Grass-Roots Parental Involvement

Ensure the Educational Success of Your Child

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.