Grass-Roots Parental Involvement

Parental Involvement is a catch-phrase that makes a lot of sense, but what exactly does it entail and why is it so important? In a nutshell, parental involvement is exactly what the phrase implies-being involved in your child's education. The idea of involvement is important to educators because research clearly shows that there is a positive correlation between parental involvement and student achievement. The frustration is when concerned parents desire to be involved, but their jobs or other obligations seem to keep them from this. Stay-at-home moms or dads or parents with flexible working hours seem to have the time for involvement in PTA, volunteering for teachers who would love help, or just to be a classroom parent organizing class parties. However, even these parents can find themselves over-extended, busy, and sometimes over-involved.

Involvement for busy parents really requires a balance and mainly communication. Your support for your child's education is evident in many other simple things you can do. These are a few things to keep you in-the-know with your children and their teachers throughout the school year. This is grass-roots parental involvement.

1. Go to Meet the Teacher Night. I've heard the excuses about not attending, "It's all the same." "I know how the school works. All my older kids went there." And so on and so on.... Actually, you should be able to get a lot of information on this night. Not only do you meet the teacher, but you'll be able to find out the expectations in that classroom, grading policies, and the teacher's protocol on some items. I especially recommend this for your teenagers in high school. While they may desire to be completely independent of you, the fact of the matter is that they will hit some bumps in the road during the year and if you've met the teacher and know how that classroom is run, you'll be better able to support your child through various hurdles they may encounter.

2. Have teacher emails and keep the lines of communication open. Most parents fear the dreaded phone call or email from the teacher. Well, teachers fear the dreaded email or phone call from the parent oftentimes as well. Set up a supportive, positive relationship from the very beginning of school with your child's teachers. Email them or call and let them know who you are and that you look forward to working with them this year in your child's education. Let them know you look forward to meeting them on "Meet the Teacher Night." Find out tutoring times, set up meetings if needed, and thank them often. That teacher will be your biggest ally.

3. Attend school events. As mentioned before, "parental involvement" is often synonymous with the idea of PTA meetings and being the classroom mom or dad. While those are wonderful ways to serve, not every parent is able to do this, and some are simply not gifted in this manner. However, there are many school events that do take place in the evenings that you can be a part of with your child or teen. Many sporting events, concerts, and plays take place in the evening. If you know there is something big coming up like a field trip or field day, see if you can take a vacation day to participate. Get your child's schedule down as early as possible and plan time for events. Most schools post calendars online or send them home in the elementary schools.

4. Talk to your kids-this is perhaps the most simple and yet most profound level of involvement. When asked, "What did you do at school today," many parents do not know how to get beyond their child's trite answer, "Nothing." How do you respond to "nothing" as an answer? You don't. You've hit a wall. Here are some of our favorite ways to initiate conversation and involvement in our kid's education:

High and Low-we go around the dinner table and tell our high and low of the day. You'll be amazed at what happens during this time and some of these stories are a blast to hear. Some of them spark wonderful "teachable moments" for you to interact with your child.

Ask questions that catch your kids off-guard. Our favorites are questions like "What's the weirdest thing you learned today?" or "What's the dumbest thing you learned today." The fun is when you answer the question as well because it does show that you are still learning and in reality, learning is truly a life-long process. After a while, they will want to tell you the weirdest thing, dumbest thing, or craziest thing their teachers did. Enjoy these moments. You'll gain great insight into your child's day and they'll see you as an integral part of that.

Take even 10-15 minutes to process anything challenging for your kids. They may need to vent about a peer or a teacher issue, a difficult test, or perhaps they just need 5 minutes for help with an algebra problem or writing assignment. When your child sees that you have made time with them a priority, this is involvement at a deep level.

Parental involvement is not something that only some can attain. It really is in the little things we do as parents to show that our child's education is important and a priority. It's mainly about communication and time with your kids. All the other volunteer stuff is just extra that can make us feel good for volunteering and that our children can appreciate one day. What they'll truly remember is how you talked to them, attended their activities, kept in touch with their favorite teachers, and listened with unsolicited advice (even though we are dying to tell them what to do) and helped them draw their own conclusions when they struggled with peers. This is parental involvement at the grass roots. When you water those roots, your children will blossom.