Despite the media putting a spotlight on some of these opposing views, the influence of parents on a child’s learning is dramatically positive. Even if the parents themselves are unsure of how to help out with homework, their presence can be felt in making sure the child actually finishes it before class. Even this small step can demonstrate large dividends later on. If a child is struggling with their studies, parents can help them learn or find ways to get additional resources involved to ensure their child’s success. The changes in this involvement can be seen in the ways that parents choose to engage with their children. More of them are getting actively involved in helping with homework and incorporating education into family leisure activities, such as going to a museum or theatre to expose children to culture and history. Technology has also become more prevalent in the methods of education, such as mobile devices, software, and online resources that are readily available. Parents often times give their children access to these items and even use them alongside the child to help them learn.

Lectura books provides award-winning multicultural books. These books are a great tool for students and parents of diverse backgrounds. Multicultural stories allow both students and parents to be able to relate to the story and be more inclined to read and retain the information. This encourages more reading and speaking of English at home. Visit Lectura Books Youtube Page to see some of their most popular book titles.

The Latino Family Literacy Project are experts in working with Spanish speaking parents and can train your staff to work specifically with parents of diverse backgrounds at your school. The company offers both online webinar training and in person workshops.

Stay updated with the latest information about parental involvement and follow our Facebook and Twitter pages. We post new information every day.

The post The Changes in Parent Involvement Expectations Over 40 Years appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

Before kids reach kindergarten age, children’s minds rapidly develop like no other time in human life. One way to bring learning to the forefront of how we support children as a society is to start, fund, and support programs that boost children’s literacy, including those that empower parents and families through giving them books.

In the NYT article, “Helping Children Thrive,” the Harlem Children’s Zone Baby College and Harlem Gems programs are given as exemplary examples of early education programs. These programs have a four-to-one student teacher ratio and teach pre-literacy, French, and social skills. High quality preschool programs help underprivileged children to make up for some of the resources they are lacking, and another example of a literacy program supporting young children is called “Reach Out and Read.”

Through this non-profit program, doctors and nurses give out books to families during young children’s check-ups and remind them of the importance of reading to children. Children receive new books at each check-up, and the Reach Out and Read site shares that, “many Reach Out and Read program sites create literacy-rich environments that include gently-used books for waiting room use and/or volunteer readers to model for parents the techniques of reading aloud to young children.” Many parents may not be able to afford new books for their kids, and those who might not traditionally read to their children at home can benefit from another adult modelling the read aloud process for them.

Reach Out and Read serves 4.5 million children in all 50 states of the U.S. Their research shows that the preschoolers they work with score three to six months ahead of peers on vocabulary tests. This program is important because it directly recognizes children’s literacy as important to their growth and development, and it is powerful because it can reach so many children through doctor’s visits. By linking reading with physical health, the program honors reading as the crucial element to children’s well-being that research has shown it to be.

Lectura Books provides award-winning bilingual books that are a great tool for English Learner students and their parents. The multicultural stories of each book help to engage the parents of ELL students. This encourages more reading and speaking of English at home. Visit their website to see some of their most popular book titles.

The Latino Family Literacy Project are experts in working with Spanish speaking parents and can train your staff to work specifically with Spanish-speaking parents at your school. Attendees can participate via online webinar training and will learn a culturally competent and research-based program to deliver to parents either online or in person at school.

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Parental involvement is one of the core components that have been shown to provide a healthy and positive effect on the academic achievement levels of children in grades K-12. The results have been almost unanimous among a variety of studies demonstrating improved grades and exam scores, high attendance and graduation rates, and advanced behavioral skills among students whose parents play a proactive role in their child’s study habits. It’s a simple fact that the more a parent is involved in the academic progress of a student, the better that student will perform in school.

Unfortunately, not every child is equipped with this helpful support system to ensure their success. This is why it’s critical that schools enact some form of involvement program to get parents engaged in their child’s education and promote active participation in any capacity. Encouragement can come in many forms and leading experts in the field of education have defined the most common and effective methods of involvement can take place both outside of the classroom and within the confines of campus.

Parenting at home has proven to show some of the most significant impacts on a child’s achievement as reading to the child and assisting with homework have both shown to be impactful and productive. Parents who maintain routine communication with teachers and administrators have also proven influential in the performance of their children along with parents who volunteer in and around the school. However, school meetings and parent-teacher conferences are still the most popular and best attended method for parental involvement. A 2007 study found that 78% of parents surveyed participated in a parent-teacher conference and 74% showed up to a class or school function. The same survey determined that parental involvement was greater with children in grades K-8 than it was with students in high school.

The Latino Family Literacy Project provides training for award-winning parent involvement programs. The focus is for both students and parents to engage in family reading to increase bilingual literacy skills. The program uses multicultural bilingual books written in both English and Spanish from award-winning publisher Lectura Books. Here is a testimonial video a school that has implemented this program and talk about the success they’ve had.

If you’re interested in the latest information regarding parent involvement visit our Facebook page. We look forward to hearing from you!

The post How Does Parent Involvement Affect Student Achievement? appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

Univision Contigo – Clave al Exito – “Key to Success” is media company Univision’s educational online resource designed to help Spanish-speaking parents get involved in their child’s education. The platform serves an access point for helping parents communicate with educators and learn how to help their children read and excel with their studies.

Be a Learning Hero – Another valuable source for vital information and tips for parents on how to stay up to date with all of the growing changes happening in the education system in the United States. With so many new shifts in the current paradigm, it can be tough to navigate so many developments and this website is dedicated to helping parents stay on top of every new change to become more effectively involved in schooling.

The ENLACE Initiative – A program under management by the Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), the ENLACE initiative was created with the sole purpose of helping Hispanic families find the resources they need in order for children to complete high school and pursue college. It serves students in grades K-12 as well as students enrolled in college and universities both public and private.

Lectura Books – Publishes bilingual books to meet the language needs of Spanish speaking parents and their children.

Family Phonics – A program to use with parents who need to learn basic phonics and phonemic awareness, so that they can help their children with English phonics.

Family Stories Curriculum – published by The Latino Family Literacy Project. Requires staff development for effective implementation of a Parent Involvement and family reading program.

The post Parental Engagement Resources for Hispanic Parents appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

The avenues of communication between teachers and parents are paramount in the successful academic outcomes of a child. Without a healthy back and forth of ideas between both stakeholders, the child could potentially fall through the proverbial cracks where their learning is concerned. Teachers are tasked with educating students during the school day and when children return home it’s the parent that must continue the encouragement of that education by helping them complete their lessons. When it comes to English Language Learners, teachers are often tasked with assisting parents in being a part of the educational process in the home.

This interaction between teacher and parent can proceed in a number of ways and cultural background often plays a role in the successful achievement of that interaction. Teachers who display positive and encouraging personalities are intent on sharing their excitement of the child’s accomplishments in the classroom, in a bid to inform and inspire the parent to get deeply involved in the educational process. However, studies have shown a proclivity for minority parents not to engage in school activities and these parent-teacher relationships are less positive than with those involving Caucasian families.

There are a variety of factors at play here, lower motivations and values placed on education and some of that sentiment may extend to the parents’ own experiences with schooling when they were children. These deep-seated attitudes can form strong barriers to parental engagement in the child’s education. Good personality can certainly be a helpful component in trying to bring the parent into the fold, while providing an inviting atmosphere and multiple methods for opening up the classroom to parents are also crucial to higher success rates in children. But teachers must also be cognizant of the potential for personality clashes that could emerge with one or both parents of a student.

Certain ethnic backgrounds have strong rules and mores that concern education and no matter how much a teacher tries to break through what is perceived as a barrier on his or her end, they may only be doing more harm than good when the parents don’t see that same barrier. In some Hispanic cultures, parents view the teacher as the top authority when it comes to the education of the child. Their lack of involvement isn’t born from disinterest but out of a belief that their opinion on the subject holds less weight than that of the educator. Teachers who press the issue of trying to teach the parents to be more involved in the child’s schooling could risk their actions being misinterpreted in a negative fashion and this could lead to a clash of personality between the two parties. Unfortunately, it’s the child who suffers most in that instance and teachers must be well-versed in the potential pitfalls that exist with parents of ELL’s and adjust their own personalities accordingly when trying to teach parents how to be more involved in their child’s learning.

If you or anyone you know is interested in implementing a parent involvement program please visit The Latino Family Literacy Project. This company understands the importance for parent involvement and has developed an award-winning program for teachers to provide to parents at their schools. If you would like to find out more information they also offer online Webinar training and in person workshops.

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Student populations are becoming more diverse and schools need to begin to foster an educational environment that is culturally aware enough to include all ethnic backgrounds in the classroom. Becoming more cognizant of the many cultures and ethnic groups that make up the student body will not only encourage children to seek out and learn about people and places that are foreign to them, but create an inviting and inclusive learning experience in which every child may participate to the best of his or her ability. This includes maintaining a focus on parental engagement as well, schools can go one step further in their effort towards culturally responsive teaching by developing a method for parental involvement, particularly with children who hail from families that are underserved in the community. Studies have shown that a growing percentage of Hispanic students are part of families where the parents completed only a portion of their own education. In addition, many Hispanic parents have a difficulty with access to teachers due to cultural and language difficulties that may exist. Some of them may also be wary of initiating or continuing any contact with the school due to their legal status.

Cultural awareness isn’t only about tolerance of other cultures in the classroom it also requires a knowledge of the specific backgrounds and barriers of the families of minority students. Hispanic parents decline to keep communication with teachers and school staffs for a variety of reasons and teachers should be trained in how to properly navigate these issues. A number of these families don’t feel welcome at the school, they are uncomfortable in social interactions with teachers, or believe that the school does not hold the same values as they do for the well being of their child. There’s a perception among some families that the school treats their children differently than others because they come from low-income backgrounds or live in public housing. Proper cultural awareness requires that teachers are equipped to navigate these matters successfully in order to steer the children towards positive and meaningful academic outcomes. The value of training teachers in cultural awareness is found in the effect it can have on the student body from all walks of life.

Many schools and programs offer bilingual support from teachers who have learned the language of the majority of English Language Learners in the classroom and they make a concerted effort to engage with the parents of these children in their native tongue. It’s a way to acknowledge the sensitivity of the family while also attempting to bring them into the learning process of the student in order for that child to achieve his or her goals in class.

The Latino Family Literacy Project can help your school with being more culturally aware. This award-winning program has years of experience working with teachers and culturally diverse students and parents. If you’re interested in finding more information about this program schedule a training meeting. They offer both online webinar training and in person workshops.

If you’re interested in the latest information regarding culturally aware classrooms visit our Facebook and Twitter. We look forward to hearing from you.

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What Can Title III Funds be Used for in Parent Involvement Efforts?

Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) is the funding component that gives states the necessary financial resources to develop standards-based learning initiatives and programs for English Language Learners (ELLs) in the form of subgrants. These funds are designed to improve the academic outcomes toward English language proficiency and the school districts that benefit from these subgrants must demonstrate positive results on an annual basis.

Required Use of Funds

Support of High-Quality ELD programs

-Improve the instruction of ELs;
-Enhance the ability of teachers to understand and use curricula, assessment measures, and instructional strategies for ELs;
-Be scientifically research-based and of sufficient duration and intensity (Section 3115 (c) (2)).

Title III Immigrant Funds

Title III Immigrant funds can be spent on:

Other Allowable Use of Funds

Funds may be used to support additional, supplemental staff (counselor, paraprofessional, etc.) Upgrading program objectives and effective instruction strategies:

• Improving the instruction program for EL students by identifying, acquiring and upgrading supplemental curricula, instruction materials, and educational software;
• Tutorials and academic or vocational education for EL children;
• Developing and implementing and improving elementary school or secondary school language instruction educational programs (may be coordinated with other relevant programs and services);
• Activities that improve the English proficiency and academic achievement of EL children;
• Community participation programs, family literacy services and parent outreach and training activities to EL children and their families;
• Evaluation of ELD programs.

These efforts can be established either exclusively or in concert with parental resource centers that are created to better serve the needs of parents who are eager to become further involved in the education of their children but aren’t sure how to participate effectively.

The Latino Family Literacy Project specializes in training staff to work with Hispanic families. If you’re interested in setting up a webinar for your staff so that they can implement a parent program with strong proven outcomes, please contact us at 1-877-LECTURA.

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Successful parental engagement for ELL students starts with getting the parents actively involved. Unfortunately, this can be a much tougher obstacle to navigate than one might expect. There are a variety of hindrances in the path to engagement with parents of ELL’s, most of them rooted in a reluctance on the part of parents to connect with teachers due to language or cultural barriers. Others may decline to participate due to their legal status, afraid to come to the school out of concern for being undocumented. The route towards effective, open communication takes initiative on the part of educators and school personnel to invite these parents into the fold and provide a welcoming environment for them to comfortably engage in the learning process of their children. Many of them may not have a very clear grasp of the English language, so they already feel at a disadvantage.

This is why it’s so important for schools to find ways to get parents of ELL’s to become further engaged with the class curriculum, not just by way of parent/teacher conferences and formal meetings, but instead through routine, casual interactions. Designing a framework to achieve this comes through creating opportunities for parents and children to work together to further not just the student’s grasp of the lessons in English, but to encourage the parent to engage in working towards improving their own understanding of the language. Hispanic parents reading with their children in their native tongue can prove just as beneficial as practicing the use of English together, in and out of the classroom setting. The goal here is to discourage parents from thinking that the home and the classroom are both very separate places, but instead foster a routine that makes education a collaborative effort on the part of parents and teachers alike.

Lectura books provides award-winning bilingual books that are a great tool for teaching English Learner students. The multicultural stories of each book help to engage the parents of ELL students. This encourages more reading and speaking of English at home.

The post Home-School Connections with Parents of ELL Students appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

State of New York Informational Resources:

• New York State Education Department: http://www.nysed.gov/
• New York City Department of Education: http://schools.nyc.gov/default.htm
• ELL Support Page: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/
• ELL Assessment and Testing: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/bilinged/assessment.html
• ELL Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network Directory: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/bilinged/betac.html
• Title III Information: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/biling/NEWTIII.html

Educational Programs and Learning Resources:

• EngageNY New York State Bilingual Common Core Initiative – This site explains all of the standards set forth by the NY State Education Department for ELL learning assessments as they relate to Common Core: https://www.engageny.org/resource/new-york-state-bilingual-common-core-initiative
• ELL Family Resources: Handbooks available in nine different languages for ELLs and their parents to better navigate the New York Public School system and start planning for college: http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/ELL/FamilyResources/hs+college+handbook.htm
• NYSTESOL – The coalition of New York education professionals and policymakers devoted to the effective development of school curriculum for ELLs of grades K-12 in public and private schools: http://www.nystesol.org/
• The Latino Family Literacy Project Webinar Training: https://www.latinoliteracy.com/webinars/
• Family Phonics Workbooks: An English vocabulary program for parents and children learning English that uses a simple method to teach parents strong English vocabulary and proper pronunciation through the use of phonics: https://www.lecturabooks.com/family-phonics-workbooks/
• The House of Literacy Book Sets – Available in Pre-School and Elementary levels, these collections contain a set of six books each, designed to help parents of ELLs read to their children in Spanish while providing an outlet through which to practice and improve English vocabulary as well. These sets encourage parental involvement in the English Language education of their children: https://www.lecturabooks.com/product/house-of-literacy-preschool-collection/ or https://www.lecturabooks.com/product/house-literacy-elementary-collection/

If your school could benefit from an ELL program, Lectura Books offers award-winning bilingual books that can be used as a great teaching tool for English Learners. If you’re interested in viewing a preview of some of the books offered by Lectura Books, visit their Youtube page.

References

http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/states-and-districts-highest-number-and-share-english-language-learners
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/top-languages-spoken-english-language-learners-nationally-and-state

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There is little debate that a parent’s engagement in a child’s learning is highly beneficial. A number of studies have shown the extent of the positive impacts that healthy parental involvement can provide with marked improvements in attendance, behavioral patterns, and social skills, as well as better grades and test scores, resulting in higher graduation rates. But distinguishing the type of relationship that provides the most benefit can be a bit more difficult to fully ascertain, as the term “parental involvement” can have many different meanings and applications for a student’s progress. For most parents, attending parent/teacher meetings is the most common method of demonstrating some form of involvement in their child’s learning, but there must be a nurturing alliance between parents and educators as both parties work in concert for the positive outcomes of the child. This can be found in a number of collaborative strategies that include volunteering, routine avenues of communication, and a shared effort for decision-making so that all stakeholders have equal input in school policy and educational content. This helps to foster stronger bonds with the child at both school and home between all concerned parties to help improve learning. Teachers work with students during the day to impart curriculum and parents continue the successful achievement of students by taking an interest in their studies, assisting them with homework and ensuring that all such work is finished and ready for the next day’s classes.

Lectura Books offers award-winning bilingual books that are a great tool for English Language Learners. The books are written in both English and Spanish and focus on important vocabulary. This will help ELL students succeed with language acquisition no matter what grade level.

If you liked this blog post, check out our Facebook and Twitter page to stay updated. We frequently post relevant information related to ELLs.

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