Parent Outreach

Tags: Intervention; Motivation; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Transfer of Literacy Skills;

Target Population: Post-secondary

Research Questions the Report Poses: What are the promising practices for transferring students from two-year to four-year institutions?

Findings:
A Structured Academic Pathway:

• Institutional Articulation Agreements
• Dual Enrollment
• Developmental coursework initiatives
• Active learning

• Customer service forums
• Trio Student Support Services (SSS)
• Specialized advising
• Flexible scheduling
• First-year Seminar
• Learning communities
• Student engagement in campus life

• Staff and faculty role modeling
• Strategic planning
• Outreach

• Read the Full Report

Smith, C.T., Miller, A., & Bermeo, C.A. (2009). Bridging the Gaps to Success-Promising Practices for Promoting Transfer Among Low-Income and First-Generation Students. The Pell Institute. Retrieved January 10, 2011 from: http://www.pellinstitute.org/pdf/COE_Pell_Report_layout_3.pdf

Tags: Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Rights, Parents; Rights, Students;

Target Population: Early Education

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• What is the current role of early education among immigrant children?
• What is the future potential?

Findings:

• For infants, toddlers, and preschool–age children, immigrants have lower rates of participation in any nonparental care and center–based care, though participation varies greatly based on geographic region and county of origin.
• Comparing immigrant and native children, the participation gap for three–year–olds is smaller than that for four–year–olds; additionally, early education participation increases with age. These findings suggest a narrowing gap, which may be a result of expansion of state–funded programs.
• Among those in care, preschool–age immigrant children are as likely as native children, if not more likely, to be in center–based ECE programs, especially if one looks at the arrangement where children spend the most time.
• Much of the participation gap can be explained by just a few economic and sociodemographic factors, such as low parental education or low family income. Thus, lower use of care may result not from being an immigrant child per se but from factors associated with disadvantaged groups.
• The data for California indicate that center–based care environments are falling short of benchmarks associated with high–quality care for both immigrant and native preschool–age children alike. Though these results may not extend to other states, at least in the state with the largest share of immigrant children, so ECE quality needs to be improved.
• Well–designed targeted programs serving infants and toddlers can produce short–term developmental benefits, but findings are ambiguous as to longer–term gains for school performance and adult outcomes.
• Immigrant children face many different barriers to participating in early education programs: structural, informational and bureaucratic, cultural, and those caused by misperceptions.

Policy Recommendations:
To improve ECE access and quality, policy makers can consider options that pertain both to disadvantaged children in general, as well as to immigrant children in particular.

• Publicly funded universal provision of ECE would benefit all children, including and especially immigrant children because it would remove issues of affordability, and, moreover, eligibility.
• Geographic targeting could be especially effective in assisting immigrant children because it would give eligibility regardless of legal status, and could encompass whole ethnic neighborhoods.
• Language–accessible communication strategies
• Development of formal peer–to–peer networks for immigrant parents
• Applications for ECE could be improved by: streamlining paperwork; translated paperwork; applications that ask for SSN of child instead of parent.
• Professional development of teachers and staff, ie cultural competency, teaching ELLs, foreign language acquisition
• Implementation of curricula and other practices that support English learners.

• Read the Full Report

Karoly, L., Gonzalez, G. (2011). "Early Care and Education for Children in Immigrant Families." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=541.

Tags: Intervention; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Struggling Readers;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• Is there a difference in academic achievement between mobile and non-mobile students?
• Is there a difference in academic achievement of mobile students who are low–income versus mobile students who are not? Does the effect of mobility on academic achievement vary according to student's income level?
• Are there differences in academic achievement of fourth grade students based on the mobility level of the school they attend?

Findings:

• A significant difference was found between academic achievement of mobile and non–mobile students, in both math and language arts.
• Economically disadvantaged students were found to suffer greater (negative) effects from mobility than students that were not categorized as economically disadvantaged.
• Mean mobility level of school was found to (negatively) affect academic outcomes.
• One explanation for the reduced academic performance is loss of social capital (ie lack of social support and low parental involvement).

Policy Recommendations:

• Mobility rates are higher among elementary school children than high school students, and there is greater mobility within the same district. Therefore policies considered for implementation to help mobile students should begin at the elementary level.
• Educators should consider developing protocols that identify students in need of additional support and provide relevant programs appropriate to address student needs.
• Educators should have a system in place that: (a) monitors student records to ensure appropriate placement; (b) provides both social and academic support for new students; (c) provides support for parents and families new to the school; and (d) provides support in developing curricula for transitioning students.

• Read the Full Report

Eddy, Lisa, "THE EFFECT OF STUDENT MOBILITY ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT" (2011). Doctoral Dissertations. Paper 177.

Tags: Differentiated Instruction; Intervention; Placement;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses: Regardless of language of instruction, what are the most effective practices for teaching English language learners that will produce the most successful long–term outcomes?

Findings:

• Within the long–term English learners classification exist other categories of English learners with very different needs: special education students, those incorrectly labeled English proficient, migrants (within the U.S.), transitional students (return to and attend school in native country at least part of the year), recent immigrants (who have experience with core subjects but still need to learn academic English vocabulary and usage), and refugee children (who have never attended school.)
• Based on recent findings, what matters most in educating English learners is the quality of instruction, not the language. Certain salient features stand out as quality instruction practices: school structures and leadership; language and literacy instruction; integration of language, literacy, and content instruction in secondary schools; cooperative learning; professional development; parent and family support teams; tutoring; and monitoring implementation and outcomes.

Policy Recommendations:

• Reform and intervention should begin at early grades when children's needs are much more manageable and teachers are imparting new skills rather than remediating gaps.

• Read the Full Report

Calderon, M., Slavin, R., Sanchez, M. (2011). "Effective Instruction for English Learners." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=542

Tags: Books and Other Reading Materials; Curriculum; Differentiated Instruction; Intervention; Language Proficiency; Motivation; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Reading;

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What strategies or programs can educators adopt to create schools in which ELLs learn and thrive?

Findings:
A comprehensive system of schooling for ELLS includes the following nine elements:

• High quality and accessible preschool education
• Supports for newcomers to meet needs of transition
• A comprehensive program of English Language development
• A program providing full access to challenging curriculum
• High quality instruction and materials
• Inclusive and affirming school climate
• Valid, comprehensive, and useful assessments
• Strong family and community partnerships
• Schools structured to meet the particular needs of English learners.

Policy Recommendations:

• Invest in building a qualified educator workforce;
• Build a meaningful accountability system for English learners;
• Assure that educators have the materials they need to deliver high quality English Language Development;
• Demonstrate new models of successful schools for English learners

• Read the full report (128KB PDF)*

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:

University of California

Linguistic Minority Research Institute

4722 South Hall

Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3220

Olsen, L. (2006). Ensuring Academic Success for English Learners. University of California: Linguistic Minority Research Institute.

Tags: Intervention; Motivation; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Rights, Students;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• In what ways and to what extent are today's children underserved by parents and adults in general?
• What are the essential resources children require that will assure their success in the future?
• How can parents and communities work to provide these resources to all children?

Findings:

• Children who enjoy the sustained and cumulative benefit of having at least four of the Five Promises across various contexts of their lives are much more likely to be academically successful, civically engaged and socially competent, regardless of their race or family income.
• Having enough of the Five Promises helps to mitigate the disparities among our nation's young people, for instance those based on race/ ethnicity or family income. Though access to these resources remains deeply unequal in America, their presence in critical mass can be a great equalizer. Regardless of race, gender or family income level, children who enjoy at least four of these five core resources are more likely to thrive.
• Only 31% of young people today are receiving enough of the developmental resources that will give them genuine reason for confidence about their success as adults.
• 21% —or over 10 million 6–to–17–year&ndash'olds— have a very low chance of success.
• The stereotype of children and teens as slackers with a weak work ethic is a myth. Young people are looking for more help from adults, but not a handout. They are willing to work hard to reach their goals.
• The greatest returns to society result from a balanced investment strategy throughout childhood, not just in early childhood. The biggest economic benefits result from targeting interventions toward underserved youth. These returns take the form of increased high school graduation rates and college enrollment, reduced involvement with the criminal justice system and reduced welfare dependency, which in turn provide direct and indirect economic benefits to our nation.
• Some of the areas that access to the 5 Promises positively effects are: overall health, grade and school attendance, drug use, social competence, school dropout rates, crime.

Policy Recommendations:

• The bottom–line implication from this research is clear: For maximum return, start investing in young people at an early age—and don't stop.
• Consider the "Whole Child" ie educational reforms should go beyond the school.
• Engage all sectors of society.
• View investments as more than programs—without minimizing their role: Cost–effective, targeted programs may offer the best strategy for mitigating the risk factors otherwise working against children placed at major disadvantages.
• Focus attention on the young people who are most underserved.

• Read the Full Report

"Every Child Every Promise: Turning Failure Into Action." Washington, DC: America's Promise Alliance. Retrieved from http://www.americaspromise.org/Resources/Research-and-Reports/~/media/Files/About/ECEP%20-%20Full%20Report.aspx

Tags: Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Rights, Parents; Rights, Students;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses: What are the consequences of losing a Lawful Immigrant Parent to deportation? How can these experiences affect future reform and prevent further separation of loved ones?

Findings:
We estimate that more than 100,000 children have been affected by LPR parental deportation between 1997 and 2007, and that at least 88,000 of impacted children were U.S. citizens. Moreover, our analysis estimates that approximately 44,000 children were under the age of 5 when their parent was deported. In addition to these children, this analysis estimates that more than 217,000 others experienced the deportation of an immediate family member who was an LPR.

• Read the Full Report

In the Child’s Best Interest? The Consequences of Losing a Lawful Immigrant Parent to Deportation. (2010). University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved January 13, 2011 from: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/files/Human_Rights_report.pdf

Tags: Intervention; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• What are the main patterns of K–12 experience for immigrant youth?
• What is the "immigrant paradox" and how broadly applicable is it?

Findings:

• The "immigrant paradox" is the trend that that immigrant youth enjoy academic advantages in the relative absence of the socioeconomic advantages, such as high parental education and income, which are usually associated with school success.
• This apparent advantage, however, is more pronounced among the children of Asian and African immigrants than other groups, among boys than girls, and in secondary than elementary school.
• With support from families, schools, and communities, therefore, fluency in multiple languages has academic advantages that likely factor into the immigrant paradox.
• Overall, strong family ties and parental attachment and support are resources for immigrant youth, providing the security and assistance they need to meet the challenges of school, even though this support comes in less obvious means.
• Although many immigrant youth more problematic schools that pose academic risks that could impair academic performance, such risks seem to affect these immigrant youth less than students with native–born parents, suggesting that they may be more resilient in problematic schools than their peers.
• Indeed, ECLS–K teachers rated the children of both Hispanic and Asian immigrants as better adjusted than children of U.S.–born white, Asian, Hispanic, and black parents.

Policy Recommendations:

• Targeting the Latino population is one way for policy makers to address numerous kinds of educational disparities. Moreover, given the many community and family strengths of Latin American immigrants, this population has potential to respond positively to interventions targeting these related disparities.
• Efforts by policy makers to promote college–going among immigrant youth must focus on coursework as well as on other areas of college preparation that require inside knowledge, such as knowing how to apply for aid.
• Because a lack of contact between immigrant families and schools might contribute to immigrant risks and undercut immigrant advantages, efforts to open dialogue between the two could be valuable.
• Policy–makers should seek to increase parental involvement by initiating efforts grounded in the lives of families, flexible to language and schedule barriers.

• Read the Full Report

Crosnoe, R. and Lopez Turley, R. "K–12 Educational Outcomes of Immigrant Youth." Immigrant Children 21 (1). The Future of Children. Retrieved from: http://www.futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=74&articleid=543.

Tags: Intervention; Motivation; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Rights, Parents; Rights, Students;

Target Population: Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What elements of the Healthy School Community (HSC) project yield the best results for improving school health?

Findings:

• The single most important factor is having an engaged and effective principal who fully embraces the HSC model, actively participating but also distributing tasks among a team.
• Collaboration of various forms is crucial. This includes letting parents have a say in matters, getting community members involved and personally invested in the success of the school, and networking with other healthy schools for strategies.
• "Healthy" schools that focus on the "whole child" are the best kind because teachers can teach to their fullest abilities and students can learn to their highest potential.

Policy Recommendations:

• Build a team dedicated to improving school health that is led by a principal but broken into teams, which incorporates parents, teachers, and stakeholders of the community.
• Enact systemic, rather than programmatic change, by making foundational changes such as rewriting mission/goals and getting everyone involved in changes as opposed to the principal making decisions singlehandedly.

• Read the Full Report

ASCD (2010). Learning, Teaching, and Leading in Healthy School Communities. Alexandria, VA: ACSD.

Tags: American Indian ELL Students; Asian ELL Students; Intervention; Latino ELL Students; Motivation; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: How do female high school Latina students overcome obstacles in order to graduate from high school?

Findings:

Latinas have high aspirations and goals but often are unable to reach them because of academic and social barriers such as:

• Poverty
• Immigration status
• Language barriers
• Lack of parental involvement
• Teenage pregnancy

Policy Recommendations:

• Invest in the future of Latinas. Congress should put more money into providing child care, early childhood education, health care, nutrition assistance, and tax benefits.
• Provide Latina girls with role models and set up programs that help them reach their goals. More money should be put into mentoring programs, school counseling, and college access programs.
• Make sure that all Latina girls are prepared for any post-secondary education opportunity.
• Ensure that schools are free of racial and gender discrimination. Schools should also make sure that they enforce and promote dual language programs for ELLs.
• Aid in gaining more Latino parental involvement. The government and schools should fund more programs to help parents become more active in schools.
• Fund more efforts to prevent teenage pregnancy, including implementing sex education programs.
• Support students who are pregnant or who are currently parenting.
• Schools should require better data collection and promote school accountability.

• Read the Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
MALDEF: http://maldef.org/contact/

National Women’'s Law Center & Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Listening to Latinas: barriers to high school graduation. (2009, August). Retrieved from: http://maldef.org/assets/pdf/ListeningtoLatinas.pdf

Tags: Latino ELL Students; Motivation; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Rights, Parents; Rights, Students;

Target Population: Post-Secondary

Research Questions the Report Poses: Are Hispanic students well-informed about their financial aid options for higher education? How does knowledge about financial aid affect Hispanic students' choices to pursue higher education?

Findings:

• 98% of respondents in the survey said that they felt it was important to have a college education
• 38% of respondents did not feel the benefits of college outweigh the costs
• Not being able to work and incurring debt were the opportunity costs associated with going to college
• The opportunity costs associated with going to college were not being able to work and incurring debt
• More than 50% of the respondents incorrectly thought students have to be U.S. citizens to apply for college financial aid
• Few respondents could accurately estimate the cost of attending either the University of California or California State University
• Overall, respondents demonstrated a lack of familiarity with government grants for education

Policy Recommendations:

• Students need to be better informed about the "less tangible, but real, social status differences that exist between the college-educated and the non-college educated" so that they feel that the opportunity costs of attending college are worth paying
• Because of misperceptions about how much college actually costs, Latino students may continue to be underrepresented on college campuses. To this end, perceptions must be corrected by presenting students with information about the realistic costs of attending college.
• Latino students need to be better informed about Cal Grants and Pell Grants, as well as other grant and loan opportunities available through state and federal government.
• Students and their parents both need to be educated about the system of college finances, including scholarships, loans, grants, and government guaranteed loans.
• Student perceptions about the significance of legal residency status vs. U.S. citizenship status need to be corrected, especially given the citizenship status of many students' parents

• Read the Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
n/a

Zarate, E.Z., and Pachon, H.P. (2006). Perceptions of College Financial Aid Among California Latino Youth. Tomas Rivera Policy Institute: Los Angeles, CA.

Tags: Bilingual Instruction; Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Latino ELL Students; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Reading;

Target Population: Preschool

Research Questions the Report Poses: How does Pre–K education positively impact the Latino population?

Findings:

• Despite education being prominent and important in many Latinos' home countries, many Latinos in the United States do not have their children enrolled in Pre-K programs.
• Pre-K programs are often cost-prohibitive for Latinos or unavailable in their areas.
• Research shows that disadvantaged children who receive Pre-K education stand to make the biggest gains from that education.

Policy Recommendations:

• Outreach to parents needs to be more effective. Parents of ELLs need to know about the options available to them in terms of Pre-K programs available.
• Pre–K instruction needs to be available in the home language of minorities, especially ELLs.
• In conjunction with the above, critical staff at Pre-K programs need to be bilingual to accommodate more ELL students' language needs.
• Enrollment and eligibility requirements both need to be modified so as not to discriminate against ELLs or hinder them from getting into Pre–K programs.

• Read the full report (128KB PDF)*
• Download Executive Summary in Spanish (7KB PDF)*

Garcia, E.E., Gonzales, D.M. (2006). Pre-K and Latinos: The Foundation for America's Future. Pre-K Now Research Series: Washington, DC.

Tags: Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA;

Target Population: Preschool, Elementary, Middle, High School

Research Questions the Report Poses: What are the school-to-home communication practices and opportunities for parent involvement at school as reported by parents of U.S. school-age children from primarily English-speaking and primarily Spanish-speaking households? How do these practices and opportunities relate to household poverty?

Findings:

• 92% of all parents reported receiving newsletters, memos, or notices from the school or teacher addressed to all parents.
• 92% of parents from English-speaking households and 82% of parents from Spanish-speaking households reported receiving communication addressed to all parents.
• 50% of parents from English-speaking households reported receiving personal notes or e-mails about the student. 40% of parents from Spanish-speaking households reported receiving personal communication about the student.
• Parents in poor English-speaking households were more likely than students in poor Spanish-speaking households to report receiving personal notes or emails (49% to 40%)
• There are differences in communication practices for English-speaking households across poverty levels.
• Reports of opportunities for parent involvement differed by household language except in the case of parent-teacher conferences.
• Parents from poor households were less likely to report that the school had opportunities for parent involvement than students from non-poor households.

Policy Recommendations:
The report did not provide policy recommendations.

• Link to Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
Call 1-877-4ED-PUBS or visit www.edpubs.org

Enyeart, Christine; Diehl, Juliet Hampden-Thompson, Gillian; Scotchmer, Marion. (2006). "School and Parent Interaction by Household Language and Poverty Status: 2002-03." U.S. Department of Education: National Center for Education Statistics.

Tags: Books and Other Reading Materials; Libraries; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Reading; Struggling Readers;

Target Population: Elementary

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• How does summer loss affect students' reading achievement?
• Why does summer reading loss occur?
• What can be done to curb summer reading loss?
• What elements contribute to family literacy participation?

Findings:

• While reading and academic gains during the school year are comparable among student groups, studies and tests show that reading loss is much more significant in low-income students, which ultimately contributes to a widening achievement gap as they progress into higher grades.
• Summer reading loss seems to have its greatest impact on low-achieving students and at-risk students-those who can least afford to fall further behind.
• Access to reading materials is a vital element in enhancing the reading development of children, but low-income students experience several barriers to reading at home.
• It is not enough to simply tell parents that it is important to read to children. Parents, particularly lower socioeconomic-status parents, need concrete, specific programs, suggestions on how to participate in family literacy, and support.

Policy Recommendations:

• Parent workshops just before summer break.
• Schools should coordinate with the local public library for their summer reading program.
• Required summer reading list of 3-5 proven favorites for children, with adequate access to them for all students.
• Reading Millionaires Program
• TV programs and movies based on books can encourage reading; Parents can turn down the volume and turn on the captions so kids have to read.
• Use daily routines as reading activities such as cooking, web surfing, reading directions in a manual, etc.

• Read the Full Report

Mraz, M. and Rasinski, T.V. (2007). Summer reading loss. The Reading Teacher, 60(8). International Reading Association. 784-789.

Tags: Bilingualism / Biliteracy; Fluency; Language of Instruction; Language Proficiency; Phonics; Phonological Awareness; Transfer of Literacy Skills; Vocabulary;

Target Population: All

Research Questions the Report Poses:

VOLUME I:

• What are the reigning theories of human development, cognition, culture, and the relationship between them?
• How does identity development intersect with achievement motivation?
• What is intelligence?
• How can our knowledge of human development inform our work as educators working with an increasingly diverse student population?
• What is known about how to work successfully with families from non-dominant cultural groups?

VOLUME II:

• What is language proficiency and how does it interact with culture, human development, learning, and schooling?
• How can teachers best support English language learners (ELLs) and speakers of different English dialects?
• What are the current views of literacy acquisition and best approaches to literacy instruction?
• How can assessments eliminate bias based on language?

Findings:

• Most important to the process of addressing the needs of learners from a wide range of backgrounds is a positive, ongoing process of exploration and constructive conversation among the professionals who serve such students and between professionals and students' families.
• Meaningful approaches to human development and learning have become increasingly multi-disciplinary.
• Language indexes culture; language symbolizes culture; culture is partially created by language.

Policy Recommendations:
Teacher's Guide to Diversity includes a third volume, "The Presenter's Manual," which provides support for preparing for and conducting classes or workshops. The manual contains activities and suggested homework assignments, organized by the volume with which they are associated.

• Read the Full Report

Trumbull, E., Pacheco, M. (2005). The Teacher’s Guide to Diversity: Building a Knowledge Base. Providence, RI: The Education Alliance at Brown University. Retrieved from http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/teach_guide_diversity/.

Tags: Latino ELL Students; Parent Involvement and Outreach / PTA; Rights, Parents; Rights, Students;

Target Population: Middle and high school students

Research Questions the Report Poses:

• What are Latino parents' perceptions of their own participation in their children's education?
• What are schools' and teachers' expectations of parental involvement?
• How do parents' and schools' expectations match?
• What are Latino students' perceptions of their parents' role in their education?
• What are the programmatic initiatives that address parental involvement?

Findings:

• Schools and school districts need to have clear goals and objectives to increase parental involvement in middle and high schools.
• Latino parents most often define the word education (educación) as their parental involvement in their children's lives, and, as a consequence, this will help students in their academic performance in school.
• Latino parents describe the communication between parents and teachers/administrators/counselors in middle or high school as rather impersonal and inadequate.
• Language, for Latino parents, is still the main factor that discourages them from actively participating in school activities and events.
• The second, most important reason for low Latino parental involvement is work demand.

Policy Recommendations:

The author recommends:

• Statewide and national accountability requirements measuring parental involvement
• Legislation that allows flex time or work-leave for school meetings
• Increased bilingual staffing
• Funding for innovative parent engagement models
• Large-scale partnerships between communities, universities, and schools
• Clear goals for increasing parental involvement
• Compensation for teachers with strong records of parental engagement
• Increased professional development

• Read the Full Report

To order a hard copy of the report, contact:
The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning and Development 650 Childs Way, Lewis Hall, Suite 102 Los Angeles, California 90089-0626

Zarate, Maria Estela. (2007). Understanding Latino Parental Involvement in Education: Perceptions, Expectations, and Recommendations. Los Angeles, California. The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute. University of Southern California.