Striving for the Best: New Mexico's Need to Strengthen Parent Involvement in Public Schools. NCLB and Recommendations Regarding the Vital Role of Parents and Guardians in Achieving Student and School Success
Author: Appleseed
Date: 2008-12-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Federal Programs,Disadvantaged Youth,Educational Improvement,Parent Role,Parent Participation,Educational Legislation,Federal Legislation,Parent School Relationship,Financial Support,State Aid,State Legislation,State Programs,Public Education,Legal Responsibility,Court Litigation,Access to Education,State Government,Access to Information,Advocacy,Higher Education,Compliance (Legal),Evaluation Methods,Sanctions,School Buildings,Surveys,Models

Parent involvement in New Mexico, and around the nation, is an essential element in the success of students and their schools. This simple point anchors the federal law known as the &quot;No Child Left Behind Act of 2001&quot; (&quot;NCLB&quot;). NCLB establishes state, district and school requirements designed to promote more effective parent involvement. The belief is this: if schools provide clear, meaningful performance data to parents, then parents will become better school partners, decision-makers and advocates for their children. The law also reflects the view that effective parent involvement spurs improvements in student learning. The focus on effective parent involvement as a way to boost overall achievement is supported by a long string of social science research and by the stories of schools that beat the odds. This research establishes that increased parent involvement boosts student achievement. Connected parents also maintain formal and informal communication channels with administrators, teachers, and fellow parents. These findings are particularly poignant for parents who live in poverty, or whose first language is not English, or who battle daily a variety of steep and draining obstacles. New Mexico with its vast Spanish-speaking and Native American Indian populations and wide swaths of families with pitiful incomes, could use the academic uplift that parents bring to the classroom. In 2005, Appleseed embarked on an examination of federal, state and local policies and practices on parent involvement in six states including New Mexico. The idea was to gather on-the-ground perspectives and information, based on more than four years of experience implementing NCLB. Now, in 2008, Appleseed has revisited New Mexico to determine the progress that has been made in implementing the parent involvement provisions of NCLB and to identify areas in which current efforts in New Mexico might be bolstered. It is Appleseed's hope that these perspectives, along with the information in this report, will enhance state, district and school efforts to promote effective parent involvement. The report should also provide key information to state and local policymakers, who constantly face the challenge of how best to structure, prioritize and fund public education. Appended are: (1) 2008 Quick Facts Adequate Yearly Progress and Designations; (2) Summary of New Mexico School System Parent Involvement Policies; and (3) Summary of Albuquerque Schools' Parent Involvement Policies. (Contains 74 footnotes.)