Parent and Community Involvement

Engaging parents and community members effectively in the life of schools and districts is both complex and vital to the success of the students in the system. Given this challenge and imperative, educators must develop ways of engaging parents and community members successfully with the goals of their schools. For example, families should be encouraged to participate in all facets of their child's education. Public schools should develop partnerships with businesses, civic organizations, and other community groups to promote adult participation in children's education and to maximize the resources available to support learning. Teachers and other school personnel should be trained in effective practices that support parenting and parent involvement.

Alliance Resources for Parents

Many Alliance publications provide guidance for parents and communities on enhancing the educational lives of children’s and engaging in broader school improvement efforts. These publications can be found under specific topic areas or in our publications list. In addition, Alliance member organizations provide a wealth of resources. See the Resources for Parents page for additional information.

Success Stories about Parent and Community Involvement on Public School Insights

This new Learning First Alliance website offers accounts of what is working in public schools and districts across the country. Click here for stories about schools and districts who are using community involvement to improve outcomes for their students.

Alliance Member Organizations' Resources for Parents

In addition, Alliance member organizations provide a wealth of resources on parent and community involvement and its effect on student achievement. Below is a compilation of our member associations’ on-line resources dedicated to this topic.

AACTE

AACTE has a program on parent engagement that includes multimedia presentations from their conference “Parental Engagement: Successful Program Models” held on February 24, 2007. Results of AACTE parental engagement member survey 2006 are also posted on this page. Click here for more information

AASA

The Forum for Youth Investment and AASA have come together in partnership to strengthen local and state action toward "blurring the lines" between school and community and between education, prevention and youth development. Click here for more information

AASA has assembled articles, reports and other resources on Parent and Community Involvement. Click here for more information

AFT

The AFT believes that a strong partnership between schools and parents is essential to the academic well-being of students. AFT has dedicated a special section on its website to resources for parents, including tips on how to improve homework time, select rigorous courses and help children succeed in school. Click here for more information

ASCA

ASCA’s website has a page for parents and the public, which presents information including back to school tips, recommended reading, parenting articles and a comprehensive description of the role of today’s school counselor in our public schools. Click here for more information

ASCD

ASCD presents education researcher Robert Marzano’s findings on the link between parent involvement and student achievement. Click here for more information

NAESP

Communicating with parents, community members, and local businesses is vital to a school's success. NAESP provides a wealth of information to help principals keep parents informed and involved.
For community involvement, click here
For parent involvement, click here

NEA

The NEA believes that when parents are involved in their children's education, kids do better in school. The NEA website offers suggestions to parents on how to get involved in their children’s education. Additionally, NEA offers comprehensive parent guides.
Click here for more information

NMSA

NMSA offers tips for parents and educators on how to help children succeed in middle school. To read NMSA tips for parents click here

PTA

The National Parent Teacher Association is an organization dedicated to promoting children’s health, well-being, and educational success through strong parent, family, and community involvement. Their website offers information for parents on issues like Student Achievement, Safety, Media Technology, and Health and Wellness.

NSDC

NSDC believes that parents and community members are important partners in improving student achievement and advocating for high quality adult learning. To learn more about how community members can be integral partners in the important work of staff development, click here.

NSPRA

The National School Public Relations Association provides school communication training and services to school leaders. This organization offers tools to help educators improve their communications with parents and the community. Click here for more information

PDK International

PDK has posted a compilation of articles for parents featured in their past issues of their journal PDK Connection. To view these articles click here.