COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Importance Of Community Involvement In Quality Education

Importance Of Community Involvement In Quality Education

Introduction

It takes a village to raise a child is a popular proverb with a clear message: the whole community has an essential role to play in the growth and development of its young people. In addition to the vital role that parents and family members play in a child's education, the broader community too has a responsibility to assure high-quality education for all students. In the past, parent involvement was characterized by volunteers, mostly mothers, assisting in the classroom, chaperoning students, and fundraising. Today, the old model has been replaced with a much more inclusive approach: school family community partnerships now include mothers and fathers, stepparents, grandparents, foster parents, other relatives and caregivers, business leaders and community groups all participating in goal oriented activities, at all grade levels, linked to student achievement and school success.(Epstein, 1992)

Parents, family, and community involvement in education correlates with higher academic performance and school improvement. When schools, parents, families, and communities work together to support learning, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and enroll in higher level programs. Researchers cite parent family community involvement as a key to addressing the school dropout crisis1 and note that strong school-family community partnerships foster higher educational aspirations and more motivated students.2 The evidence holds true for students at both the elementary and secondary level, regardless of the parent's education, family income, or background-and the research shows parent involvement affects minority students' academic achievement across all races.3 Supporting teaching and learning requires addressing students' social service needs, as well as their academic ones, and this broad-based support is essential to closing achievement gaps. The positive impact of connecting community resources with student needs is well documented. In fact, community support of the educational process is considered one of the characteristics common to high-performing schools. (Jeynes, 2003, 202-218)

Framework on Involvement

Parenting. Assist families with parenting skills, family support, understanding child and adolescent development, and setting home conditions to support learning at each age and grade level. Assist schools in understanding families' backgrounds, cultures, and goals for children.

Communicating. Communicate with families about school programs and student progress. Create two-way communication channels between school and home that are effective and reliable.

Volunteering. Improve recruitment and training to involve families as volunteers and as audiences at the school or in other locations. Enable educators to work with volunteers who support students and the school.

Provide meaningful work and flexible scheduling.

Learning at Home. Involve families with their children in academic learning at home, including homework, goal setting, and other curriculum-related activities.

Decision Making. Include families as participants in school decisions, governance, and advocacy activities through school councils or improvement teams, committees, and other organizations.

Collaborating with the Community. Coordinate resources and services for families, students, and the school with community groups, including businesses, agencies, cultural and civic organizations, and colleges or universities. (Henderson, Johnson, 2007)

Parent, family, and community involvement means different things to different ...