projects.
• AISI
  Handbook for Cycle 4

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Parent and Community Involvement

• What does involvement mean?
• The term is defined as participation, taking
  part, association, connection, contribution.
• It comes from the root, involve which means
  engage, engross, absorb, include, implicate,
  concern.

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What Works

• Adjusting to the educational context
• Effective professional development
• Involving parents in an authentic way
• Effective use of technology
• Engaging the larger community to complement
  parental support

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Findings and Challenges

• Discussion questions
• In what way do these findings confirm or
  challenge your own experience?
• In what way might you use these findings in
  your planning?

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Considerations for The Future

• What are the implications of the distinction
  between parental/community awareness and
  parent/community involvement?
• How do schools create workable partnerships with
  parents and community?

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• How is parental and community involvement best
  sustained?
• What contributes to parental involvement that is
  meaningful and helpful?

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Common Themes in Three University Reviews

• Collaboration and professional development
  contributes to success
• Shared leadership is critical to success
• Culture of inquiry encourages constant assessment
• Meaningful connections occur from sharing a
  common purpose
• Communication is ongoing and thoughtful
• Sustainability arises from shared purposes

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Common Challenges

• Staff changes
• Limitations of time
• Measuring student success
• Too many concurrent initiatives
• Meaningful parent involvement
• Sustaining changes in practice

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Contact Information

• Joanne Steinmann
• E-mail jsteinma_at_ucalgary.ca
• Stephanie Davis
• E-mail smdavis_at_ucalgary.ca