Muskego School Parents Make a Difference, With National Report to Support What Many Already Know

The National School Boards Association’s Center for Public Education released a new report, "Back to School: How Parent Involvement Affects Student Achievement" examining the relationship between parent involvement and student outcomes.

"Families working in close partnership with teachers can have a measurable impact on their child’s academic achievement, particularly when they are focused on helping students do well in school," said Patte Barth, Director of the Center.  "While parent involvement is no substitute for good classroom instruction, it can make the job much easier for everyone -- teachers, parents, guardians, and students themselves."

The report examines various ways parents get involved with their local schools and finds that something as simple as engaging families in their children’s homework  can be one of the best ways to advance  their  learning. In the , officials cited two programs in particular that help to foster that involvement.

"Our strategic plan was built, and continues to be revised annually with a group of committed individuals that includes parents, community members, staff and administration," said Tammy Kapp, Director of School Performance. 

"Currently there are two teams that have been significantly impacted by parent involvement. They are the Middle Level Program Review Team and the 4K Advisory Council," Kapp explained.  "The MLPR is a study team that is reviewing our current middle school program and structures and is currently making recommendations to the school board.  Parents are a major stakeholder so their voice at the table has helped us shape some big decisions."  

Kapp also said that a similar 4K Advisory Council "monitors the success of and the future recommendations for our 4 year old kindergarten program.  Again, their voice is certainly a part of all decisions we make on behalf of children."

Superintendent of the District, Dr. Joe Schroeder, agreed, adding to the list a parent and citizen's group that helped in other decision-making processes for the district.

"Our citizen-based Facilities Study Team whose highly-involved work in 2008-09 helped lay a strong foundation for the facilities improvements referendum that the community will be voting on this November," Schroeder said.

Kapp added that these were only two such examples of involvement at the district level and, "it certainly doesn’t include the many ways our parents support directly at the classroom level."

Some of the major findings of the report:

• Parent involvement is high. About nine in 10 parents report having attended a school or PTA or PTO meeting in the past year, while eight in 10 attended a parent-teacher conference. 
• Parent involvement can produce better student outcomes. A Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) synthesis of 51 studies showed that students with involved parents were more likely to: earn higher grades and scores; enroll in higher-level programs; be promoted; earn credits; have better attendance and social skills; graduate and attend college. However, not all parent involvement is related to student gains.
• Six categories of parent involvement. Identified as:  Parenting (schools help with parenting skills); communicating; volunteering; learning at home; decision making; and community collaboration. 
• Of the six categories, support for learning at home produces the biggest student gains. SEDL found that “programs and interventions that engage families in supporting their children’s learning at home are linked to higher student achievement.”