How to engage hispanic parents to read with kids Archives | The Latino Family Literacy Project

The Changes in Parent Involvement Expectations Over 40 Years

Katherine Del Monte — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 20:26:09 +0000

The importance of education cannot be overstated. The annual American Education Week (AEW) that takes place every November is a reminder of the vital role getting an education plays in this country. The week was founded in 1921 by the National Education Association after it was discovered that 25% of World War I draftees lacked an ability to read. Among the many celebrations of American Education Week is “Parents Day”, devoted to putting a focus on the role parental involvement plays in effective educational outcomes. This component was established nearly a century ago and highlights how parental involvement was as crucial then as it is today. In fact, one might argue that with the multitude of changes in our society and the exponentially competitive job market we live in, education has grown even more significant. The role of parental engagement has increased along with it. The need for a child to succeed academically comes with more consequential trappings than perhaps any other decade before this one.

However, parent involvement has come under fire in recent years as studies bring about conclusions that parental engagement doesn’t necessarily improve academic outcomes for children and even proves to hinder successful achievement in some cases. This research points to a variety of different theories and findings that conclude parents should merely stress how important education is to their children’s future and then simply step aside and let the child excel on his or her own. But this flies in the face of decades of data that show just the opposite, as parents who are directly and closely involved with their child’s education provide a foundation for academic success. There are far more conclusive findings that show an improvement in test scores, attendance, and graduation rates among children who come from households where parents played an active role in education.

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.

Helping Young Children by Reaching Out to Parents with Books

Katherine Del Monte — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 15:00:48 +0000

Generally, children who are exposed to language and reading at a very young age are more likely to have a chance to excel in their educational pursuits. The New York Times (NYT) shares that Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman said, “The greatest barrier to college education is not high tuitions or the risk of student debt; it’s in the skills children have when they first enter kindergarten.” He goes on to explain that paying for preschool saves society money in the long run.

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.

How Does Parent Involvement Affect Student Achievement?

Katherine Del Monte — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 14:00:48 +0000

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!

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

Katherine Del Monte — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 17:00:21 +0000

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

Proposed activities must provide for and support high-quality language instruction educational programs, or English language development (ELD) programs, that are scientifically based and that are effective in increasing English proficiency and Academic achievement in the core academic subjects (Section 3115 (c) (1)).

The LEA must provide high-quality professional development to classroom teachers (including teachers in classroom settings that are not designed for only language instruction educational programs), principals, administrators, and other school or community-based organizational personnel. The professional development must:

-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:

Family literacy, parent outreach and training activities designed to assist parents in actively participating in the education of their children;

Support for personnel, including teacher aides who have been specifically trained to provide services to immigrant children;

Provision for tutorials, mentoring, and academic or career counseling for immigrant children and youth;

Identification and acquisition of supplemental curricular materials, educational software and technologies;

Basic instruction services that are directly attributable to the presence in the school of immigrant children and youth: classroom supplies, costs of transportation, etc.;

Other instruction services designed to assist immigrant children and youth: civics education, introduction to educational system, etc.;

Activities coordinated with community-based organizations, institutes of higher education to assist parent of immigrant children and youth by offering comprehensive community services.

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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