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.

The post Helping Young Children by Reaching Out to Parents with Books appeared first on The Latino Family Literacy Project.

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.

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Title I, Part A Funding for Parent Involvement can help you to increase Parent Involvement and to improve English vocabulary skills with the hispanic population, as a way to foster meaningful Parent Involvement opportunities.

As indicated by the Parental Involvement provisions published by The U.S. Department of Education, the Title 1, Part A, guidelines state that parent involvement in their children’s education and parent involvement at schools is critical to that process.

Parent Involvement Programs for Title I Parent Involvement by The Latino Family Literacy Project

Its provisions stress:

–Shared accountability between schools and parents for high student achievement, including expanded public school choice and supplemental educational services for eligible children in low performing schools;

–Local development of parent involvement plans with sufficient flexibility to address local needs;

–Building parents’ capacity for using effective practices to improve their own children’s academic achievement.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, Spanish-speakers are by far the largest segment of the English Learner population. The challenge in providing parent involvement programs to spanish-speaking parents may vary from school to school and may include:

1) Teachers may not understand the socioeconomic disadvantages of the parents at their school
2) Kids are learning English at a faster rate than their parents, which may create a challenge with working together on homework, or reading together if the books are only in English
3) Parents may not have strong literacy skills and may not have materials to engage them at their skill level or language skill set
4) Parents may not know what they can do to help their children with academics or reading
5) Some parents may not know what their role is at the school

The Latino Family Literacy Project can train teachers to provide Parent Involvement programs to English Learner parents at their school to fulfill the Title I, Part A funding requirements for Parent Involvement.

See what parents have to say about The Latino Family Literacy Project and share this information with your school staff.

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