Program Overview Schools & Centers Publications Staff Profiles Keyword Search:   Comer Site Med center Site Yale Site     Comer School Development Program 55 College Street New Haven CT, 06510 (203) 737-1020 Tel. (203) 737-1023 Fax			About Comer SDP Program Overview     • Strategic Alliances • Schools & Centers The Parent Team Rationale for Parent Involvement Parent involvement is a key element of the School Development Program. The Program recognizes the critical role parents can and should play in their children's education. Parents are their children's first teachers. As they care for and nurture them, an emotional attachment and bond develops between the child and the parents. This bond allows the parents to influence the development of the child along the critical developmental pathways necessary for learning. Through day-to-day life with their parents, children learn all kinds of things. When a curious child asks questions and receives answers and explanations from parents or other members of the family and social network, those adults are stimulating that child's development. When those adults show that they're interested in reading, the child internalizes the idea of reading as something important. The motivation for learning, therefore, grows out of the child's relationships with important adults. A child from a non-mainstream, marginal family is likely to have missed out on such early stimulation, and enters school unprepared to meet the expectations of that school, a mainstream institution. A child is expected to learn to read at school, but may come from a home in which no one reads, and may never have heard a parent read bedtime stories. The child's language skills may be underdeveloped or nonstandard. In other areas, expectations at home and at school may be radically at odds. For example, in some families, a child who does not fight back will be punished. The same behavior will get the child into trouble at school. By eight or nine years of age, children develop the cognitive capacity to understand that they and their family are different from the people at school. Parents are the source of a child's self-affirmation. Children will believe what the people they love and trust believe, including how they feel about school. If parents mistrust the school and staff, their children will more than likely feel the same way and may even feel alienated from the school and staff. In order to overcome that mistrust, the parents must be made to feel comfortable and welcome in the school. Only then can parents work effectively with school staff in support of all aspects of the child's development. It's important for schools to understand how to extend that welcome and to create a comfortable climate, as well as to understand how schools can make parents feel shut out. Let's look at some of the barriers that may prevent parents from feeling connected to the school, and what things the schools can do to remove these obstacles. Some Barriers to Parent Participation Parents' previous negative school experiences, either as children or as parents Attention of parents focused on basic survival needs School practices that do not accommodate the growing diversity of the families they serve Unwillingness of school staff to make necessary investments of time and skills Some Strategies for Overcoming Obstacles Parents' previous negative school experiences, either as children or as parents Build trust by listening to parents, inviting their input, pairing them with individual staff members. Call parents with positive reports about their children. Provide students with recognition and rewards for academic achievement, as well as positive social behavior to motivate and encourage them. Attention of parents focused on basic survival needs Provide a warm, caring climate for families under stress. Adjust the school's rules or program to accommodate difficult family circumstances. Make arrangements for parents who may have difficult schedules (due to family obligations, working several jobs, working unusual shifts) to be able to participate in teacher-parent conferences, to pick up report cards, to be in school projects and activities. Arrange for transportation and child care for school events. Inform parents of services available to them in the community. Intervene with other institutions on behalf of parents. School practices that do not accommodate the growing diversity of the families they serve Recognize that set of rules or expectations at home may be different from those at school. Bridge those differences without making students feel that what works at home is bad. Recognize and celebrate multiple cultures, ethnicity, languages, and religions represented in the school. Provide interpreters during PTO or other parent meetings, as well as at open houses, consultations with staff, assembly programs, concerts, potluck dinners, and graduation programs. Provide parents with information in their language, and in a format which demonstrates familiarity with their culture. Involve parents in planning social events. Hire staff that reflect the diversity of the students and community. Unwillingness of school staff to make necessary investments of time and skills Understand that it is difficult for all human beings to learn to share power. When those first difficult attempts at power sharing are made, commend the initiative and point out specifically how this collaboration is enhancing the overall effort toward improving the school. Historically, staff may have felt a lack of trust or resistance to communicate on the part of parents. Many parents may have had no contact with staff members except to receive bad news about a child's academic or behavioral failures. Encourage staff to contact parents regularly with good news about their children. Encourage social events for parents and staff which emphasize interaction and relaxation, and which de-emphasize roles, like potluck suppers, musical programs, etc. Work to develop staff sensitivity about one of the most significant obstacles in their communication with parents: the fact that many parents see themselves as educationally unqualified to be sharing decision making with college-educated staff. Strategies for Involving Parents in the School Community Consistent parental involvement can be achieved and maintained through a regular schedule of activities and programs that are stimulating, informative, and enjoyable. Parents are particularly interested in programs in which their children participate or perform, such as science fairs, musical concerts, or plays. Activities which involve food are among the most successful: inviting parents into the school to help staff prepare food for an event gives different adult members of the school community an opportunity to get to know each other in a relaxed, informal way. A number of SDP schools have developed good relationships between parents and staff through such food-centered events as potluck suppers, breakfasts, and celebrations often involving ethnic food. One particularly useful means of making parents feel like full participants in the operation of the school is the establishment of an area within the building itself where parents meet, relax, and avail themselves of school resources. Sometimes called the Parents' Room or the Parent Activity Center, it is a space where parents can feel free to drop in for a cup of coffee and get to know one another in an informal setting. The Parents' Room is also a place for coordinating parent meetings and events, as well as for providing information on continuing education, on employment opportunities, and about other resources available within their community. Other important supports for parent participation may actually be found by looking outside of the school building. School administrators should use their imaginations to see what kinds of arrangements could be made with area businesses that would benefit the relationship of employee parents with their children's schools. One district has worked out an agreement with nearby businesses to give parents release time so that they can participate in school activities, or simply have lunch with their children in the school cafeteria. Once their interest has been stimulated, the school should involve parents in meaningful activities that take advantage of their capabilities and skills. But to ensure that these parents can apply those skills with a maximum of satisfaction and a minimum of conflict, the principal should appoint a parent liaison. The parent liaison should be someone already on the school staff who has demonstrated excellent human relations skills (a social worker would be a good choice). But often a teacher will be interested in serving as the parent liaison and may be more available because he or she is in the building at all times. The parent liaison's primary task is to assist parents in any way necessary to enable them to be successful in the school. The parent liaison might assist parents in the development of an activity program. He/she should facilitate and integrate the activities of parents into the overall school program. For example, the parent liaison might provide parents with orientation sessions about school policies. He/He/she might also conduct in-service sessions with the staff on ways to help make parents feel comfortable in the school. When there are problems, the liaison serves as a mediator. In these ways, the parent liaison helps to foster an atmosphere of communication and cooperation. The Role of Parents in the School Development Program The School Development Program conceptualizes parent involvement at three levels: Level 1: Parents provide general support and participate in a variety of activities designed to stimulate their interest in the school. These broad-based activities are planned, implemented, and evaluated by committees made up of parents and school staff. Parents benefit by knowing they have both input and opportunities to demonstrate their skills. School staff benefits by being able to do their work in an environment of mutual trust and respect. The activities which promote such attitudes include attending parent/teacher conferences, monitoring their children's homework, and supporting fun raising activities. Level 2: Parents are involved as volunteers in daily school affairs. This opportunity provides parents with the chance to volunteer their skills, or to receive the kind of training from school staff that will increase their skills and confidence. It is important that parent volunteers are given meaningful tasks which they are capable of accomplishing and that each parent is placed with a compatible staff member. Among the ways parents can participate in the day-to-day work within the school are: providing office support, participating in the "Room Parent" program, going along on field trips, or working as a library assistant. The SDP recommends that schools hire parents for part-time jobs whenever possible. In the original SDP schools in 1968, it was those parents who held minimum wage, part-time jobs within the schools who made up the core group of the Parents' Program. They were paid for ten hours and most gave twenty to thirty hours of their time to the school each week. Level 3: Parents participate in school decision making by serving on the School Planning and Management Team(SPMT). Since only a few parents serve on that team, other parents should be given an opportunity to serve on SPMT subcommittees and on other school committees. Parents bring the perspective of community and culture to the process. They bridge the gap between the school and the community. Parents who serve on the School Planning and Management Team are selected by the school's parent organization. (In schools that have more than one parent organization, efforts should be made to reduce to one parent group.) Parent representation in the governance and management of the school should be as broadly based as possible. The selection process should ensure that every group (class, ethnicity, etc.) or geographic area served by the school is represented fairly. Operational Expectations for the Parents' Program The school has a parent-teacher organization (PTO, PTA, etc.) that meets with the principal on a monthly basis to plan and implement their activities in the school. The activities of the Parents' Program should support the goals and objectives outlined in the Comprehensive School Plan. The agenda for each meeting is developed in consultation with the parent liaison and principal. Prior to each meeting, the principal and the appropriate PTA/PTO officer(s) discuss the items on the agenda. The minutes of each PTA/PTO meeting are distributed to parents and teachers. Parent(s) serves on the School Planning and Management Team (SPMT) and acts as a liaison between the SPMT and the PTA/PTO. Parents are a physical presence in the school on a day-to-day basis by serving as school aides, teaching assistants, and in other volunteer positions whenever possible. The work of parents is supported and coordinated by a school staff member (parent liaison). Parents assist in the planning of student-centered programs and activities. Parents regularly attend school sponsored programs. Parents who are not physically involved in school should not be condemned. Support comes in many ways: staying in touch with teacher by notes or phone calls, checking homework nightly, and preparing food for school events. Discussion Questions About Parent Involvement When parents are first presented with the opportunity to become involved in determining school policy and practice, they may experience doubts---about their own abilities or about what outcome to expect---based on negative experiences in trying to work with school staff in the past. The following questions are intended to help develop strategies for building mutual trust between parents and staff as they learn to share power. How involved and supportive are the parents of children in your school? In what ways have the parents in your school been involved in each of the following areas: social activities, committee or team membership, and school policy making? Do barriers exist that prevent positive interactions between your school and the families it serves? If so, what can you do to eliminate those barriers? What plans do you have for accommodating changing family structures, i.e., single parenthood, grandparents as primary caregivers, and foster parents? If no plans exist, what resources are available to help you address these issues? How can we gear parent programs towards addressing some of the special circumstances faced by families, i.e., homelessness, substance abuse? What dangers are inherent in making generalizations about housing projects? Single parents? Welfare recipients? How can members of a school community use the "no fault" approach in cutting through such generalizations? If you were writing a proposal for your school's Parents' Room, what kinds of resources would you include to make a variety of parents feel welcome there? What steps should a superintendent and school board take to increase parental involvement? Suggested Readings Comer, J.P. (1980). School Power: Implications of an Intervention Project. New York: Free Press. Comer, J.P. (1982, November). Parent participation: A key to school improvement. Citizen Action in Education, 9, 12. Comer, J.P. (1984, May). Home-school relationships as the affect the academic success of children. Education and Urban Society, 16, 323-337. Comer, J.P. (1986, February). Parent participation in the schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 67, 442-446. Comer, J.P. (1988, January). Is "parenting" essential to good teaching? NEA Today, 6, 34-40. Comer, J.P. (1988, November). Educating poor minority children. Scientific American, 256, 42-48. Comer, J.P. (1989). Parent participation in schools: The School Development Program as a model. Family Resource Coalition Report, 8, 4-5, 26.v Comer, J.P. (1991, Summer). Parent participation: Fad or function? Educational Horizons, 69, 182-188. Comer, J.P. (1980). Relationships between school and family: Policy implications of an inner-city school program. In R. Haskins & J.J. Gallagher (Eds.), Care and Education of Young Children in America: Policies, Politics, and Social Science. Norwood, New Jersey: Alblex Publishing Corporation. Comer, J.P. (1980). Working with Black parents. R. Abidin (Ed.), Parent Education Handbook. Springfield, Illinois: Charles Thomas Publishers. Comer, J.P. (1990). Home, school, and academic learning. J.I. Goodlad & P. Keating (Eds.), Access to Knowledge: An Agenda for Our Nation's Schools. Princeton, New Jersey: The College Board. Steinberg, A. (1988, November/December). School-parent relationships that work: An interview with Dr. James Comer. The Harvard Education Letter, 4, 4-6.
			Copyright © 2001 School Development Program, Yale Child Study Center. All rights reserved. Comments or suggestions to the site editor. Photos from the book "Child by Child: The Comer Process for Change in Education," are by Michael Jacobson-Hardy and Laura Brooks. Used by permission of Teachers College Press. Home URL: http://www.schooldevelopmentprogram.org/ Last modified: July 204 (GM)