September/October 1997

Making the Connection Between Families and Schools

Parents can tell us a lot about what makes a good family-school connection
By Karen Mapp

Researchers and practitioners have long acknowledged a strong link between parent involvement and children's success in school. Studies conducted over the last 30 years have identified a relationship between parent involvement and increased student achievement, enhanced self- esteem, improved behavior, and better school attendance.

But despite this evidence, family involvement in schools throughout the United States remains minimal. In an attempt to explain this, researchers including James Comer, Joyce Epstein, and Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot have identified some of the factors that contribute to the gap between parents and schools that can be difficult to bridge. (In this article, "parent" refers to any adult caretaker.)

Factors such as cultural, racial, and economic differences between school staff and parents can lead to incorrect assumptions and stereotyping on both sides. Parents are often apprehensive about making contact with school staff: They may feel that they have no business talking to teachers whom they consider the "education experts." Other obstacles, such as work schedules, inadequate child care, and lack of transportation can also limit parents' active involvement in schools.

Another barrier is school staffs' failure to recognize or legitimize parents' role in their children's education. Principals and teachers may claim interest in parental participation, but, in fact, grant parents only limited roles at the school and give signals that their opinions and feedback are unwelcome. Also, school staff are rarely trained how to collaborate with parents (see "Teaching Teachers to Work with Families").

Parents Have Answers

What can schools do to overcome these barriers? What ingredients lead to successful partnerships between families and school staff? Getting answers to these questions was what motivated me to study the family involvement program at the Patrick O'Hearn Elementary School in Boston, an urban public school serving a racially and socioeconomically diverse population of approximately 215 students. Approximately 90 percent of O'Hearn parents are involved in one or more of the school's family activities.

I interviewed 20 parents from the O'Hearn, asking them to describe how they are involved in their children's education and, more importantly, why they are involved. I wanted to know more about the motivations, incentives, expectations, and apprehensions influencing these parents' participation in the school community. I decided to study families from economically distressed circumstances, since much of the recent national focus has been on increasing the involvement of parents in urban and low-income communities.

Two themes emerged from these parents' stories that may shed some light on how schools can develop meaningful connections with families. First, parents said that staff at the O'Hearn use a well-executed process of what I call "joining" with families. Members of the O'Hearn community--parent volunteers, the principal, teachers, the secretary, even the custodian--connect with parents through activities and programs specifically designed to welcome families into the school. Second, staff members work hard to "honor" families, a process of validating any type of involvement or contribution parents can make, whether it be reading to a child at home, donating a book to the school library, or being active in school governance.

Feeling Welcome

When parents at the O'Hearn were asked to talk about the influences on their involvement, they spoke about a bond they had developed with the school staff. They described how staff created an environment and culture in which families truly felt they had joined the school community. They said they felt like "members of the O'Hearn Family," which motivated them to participate in various home and school activities, such as the home reading program and helping teachers in the classroom.

"The secretary is always friendly and helpful when you call," said one parent who has two children at the O'Hearn. Another said, "The principal knows all of my kids and family members by name, and he's always accessible and visible." "The janitor sings Happy Birthday to all of the kids and to the parents," added a third.

The parents I talked with were particularly impressed with the O'Hearn's Family Outreach Program, where parent volunteers visit new families to welcome them and answer questions. There is also a family center where parents can go to enjoy refreshments and conversations with other parents and attend workshops and forums on educational topics. Parents also recalled being invited to a "new family breakfast," sponsored by the Outreach Program. One parent describes her experience:

They had a new parent breakfast, which they have every year, and I managed to drag myself there with my screaming child. He was really good there and I met many of the parents that I see all of the time now, and everybody was very friendly. That started the interest for me, to see how involved everyone was. I felt like it was a "welcoming-into-the-school kind of thing," and that made me feel like, "look at these people, doing all this for the parents." So I try to do whatever I can whenever they have parties, make food or something, I do something to help out.

Parents identify these "joining" activities as the beginning steps in developing a trusting relationship between their families and the school. O'Hearn's principal, Bill Henderson, describes the school's philosophy:

There are three principles that we follow here at the school that I think are key in planning family activities. You want to have some food, have some fun, and always have a focus on the children. We do these things to build good will and trust, to make families feel welcome here. The activities should be interactive or entertaining for parents, and the focus should always be on the children.

At the O'Hearn, joining with families is a part of the school mission that involves all members of the school community and is carried out through a deliberate, multifaceted approach. The purposeful implementation of the joining process, where staff have turned the theories and philosophies of joining into everyday practice, appear to be key to its success.

Honoring Parents

Parents described how members of the O'Hearn community encouraged, affirmed, and validated their efforts to be involved in their children's education. One parent said this made her feel "honored" for her contributions, which motivated her to get involved in activities that she had never planned on being part of. She said:

If they didn't encourage me to do volunteering and other things, the type of person I am, I probably wouldn't. My life is busy enough. I have a lot of things to do; my daughters' education is very important to me, but I wouldn't go bust the door down to be involved. It's so nice there. I feel like I can go to the O'Hearn any time and ask anybody any questions and get good feedback. It's given me the connection with the [school] community, because they opened up and gave me the opportunity to come in and it's a nice feeling. I feel like as my kids get older, I will be volunteering more because I feel you've gotta give back. They have given a lot just by opening up the doors to parents.

Parents at the O'Hearn said that they are validated for all levels of participation, from donating an item to the annual yard sale to being a guest reader during the "Read-aloud" days that are regularly scheduled at the school. Parents said that they are encouraged and supported by the principal and other members of the school staff to work on various committees and projects, and are often paired with more experienced parent volunteers. One parent, a single mom with one child at the O'Hearn, said:

The first time I went to the school for the open house, they had it all set up, all these bulletin boards where you could sign up to do things, anything. I asked, "It can be any little thing?" and they said "Yes." They encouraged me. They said, "You're not obligated. Just sign your name if you think you might be interested." And that's what I did; I signed my name. They were really encouraging. And then they did call!

This parent's comments reveal that allowing her to connect to the school community in her own way and on her terms ("It can be any little thing?") created an atmosphere of recognition and inclusion that were important elements in cultivating her involvement. Parents also feel honored when they sense that the school staff respects their opinions. Many parents' statements echoed Sharon William's (see "Family Involvement in Schools,") in describing how their opinions and concerns are heard and taken seriously. Parents spoke of feeling empowered by this recognition of their thoughts and ideas. Seeing other parents in positions of authority--parents visiting families through the Outreach Program, parents chairing and facilitating committee meetings--also inspired others to try new ways of being involved.

What Can Schools Do?

These parents' stories suggest that joining and honoring are important components in creating links between families and school personnel. School staff looking to increase family involvement at their schools may want to engage in a dialogue with parents to answer some important questions, such as: What do parents experience when they walk into our school building? Are they greeted in a friendly, welcoming manner? Who or what is their first point of contact when they enter our building? How are parents contacted about school events; do we rely on flyers or are families contacted personally? Are parents truly involved in school decision-making? Needs and circumstances differ among schools, but most can, nevertheless, make changes and improvements to the school environment to help make parents feel more welcome, validated, and respected.

For parents, the personal connections with school staff seem to be what makes the difference. My hope is that these findings will be useful for teachers, policymakers, school officials, and other parents attempting to design and implement parental involvement initiatives.

Karen Mapp is a Program Director at the Institute for Responsive Education in Boston, as well as a Spencer Fellow and Ed.D. candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Education