Parents: "A Big Idea"

Parent involvement is one of 10 Big Ideas for Better Schools being promoted by the George Lucas Foundation. Excerpt below from the latest issue of its magazine, Edutopia. The Sept. 2005 also includes an excellent article about how to rethink how we use school time more effectively. Did you know, for instance, that in 42 states only 41% of postsecondary school time must be spent on academics?

Involve: Parents
When schoolwork involves parents, students learn more. Parents and other caregivers are a child's first teachers and can instill values that encourage school learning. Schools should build strong alliances with parents and welcome their active participation in the classroom. Educators should inform parents of the school's educational goals, the importance of high expectations for each child, and ways of assisting with homework and classroom lessons.

Reality Check: In the Sacramento Unified School District, teachers make home visits to students' families. Teachers gain a better understanding of their students' home environment, and parents see that teachers are committed to forging closer home-school bonds. If English is not spoken in the home, translators accompany the teachers.

Did your district make the list?

Standard & Poor's has identified 203 school districts in 13 states for significantly narrowing the gaps in achievement between black, Hispanic or economically disadvantaged students and their higher-performing classmates while simultaneously raising the average proficiency rates of the student groups being compared, such as black students and white students. Gaps were closed by at least 5% in the districts. States studied: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Virginia and Washington. Read more.

Train the teachers

New report from a group of progressive organizations recommends that "training on techniques for communicating and engaging parents should be part of teacher training and professional development programs." Parent involvement rates only a paragraph in the 85-page report, but something is better than nothing. Majpor recommendations call for greatly expanding funding, adopting voluntary national standards, and extending and reorganizing the school day and school year. The report, "Getting Smarter, Becoming Fairer: A Progressive Education Agenda for a Stronger Nation," is available from the Center for American Progress.