Inviting Parents to Become Involved

by Sam Macer, Parent Involvement Chair

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most challenging concepts in education today is parent involvement. In the ever changing education environment where educators are striving to increase student academic achievement and close the achievement gap among some groups, parents have historically been an underutilized resource. Things are changing, educators and those responsible for providing a quality education for all children are encouraging parents and caregivers to become more involved in their children’s education.

Currently on every educational level from the Federal Government to the Maryland State Department of Education to local Boards of Educations to the Superintendents to the Principals to the classroom teachers, all are inviting parents and caregivers to become more involved in their children’s education. On each educational level the invitation to parents and caregivers to become more involved is not simply rhetoric. There are now written policies and laws that establish parents’ rights to become involved.

On the school level, schools create their individual School Improvement Plans that contain written strategies for parent involvement initiatives to increase student achievement. Some schools present written Parent Involvement Policies at the beginning of each year.

At the County level the Baltimore County Public Schools has created a 5-year Master Plan to increase student achievement. Within the plan there are strategies identifying how parents will be encouraged to become effective partners in their student’s academic career. The Baltimore County Board of Education has created Policy 1270, and Rule 1270, Community Relations: Parent/Guardian and Family Involvement. The Policy and Rule identify six guidelines to support parent involvement. There is also the Blue Print for Progress, a strategic framework for improving student achievement that includes goals and indicators to support parent involvement.

On the State level, the document, Achievement Matters Most, Goal number 5, encourages parents to participate. The Maryland Parent Advisory Council (MPAC) was established by the Maryland State Department of Education to advise State Education officials on policies and practices to strengthen parent, family and community involvement.

On the Federal level, the No Child Left Behind Act, Title 1, section 1118 codifies parent involvement. All Title 1 schools are required by law to create Parent Involvement Policies and Home/School Compacts. These documents must be created with parent input. National PTA has its Six Parent Involvement Standards that the Baltimore County Public Schools supports and has included in their educational documents, Board of Education Policy 1270 and school mprovement plans.

With all the invitations being extended and the parent’s rights being documented on every educational level, it is now up to the parents and caregivers to decide how they will become involved. This is just one side of the coin. Keep in mind there is another side to the coin.

With all the invitations being extended to parents to become involved it is also up to the teachers and administrators to decide how parents will be come more involved. Thus the dilemma of how parent involvement should look within a particular school system and in a particular schoolhouse.

PTA Council of Baltimore County encourages all parents, guardians, caregivers, community members, teachers, and administrators to make a commitment to create and strengthen the educational partnership to support a high level of student achievement. For further information, contact Sam Macer at parentinvolvement@bcptacouncil.org .