The first is the Parents as Teachers program that helps train parents so that they can teach their own children at home in skills learned at home. At the federal level, the Office of Educational Research and Improvement is developing a Center on Families, Communities, Schools, and Children's Learning. California has mandated parent involvement as have Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Florida. Overall, the studies outlined in this article showed parent involvement to have a positive effect on the achievement of students. Examples of this type of direct involvement could include having the parents monitor the homework of their children or help with editing school reports.
All parents are a vast resource which can be tapped to increase student learning.
This can be done in a number of ways. One of these is to use regular home-visits by either the teacher or a trained paraprofessional. Another strategy is to have the students routinely carry home assignments and material to their parents. This might include information about the school events, learning opportunities, and suggestions for helping the students. Athletic events, school plays, or musicals are wonderful opportunities for parents to support their children at school.