Parent and Community Involvement
In Maine Schools:
A Model Approach
Maine Parent Federation
Maine PIRC
PO Box 2067
Augusta, ME 04338
1-800-870-7746
(207) 623-2144
www.parentconnect.org

Developed by Maine Parent Information and Resource Center, a federally funded project of Maine Parent Federation, in collaboration with the Maine Department of Education.
Special thanks to Debra Dunlap, Kathy Manning, Jackie Godbout, and Rachelle Tome.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Maine’s Parent and Community Involvement Indicators............................................. 7
Learning Results Implementation Self-Assessment Tool: Parent Involvement Indicators............. 8
Developing a Comprehensive Parent Involvement Plan........................................... 13
“There is no topic in education on which there is greater agreement than the need for parent involvement. Everyone wants more and better involvement, but most educators need help in how to develop productive programs of school-family-community partnerships.”- Joyce Epstein[1]
Developed by Maine’s Parent Information and Resource Center (Maine PIRC), this resource book is designed to help Maine schools use research and proven practices to develop strategic plans for better parent and community engagement. It contains the most current state and federal guidelines for family involvement in Maine schools, and suggests a process that schools can use to develop compliant, meaningful parent involvement programs.
Maine PIRC has worked for over a decade with schools across the state to develop policies and programs that will increase the level of family involvement in education. The process outlined in this resource book is guided by federal and state regulations, and informed by the local experiences of Maine PIRC Regional Involvement Coordinators.
Maine PIRC staff worked closely with the Maine Department of Education to edit and review all information and materials contained in this document.
The U.S. Department of Education created the first Parent Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs) in 1995 to provide parents and schools with training, information, and technical assistance to understand how children develop and what they need to succeed in school. Today, more than 70 PIRCs operate in almost all of the states across the nation. They work closely with parents, educators and community organizations to strengthen partnerships so that children can reach high academic standards.
Maine’s Parent Information and Resource Center (Maine PIRC) is a project of the Maine Parent Federation and has been providing assistance to Maine schools since 1995. Maine PIRC offers free technical support to schools as they work toward building family involvement in education. PIRC staff can help with all aspects of involving families, from planning a one-time parent night to developing your district’s long term parent involvement plan. Maine PIRC collaborates regularly with the Maine Department of Education to assist Title I schools in meeting the parent involvement requirements of Section 1118.
A quick phone call or email to Maine PIRC can get your school:
· Printed materials for parent resource shelves
· Workshops for families on educational topics
· Facilitation of strategic planning sessions for parent involvement committees and other stakeholders
· Guidance on updating parent policies and compacts
· On site technical support for parent involvement program development
Maine PIRC currently focuses on providing on-site technical assistance to schools on the state’s Continuous Improvement Priority and Monitor Lists, those receiving Title I funds, and schools with Gear Up programs. We provide printed materials to all schools at no cost. There is no charge for any of Maine PIRC’s services.
The Federal Department of Education says that parent involvement in education is the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities. Schools with a strong commitment to involving families ensure that:
· parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning.
· parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school.
· parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included in decision making.
· parents are represented on school advisory committees.
Over twenty years of research and hundreds of scientific studies have consistently shown that families have a major influence on their children’s achievement in school. In the 2003 publication, A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement, Anne Henderson and Karen Mapp examined multiple parent involvement studies and developed the following conclusion.
Taken as a whole, these studies found a positive and convincing relationship between
family involvement and benefits for students, including improved academic achievement.
This relationship holds across families of all economic, racial/ethnic, and educational
backgrounds and for students at all ages.[2]
Many of the studies included in A New Wave of Evidence found that students with involved parents, regardless of income or background, were more likely to:
· earn higher grades and test scores
· enroll in higher-level programs
· pass their classes
· attend school regularly
· have better social skills
· graduate and go on to postsecondary education.
Research shows that parent involvement programs can make a big impact on school improvement. Schools seem to have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by including parent involvement initiatives as an important part of the school improvement plan.
Recent studies by researchers with the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) have shown a direct correlation between active parent involvement programs and improved student performance.[3] For instance, when educators focused on effective communication, and involved families and community members in activities regarding student behavior, schools reported fewer disciplinary actions with students from one year to the next (Sheldon & Epstein, 2002). Another study showed that when educators communicated clearly with families about specific attendance issues, schools’ rates of average daily attendance increased and chronic absence decreased from one year to the next (Epstein & Sheldon, 2002; Sheldon & Epstein, 2004).
School improvement was not limited to behavioral issues. NNPS researchers also found a direct link between parent involvement and improved academic achievement. Schools implementing math programs that included parent-child homework and materials to take home increased the percentage of students attaining math proficiency from one year to the next (Sheldon & Epstein, 2005a). A review of literature on family involvement with students on reading indicated that specific family involvement interventions positively impacted students’ reading skills and scores (Sheldon & Epstein, 2005b).
Increased parent involvement can also lead to greater resources for schools. In A New Wave of Evidence, Henderson and Mapp[4] note the impact of parent and community organizing on school resource improvement, and cite the following positive effects for schools:
• Upgraded school facilities.
• Higher-quality learning programs for students.
• New resources and programs to improve teaching and curriculum.
• New funding for after-school programs and family supports.
The research indicating the connection between parent involvement and student achievement has been so compelling that parent involvement requirements have been written into many regulations guiding the school improvement process. The No Child Left Behind Act requires that schools receiving Title I funds meet a number of different involvement requirements, including having parents on school improvement committees. The 2005 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) includes new indicators for parent involvement in the state performance plan. The Maine Department of Education includes parent and community involvement indicators in the Learning Results Implementation Self-Assessment Tool.
This handbook will guide you through all of Maine’s mandates and recommendations for parent involvement in schools. It will also provide you with the tools you need to turn the suggestions into comprehensive programs that will benefit all students in your school.
There are three sets of formal parent involvement indicators currently being used by the Maine State Department of Education. These indicators measure evidence of parent involvement in Title I programs, Special Education programs, and in all districts as part of the Learning Results implementation process. Maine’s Parent Involvement Indicators can be found in the following documents, which are available with citations at the end of this handbook.
· Coordinated NCLB program pre-review report from Maine DOE Title I, p. 36
· Special Education Part B State Performance Plan and Parent Survey SY05-06, p. 32
· Maine DOE Learning Results Implementation Self-Assessment Tool indicators 4 and 9, p. 26
· Annual parent meeting to discuss Title I program
· Parent notification of rights
o Rights regarding student directory information
o Right to request qualifications of teachers
o Notification if child is taught 4 or more weeks by teachers who is not “highly qualified”
o Child’s selection/qualification for Title I services
· School and district parent involvement policies
· School and district parent compacts
· Regular progress reports
· Parent involvement in development of Title I policy and plan
· Training programs for parents based on parental needs assessment
· Title I services integrated with preschool/Head Start, LEP, Special Ed, Homeless services
· Special assistance (i.e. childcare) to participate in IEP
· Information given to parents about support organizations
o Provide information on transition agencies
· Regular communication regarding child’s progress
o Evaluation reports are understandable
o Written information is understandable
· Variety of ways to communicate with teachers
o Teachers are available to speak to parents
o Teachers treat parents as team members
o Teachers seek out parent input
o Staff person available to answer parents’ questions
· Parent training about special education issues
· Parents are full members of the Pupil Evaluation Team
· Information provided on parent options in the event of a disagreement with a decision
· Parent-teacher organizations
· Home-school compacts
· Attendance at school events
· Translated communication
· Community advisory meetings
· Volunteering
· Parent educational activities
o Broad representation across community
· Ongoing family/community communications
· Families involved in governance of schools
Planning for Continuous Improvement
· Numerous stakeholders involved in improvement process
· Communicate with community about improvement
· Public forums/community dialogues
· Parent-Teacher organizations
· Cable TV
· Newspaper articles
· Bulletin boards/exhibits/displays
· Parent-student-teacher conferences/goal setting meetings
· School website
· School newsletters
· SAU newspapers
· SAU communication plan
· Standards-based report cards
· Brochures/pamphlets
· Parent education on curriculum, expectations, and assessment system
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INDICATOR |
IMPLEMENTING LEARNING RESULTS |
TITLE IA |
SPECIAL EDUCATION |
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COMMUNICATION
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School newsletter
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Standards based report cards
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Regular progress reports
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Student eEvaluation reports understandable
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Written materials easy to understand
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Variety of ways to communicate with teachers
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Ongoing two-way communication
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Translations/Respect for Cultural Heritage
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Newspaper articles
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School/district website
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Parents notified of rights and options
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Parent-teacher conferences
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Brochures/pamphlets
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Annual Parent Meeting
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Staff available for questions
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IMPLEMENTING LEARNING RESULTS |
TITLE IA |
SPECIAL EDUCATION |
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COLLABORATIVE DECISION MAKING
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Parent advisory committee
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Community advisory meetings/public forum
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Full parent participation in educational team decisions
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Parent input on educational program requested regularly
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Parents involved in policy development
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Home-school compacts
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Parents on school improvement committees
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CONNECTING WITH COMMUNITY |
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Services linked with preschools/Head Start
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Parents given info about support organizations
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Collaboration with Parent Information Resource Center
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Communicating via Cable TV
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Parent-Teacher Organization supports academics
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School building frequently used by community
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IMPLEMENTING LEARNING RESULTS |
TITLE IA |
SPECIAL EDUCATION |
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PARENT EDUCATION
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Regular, ongoing program based on needs assessment
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Brochures, pamphlets, bulletin boards, displays
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Parents linked with agencies to assist transition
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