Parent Involvement

Research has demonstrated that when families are involved in their children’s education in positive ways, despite the family’s economic status or the parents educational level, children achieve higher grades and test scores, have better school attendance, graduate at higher rates, and have greater enrollment in higher education. Mobility in migrant families makes the need for parent involvement even more crucial. Frequent moves during the school year require parents to understand how to help their children adjust to ever changing school environments, what documents are required for enrollment, methods to ensure credit accrual for graduation, and what rights they and their children have to basic education and special services. ESCORT has extensive experience in providing a wide variety of technical assistance in the area of parent involvement based on the individual needs identified by state and district level migrant programs and at the school level.

In Florida, ESCORT helped structure the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) and trained state and district MEP staff and the parents selected to serve on the PAC. Technical assistance provided by ESCORT included securing and reviewing various PAC bylaws, governance structures and practices, and helping develop the roles and responsibilities of PAC members. Beyond helping to establish the goals, structure and ongoing functioning of the PAC, ESCORT conducted training for parents in facilitating and presenting at various meetings and forums. Parents were also trained in the goals of the state educational agency, available programs, and testing requirements and accountability systems. These trainings enabled parents to more fully participate in their children’s education and in the governance of local schools.

In another long-term project, ESCORT provided training throughout an entire school year for a group selected to serve as a Parent Leadership Team in a North Carolina school district. A series of 3 two-day trainings were conducted for MEP staff and parents. Topics included programmatic requirements for involving parents in the educational system, parent’s rights and responsibilities, and the structure of the local school system and advisory boards. Representatives from the school district, school board, and city and county governance boards met with parents to encourage their participation in on-going local initiatives and decision-making. After receiving guidance about conducting meetings and speaking in public, parents identified areas of interest and developed projects in which to involve themselves as active participants and change agents.