My book (written with Lorie Hammond) “Building Parent Engagement In Schools” was published a few days ago. I haven’t actually seen a copy yet, but I know review copies were sent out.
Monthly Archives: October 2009
‘Many “Views” of Parent Involvement’
Popular education blogger Angela Maiers wrote a post earlier this year titled Many “Views” Of Parent Involvement. It includes many thoughtful comments worth considering, as well as several links to additional resources.
One of the links I thought was particularly interesting was to an article that Angela wrote for Education Week’s “Leader Talk” on the same topic. I was struck by two “Wordles” (an illustration showing the most common words used) — one by how teachers described parent/teacher interaction and the other how parents at the same schools would describe it. Talk about living in two different worlds! Check it out.
October Is “Parent Involvement Month”
Much to my surprise, I’ve learned that October has been proclaimed “Parent Involvement Month” by Governors of a number of states to recognize the importance of the school/family connection. This can obviously mean a lot of different things to a lot of people, but it might be one more good “excuse” to initiate a conversation about parent involvement/engagement in schools.
Here are links to information about the proclamations in different states. Whether or not you live in those states, it might still worth visiting the links. Most lead to parent/school organizations in those areas with websites filled with good information, including research on parents and schools:
October is Parent Involvement Month in Pennsylvania
Minnesota Parent Involvement Month in October (this site also has some good materials translated into various languages, including Hmong).
Parent Involvement Month In Georgia
Parent Involvement Month In Ohio
Parent Involvement in Education Month! (New Hampshire)
Parent Involvement Month In New Jersey
Parent Involvement Month In Kansas
Parent Involvement Month in West Virginia
Let me know if your state isn’t listed and you’re doing something for Parent Involvement Month.
“Increasing Refugee Civic Participation in Schools”
“Increasing Refugee Civic Participation in Schools:A Guide for Community Organizations is a well-done free downloadable report from Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
It’s filled with a number of good ideas, and worth reading.
“A Forum For Trading Helpful Hints On Parenting”
A Forum For Trading Helpful Hints On Parenting is the headline on a story in today’s Washington Post. It’s about a series of workshops taking place for parents in a Maryland elementary school.
It sounds like they’re at least trying to elicit from parents what they want to get out of the workshops, as opposed to having a cookie-cutter curriculum already pllanned:
“….parents said they would like to learn more about classroom management, behavior problems and financial management. Parents also said they hoped to learn how to make their children understand their financial limitations.”
“Parental Engagement Pays Off”
“Parental Engagement Pays Off” is an article that appeared a few months ago in District Administration magazine.
It’s fairly lengthy gives examples of what schools are doing to connect with parents around the country.
“Family Literacy, English Language Learners, and Parent Engagement”
“Family Literacy, English Language Learners, and Parent Engagement” is a short excerpt from my book (written with Lorie Hammond) — Building Parent Engagment In Schools — that appeared in the Library Media Connection this month.
They don’t have the article online, and but gave me permission to post it on my website.
The book was published yesterday, though I haven’t seen a copy yet…