Testimonials from Spanish-Speaking Parents About School Involvement

Testimonials from Spanish-speaking Parents Reaching out to Hispanic parents can be quite challenging for a variety of reasons.  Some of those reasons include a lack of familiarity with the education system in the United States, limited English skills, insufficient exposure to mainstream American culture, lack of education, and scarcity in time.  For example, in some countries, parents are not accustomed … Read More

Evaluating Parent and Family Engagement

For those with little to no experience with research, all forms of research seem to be the same.  However, there are two different forms of research that experienced individuals delve into – qualitative research and quantitative research.  There are various aspects that differ in both types of research, and there are some topics that are easier to research using one … Read More

Second Language Acquisition Theory of James Cummins

We continue our examination of some of the more groundbreaking and essential theories on the subject of second language acquisition with the work of James Cummins. He believed that there are marked differences between social interaction and academic teaching as a method for acquiring and comprehending a second language. His theory can be broken down into two different aspects that … Read More

Telling One’s Own Story Changes Lives in Family Literacy

Every culture has its own characteristics that make it unique.  It is important for people to share their story, so that they can connect to others and feel less separate from others. This is particularly useful with immigrant families who have uprooted their lives to change their predicaments for the next generation.  For instance, if a newly arrived family from … Read More

Latest Research from Our Partnership with the University of North Texas

Three years ago, we embarked on a partnership with the University of North Texas (UNT) and its College of Education for Project SUCCESS. Under a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education, The Latino Family Literacy Project became the training arm to engage ELL parents as part of Project SUCCESS in Language and Literacy Instruction: A Title III National … Read More

Research about Latino Parent Involvement in Schools

Research about Latino Parent Involvement in Schools Parent involvement in schools has long been regarded as a contributing factor of academic success.  Although a great deal of research has been conducted regarding parental involvement, there has been a lack of research that focuses on Latino perceptions on the topic.   Organizations such as the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) have … Read More

Parent Engagement to Support Language Arts in First and Second Language

Language arts in first and second languages play an important role in the academic success of English Language Learners (ELLs). That is why it is so important to encourage parent engagement; so that parents can help their children learn and strengthen their first language. With the skills in place from their first language, ELLs can then learn their second language at a … Read More

Primary Language Supports New Language

Today, English Language Learners (ELLs) account for 9.5% of students enrolled in U.S. public schools. That means nearly 5 million students in our school system are ELLs. This number continues to grow, therefore this is an important issue that school administrators and teachers must address when preparing their lesson plans. This is where bilingual education, which utilizes students’ primary language comes … Read More

Family Engagement for ELA and Reading Comprehension

Family engagement is necessary to support English Language Arts (ELA) and reading skills for academic student support. It is especially important to encourage family engagement among Latino families, who tend to be English Learners (ELs). In order to get EL families involved, school administrators and teachers should introduce them to resources and methods that can help them strengthen their family members’ … Read More

Parents Reading in Native Language – Why it Helps Kids

Parental involvement plays a hugely important role in the academic success of English Language Learners (ELLs). That is why it is important for ELL parents to read with their children and be involved in other aspects of their education. One of the best ways to incorporate parental engagement into the lives of ELLs is encouraging parents to read with their … Read More