Connecting Families and Schools Many states have recently passed laws on different aspects of family involvement in education. Some relate to parental education or teacher training, while others require the inclusion of parents on school governing boards, parental participation in the development of local school policies, or parents' participation in the creation of policies on family involvement. Some focus on the preschool years, as does the Missouri Parents as Teachers program, while others span the range of school grade levels and kinds of family involvement.
Several examples show how states can create multifaceted programs.
South Carolina South Carolina is known for its grass-roots approach to engaging parents, educators, and businesses in developing and implementing a comprehensive reform package that resulted in concrete student achievement gains between 1983 and 1990. Families, teachers,and other citizens and state and local leaders developed specific ideas at regional evening forums through small group discussions. A toll-free hotline staffed by volunteers invited citizens to call in with ideas for the emerging state school reform package. A speakers bureau provided some 500 speeches during a five-month period leading up to passage of the reform legislation. For several months an ad campaign encouraged citizens to participate in the effort to improve the schools.