parent engagement Archives | The Latino Family Literacy Project

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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Parental Involvement and the Impact on School Success

Katherine Del Monte — Tue, 07 Jun 2016 16:00:45 +0000

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.

Recent surveys have demonstrated that involvement of parents in their children’s schooling varies from age, grade, and even along racial divides with increased engagement found in parents of students in grades K-8 than in grades 9-12. Parents of White students were also found to be more likely to participate in some capacity, either by way of attending a school event, volunteering at the school, participating in fundraising, and serving on a school committee, than parents of Black or Hispanic students. Parents who communicated on a routine basis with educators beyond organized parent/teacher conferences also showed improved achievement patterns in students than those who were not as engaged with their school. Every parent wants their child to succeed and while some are more readily available than others to be present and accounted for in the encouragement of their child’s learning, it’s crucial that the relationship formed between parents and educators is built upon a solid foundation of partnership and understanding of the goals that have been set forth for the child’s success.

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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See What Parents Have to Say About attending a Literacy Program

Katherine Del Monte — Wed, 27 Jan 2016 21:14:03 +0000

When parents attend a meaningful literacy program, they really enjoy it. Especially when they receive books and materials and coaching on how to use the books with their children. Everything starts to change for the positive and they learn English skills in class with the teacher and with their own children at home. This video demonstrates how much the parents enjoy learning to help their children read and learn English together as a family. Click and See What Parents Have Say About attending a Literacy Program.

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California’s LLCF and LCAP for local control

Katherine Del Monte — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 21:28:06 +0000

What is the LLCF and what is LCAP?

Signed by Governor Jerry Brown in 2013, the Local Control Funding Formula (LLCF) is a new law that dramatically changes the way California school districts spends their funds on education. The new law allows school districts more authority in deciding how education dollars are spent, while holding them accountable for getting results, and concentrates more money to school districts that serve high-needs students.

I’m signing a bill that is truly revolutionary. We are bringing government closer to the people, to the classroom where real decisions are made and directing the money where the need and the challenge is greatest. This is a good day for California, it’s a good day for school kids, and it’s a good day for our future. – Gov. Jerry Brown

What is the LCAP?

The LCAP is a component of the LCFF and stands for Local Control and Accountability Plan. The LCAP helps with two things: it is the blueprint for how schools districts intend to meet annual goals for all pupils, with specific activities to address state and local priorities, and it ensures that school districts are taking additional measures to involve the community in the financial planning process.

The LCAP must reflect how a school district will concentrate its efforts on certain priorities such as parent engagement, implementation of new state standards, improving student achievement, and readying students for career and college. Moreover, school districts must provide opportunities for input from the community, such as teachers, principals, administrators, other school personnel, district’s unions, parents, and students. Before the LCAP can be adopted, the school district must also present their plan at a public hearing. Districts must reach out to parents through a parent advisory committee, and an English learner advisory committee when English Learners comprise at least 15% of enrollment.

How are funds being allocated?

Funds will go directly to school districts, rather than individual schools. Districts will receive a base grant, a supplemental grant, and, if certain conditions are met, a concentration grant. Base grants are allocated depending on the number of students in attendance in a school district. In general, the base grant will be larger for students in K-3 and largest for students in high school. Each school district will also receive a supplemental grant of 20% of the base grant for every English learner, foster youth, homeless youth, and low-income student enrolled. In addition, school districts with a high-needs population of more than 55% will qualify to receive a concentration grant for every high-needs student above the 55% threshold.

Visit the California State Department of Education’s website for more detailed information about LCFF guidelines.
For more reading, please visit EdSource Local Control Funding Formula Guide and their Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions.
For LCAP resources, visit Lectura Books for bilingual children’s books and for Parent Programs. The Latino Family Literacy Project can provide training for staff to work with hispanic parents in a parent involvement program for Title I or Title III ESL Programs.

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Middle / High Parent Involvement for College Awareness

Katherine Del Monte — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 03:38:02 +0000

There are many ways for parents to be involved with kids in Preschool and Elementary grades, but what about when kids are in middle school and high school at the very time in their lives when their developmental age is naturally pushing their parents away?

In the middle and high school years, students may be seeking more autonomy from their parents, which makes the home school connection even more challenging for parents. That is why schools need to consider a structured way for parents to come to campus with their middle or high school student and be involved in encouraging their teen’s next steps. It’s just as crucial to be involved at this stage as being involved in their younger years with reading and homework.

And, if the teen years aren’t already challenging enough to stay close and connected, many Hispanic parents face a language barrier with teens who have been schooled in English, but the parents may not have the same English language skill set. Often parents are left feeling like they cannot help or even sometimes communicate with their teenaged children.

For these important reasons, Lectura Books publishes books and curriculum in Spanish and English so that the needs of the family are met. One of the main tools for this is the College Awareness Program, which uses a dynamic 10-chapter book to help parents and students learn about how to get to college.

The book is told through one family’s journey and how they worked out their challenges, discussed their old belief system, and financial concerns about college. The book is culturally relevant to a Latino family’s experiences as well as equally relevant to all families who wonder about how to support and encourage their teen with their dreams, which may be radically different than their own parents’ journeys, particularly if the parents did not go to college.

This is an age-appropriate novela style book that is enjoyed at the heart level and is far from the average cut-and-dried informational book.

Parents discover that they are their teens’ biggest supporters and they also learn how to maximize their help, because it really matters!

The program includes an engaging chapter book (in both English and Spanish) with illustrations and an interactive parent- student journal that introduces key educational terms. A step-by-step Teacher’s Guide with English As A Second Language curriculum is also included. Teachers can register online for a program training workshop or an online webinar.

The Latino Family Literacy Project can train school staff to provide a parent and student family engagement program using a 6-week curriculum, a culturally relevant chapter book, a premade PowerPoint, and parent/student handouts.

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The Power of Parent Involvement

Katherine Del Monte — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 22:14:45 +0000

We review research on parent involvement on an ongoing basis. In reviewing the research, major educational studies, and overviews of the evidence, it is clear that parent involvement works and is a powerful determinant in whether or not a child succeeds in school.

The overwhelming research also concludes that the collaboration between parents and schools is the way to academic success for all students regardless of economic status or ethnic or racial background. One concept we found in our research is called “collective impact.” This occurs when all the stakeholders work together toward a common goal. It’s about building relationships with an emotional resonance that develops a bond between the school and parents to improve parent involvement. When parents trust that the school wants their involvement, a level of reciprocity between parents and teachers develops.

Parents know when a school is truly reaching out and building bridges of communication. The synthesis of the research on parent involvement stretches back decades and continues to build the case that there are certain core principles that make for successful parent involvement and family engagement practices.

Three essential elements in any successful parent involvement in education program include:

1) parents knowing that their involvement is critical to their children’s success in school;

2) parents believing that they can have a positive effect on their children’s education; and,

3) parents trusting that both the school and their children want them involved.

Getting to the place where parents are comfortable about engaging with the school and becoming involved doesn’t happen by accident. It is a process of guidance and support. It’s helping parents understand that the earlier they are involved in their children’s education, the better. It helps them understand that the most effective forms of parent involvement are those in which the parents learn to work directly with their children at home. It all starts with reading and moves on from there to other activities.

Here at The Latino Family Literacy Project, we work with teachers and staff to help them provide the guidance and support that parents need to be fully involved and engaged in their children’s education.

For more information on our programs, visit our website.

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Family Phonics™: A New ELL Parent Engagement Tool

Katherine Del Monte — Tue, 18 Aug 2015 20:39:59 +0000

Family Phonics is a new program and tool for engaging English-language learner (ELL) parents helps schools provide a fun and effective approach for Parent Engagement with the parents of English Learners. Family Phonics is our newest program that helps ESL teachers who work with Spanish speaking parents so that parents can learn basic phonemic awareness, in order to help their kids with basic English phonics.

Research proves that phonic awareness, that is, the awareness of speech sounds in words, knowledge in letter names, sound-symbol correspondence, and vocabulary are critical to positive outcomes in reading and spelling. By making Family Phonics a bilingual format, parents will learn English skills with some Spanish support if needed. The book set provides a tool that enhances phoneme awareness and other phonological tools for the bilingual family where the parents are Spanish-speakers and the children are learning English in school. It’s a win-win situation when material for parents is already in a bilingual format.

Learn more about the Family Phonics book sets, visit Lectura Books.

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Reaching Out To Hispanic Parents to Improve Family Reading

Katherine Del Monte — Mon, 20 Jul 2015 22:04:19 +0000

How is your school reaching out to Hispanic parents to improve family reading?

Research shows that parent involvement in their children’s education is one of the most important barometers for academic success and increasingly seen as an essential element of a school’s programming, and there is 30 years of support research.

The most important skill that a student can learn is how to read in English. Learning to read becomes the avenue to all other academic skills and successes. Becoming a reader is an easier process when parents are involved. This is especially true for English language learners whose parents are primarily Spanish speakers. In essence, the key to parent involvement for English language learners is to embed family reading in the educational process.

-Create an inclusive and welcoming environment. Parent involvement is an interactive process and is best accomplished by involving the parents in the learning process as much as possible. It’s best to start with informing Hispanic parents about the activities in the classroom and the events at school. Keep in mind that Hispanic parents may sometimes feel left out due to language differences.

-Two-way Communication. It’s good to listen and observe before reaching out. Get a sense of the Hispanic family home culture before communicating. Conveying a sense of respect and interest by listening to parents’ concerns, signals your sincere interest. Once you have a good sense of the home culture and the parents’ hopes and dreams for their children, then begin to communicate with parents every chance you can through bilingual and translated flyers, meetings (both formal and informal), using interpreters, and encouraging an atmosphere of excitement about learning. If the parents are excited about the learning process that enthusiasm will be transmitted to their children.

-Provide instruction and meaningful engagement. It will help to offer instruction, coaching and tips to parents about how they can be involved in their child’s learning process. For educators and teachers the goal is to support parents in their home. Providing meaningful material and coaching with effective strategies, and then discussing the importance of the home environment is crucial in this process.

–Make it a family experience. This method allows parents who speak Spanish to read the same books at the same time with their children who are learning English in school, and provides children the opportunity to practice reading to their parents in English.

Parent involvement and family reading go hand in hand and it only happens when the school is committed to real engagement with Hispanic parents and their children. It’s a two-way process and given the immense amount of research regarding the importance of parent involvement and the fundamental role of reading in education, reaching out to Hispanic families is a must to ensuring academic success for their children.

Still not sure? Contact our office for an information kit at info@Latinoliteracy.com

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