Parental Involvement - Fast Facts and CIS Solutions

This week Communities In Schools of Henry County and United Way of Greater Atlanta hosted a reunion for the participants of Winter 2012 Vision and Voice Parent Leadership Institute (PLI). It was awesome hearing about the great work and future goals of these parent leaders.  Their efforts not only support their children's success, but their leadership supports all families within their community by proving students with the necessary tools in for success and achievement.  The  work of the PLI participants embody community outreach, as well as compliments the  research concerning the impact of parental involvement  on students' educational outcomes.  
 
What the research says about parent involvement in students' education:

• The most consistent predictors of children’s academic achievement and social adjustment are parent expectations of the child’s academic attainment and satisfaction with their child’s education at school.

•  Parents of high-achieving students set higher standards for their children’s educational activities than parents of low-achieving students.

• The earlier in a child’s educational process parent involvement begins, the more powerful the effects.

• The most effective forms of parent involvement are those, which engage parents in working directly with their children on learning activities at home.

• Family participation in education was twice as predictive of students’ academic success as family socioeconomic status. Some of the more intensive programs had effects that were 10 times greater than other factors

• When parents are involved students have:
• Higher grades, test scores, and graduation rates 
• Lower rates of suspension
• Decreased use of drugs and alcohol
• Fewer instances of violent behavior

Source: Cotton, K., Wikelund, K., Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, School Improvement Research Series. In Parent Involvement in Education.

CIS facilitates parental involvement by:

1. Identifying  and integrating resources and services from the business community to strengthen school programs, family practices, and student learning and development.
2. Providing information for students and families on community health, cultural, recreational, social support, and other programs/services.
3. Providing parents and schools with information on community activities that link to learning skills and talents, including summer programs for students

For more information on CIS-Henry contact us at:
Communities in Schools - Henry
70 Macon Street
McDonough, GA 30253
Phone: 678 432 4499 
http://www.cis-henry.org/

Crystal Cohen is a Graduate student in Clayton State University's Master's of Psychology Program, Applied Developmental Track, with an expected graduation date in 2014.  Her role at Communities in School-Henry includes program development and evaluation, as well as dissemination of information via social media platforms of evidence based practices that promote student achievement.