KMiletoActionResearchProjectFinalWriteUp12.19.14

Encouraging Parental Involvement in School 1

Where Are All The Parents?: Encouraging Parental Involvement in School

GEE 610: Action Research Project II

Katherine A. Mileto

December 16, 2014

Champlain College


Abstract

This qualitative research explored the topic of parental involvement in a public

elementary school. The purpose of this study was to find out how today’s parents,

teachers, and administration perceive and value family participation in schools at the

kindergarten level. In particular this study focused on, William Shatner Elementary

School (pseudonym) and its parent-teacher organization (PTO), as well as the view of

parents in the community. In order to do this study the areas of parental involvement

needed to be divided into home-based and school-based participation. The

perspectives gathered from this research provided insight on some of the issues that

impact parent involvement.

Focus Statement

The purpose of this research is to assess parent, teacher and administrator

perceptions of parent involvement in school and to identify areas of similarity and areas

of conflict in perceptions. The goal of this research is to better understand the myriad of

issues that positively or negatively impact parent involvement. This action research

should provide an understanding of these issues that could support positive change in

how parents are involved in their children’s education. An action plan will be created

based on this project to begin the process of changing how parents are involved in their

child’s education for the target school.


Introduction

For the past eight years I have worked as both an educator and as an

administrator at two early childhood schools. With each passing year I would find that it

grew harder and harder to encourage parents to participate in school-based activities or

school-to-home connection based activities. The first school I worked at, as a teacher, I

worked with parents who were more apt to donating items then coming in to help

organize field trips or be the mystery reader for the classroom. At my current center, as

an administrator, I have listened to the staff discuss at our monthly meetings how they

are having difficulties incorporating activities for the children to extend the learning at

home because “the parents are not returning the items lent to the student” or “the

parents are just leaving the projects that are to be finished at home in the cubbies or

throwing them away in the trash can in the coat room” (C. Henrik, personal

communication, October 22, 2014). With the knowledge and belief that parents are a

child’s first educator I set my focus on the ‘who, what, why, and how’ of parental

involvement to find out why I was seeing the changes and was it happening in other

schools as well. Due to ethical reasons I did not conduct this study at my own school.

Instead I chose the elementary school where the students from the school I worked at

would feed into.

Literature Review

Educators have long since recognized that parents are a child’s first educator.

Both Vygotsky (1978) and Bronfenbrenner (1986) theorized and developed models on

how sociocultural backgrounds and life events are the most important influence of a


child’s development. In fact, parental involvement and participation in education has

been researched and considered an effective element of children's education for over

the past 40 years (Hornby & Lafaele, 2011). In the articles I reviewed for this action

research project the conclusion is the same, parents and schools should work together

with clear communication and expectations in order to help build relationships between

all parties (parent, child, teacher, administration and community) and provide students

with the best possible educational journey (Fantuzzo, Tighe & Childs, 2000; Hornby &

Lafaele, 2011). The research only offers suggestions with little value on implementation

and each involved party perceives and values participation and involvement in different

forms (Fantuzzo, Tighe & Childs, 2000). In order to identify how to build relationships

between the parties I researched how parents, teachers, administration, and the school

community (PTO) perceived the participation and to what respect each level of

participation was valued.

Levels of participation

Epstein (1995, 2001) classified parental involvement and participation behaviors

into six types; basic obligations (buying of school supplies), home to school reciprocal

communications, school based (volunteering), learning activities at home, school

decision making (school board elections, PTO), and community organization

partnerships (intramural sports, Boy/Girl Scouts, Church). The two main categories that

are focused on in this Action research are school-based involvement (volunteering) and

home-based involvement (learning activities at home). I choose these two categories as

they were identified by the staff as areas of weakness in our program (W. Darling,


personal communication, October 22, 2014). Further research of the chosen

categories, home-based and school-based, showed that there are various barriers to

overcome in order to create clear paths of communication and build reciprocal

relationships amongst all parties.

Barriers

Parental involvement is multidimensional and there are a number of

circumstances as to why parental involvement can seem complicated for all involved

parties. There are many unseen factors that contribute to the how and why of

involvement and participation. These factors can include the parents’ apprehension of

their part in their child’s education to the school’s willingness to allow parents to

participate in educational experiences (Summer & Summer, 2014, Mendez, 2010). It is

not just about the recruitment and maintenance of volunteers year to year (LaRocque,

Kleinman & Darling, 2011). Each component of participation has its own perspective

based on methods, procedures, attitude, atmosphere, and actions (Hornby & Lafaele,

2011). Barriers identified by this research are;

● Teacher’s perspective on parents in the classroom based on prior experiences

(Souto-Manning & Swick, 2006).

● Schools valuing only involvement that can be seen, such as homeroom mom or

PTO committee (Taliaferro, DeCuir-Gunby & Allen-Eckard, 2009).

● Cultural backgrounds (LaRocque, Kleinman & Darling, 2011).

● Socioeconomic status (LaRocque, Kleinman & Darling, 2011).

● Communication disadvantages (LaRocque, Kleinman & Darling, 2011).

● Work related schedules (LaRocque, Kleinman & Darling, 2011).


● Parents low level of education (LaRocque, Kleinman & Darling, 2011).

Student achievement

The behaviors and attitudes that teachers and families may exhibit contribute to a

child’s success in school (Mendez, 2010). The student achievement factor ties into

family involvement and participation both in and out of a school setting (LaRocque,

Kleinman & Darling, 2011). Parental involvement is not just volunteering, it includes

helping with homework, reading to the child, and actively participating in the everyday

routines of life. There is a joint connection between a child’s school and their home that

plays a key role in their learning and development (Galindo & Sheldon, 2010).

Parents who actively contribute to their child’s school portfolio, engage in

conversations with their child’s teacher beyond parent-teacher conferences, and build

that reciprocal relationship between home and school help strengthen and expose their

child’s needs (Bates, 2014, Summer & Summer, 2014). Multiple studies have shown

that parent-child interactions at home are a strong influence on children’s cognitive

development (Cheung & Pomerantz, 2012; Calindo & Sheldon, 2012; Mendez, 2010). It

has been proven that parents become more involved in their child’s education when the

school or teachers make a stronger effort to engage them in their child’s learning

(Calindo & Sheldon, 2012).

Conclusion

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (2001) now requires four principles for

parent involvement and participation within a school. These four principles are; multi-


level leadership, involvement as a component of school and classroom organization,

shared responsibilities of educators and families for learning and success in school, and

programs that are inclusive to all families including those not already involved (NCLB,

2001). Even though NCLB brought parental involvement into the spotlight it has not

helped schools clarify how to move beyond talking about involvement to actively

facilitating involvement (LaRocque, Kleinman & Darling, 2011). Teachers and parents

describe participation and involvement in meaningful and valued ways but each is held

to different degrees dependent on their perspective. No amount of participation and

involvement should be undervalued. Supportive collaboration attitudes among parties

should contain dynamic communication and active participation (Fantuzzo, Tighe &

Childs, 2000). Moving away from the negative perceptions and attitudes held by school

officials, parents, and educators on participation is the first step in helping the

involvement of families increase (LaRocque, Kleinman & Darling, 2011).

Based on the readings, this Action Research project will assess current

perceptions of parent involvement by parents, teachers, and administrators. The

questions asked in both the interviews and surveys will be about home based and

school based participation. This way the perspectives and value of both types of

involvement can be identified and measured. By learning how parent’s understand and

see the importance of family involvement, the school will decide on how they can

change its current path to ways that are more conducive for involvement.


Defining the variables

The variable that was taken into consideration for this research project were the

attitudes of the participants. Do the teachers and administration like parent volunteers?

Is the teacher receptive and open to parents being in the classroom? Do the parents

feel welcomed in the classroom? Are the parents a valued for their participation? The

participants’ perspectives and feelings towards the subject of participation could factor

into the positive or negative outcomes of the interviews and surveys.

Research questions

How do parents and teachers value family involvement in the kindergarten years?

Sub questions

● How do teachers/administrators engage and enable the parents to get

involved?

● What types of school involvement do parents and teachers/administrators

prefer and value?

Data collection

I studied how parents view and participate within an elementary school setting

and through home based activities. I also studied how educational professionals

promote and view parent participation within the school. The questions for both the

surveys and interviews were based on the themes provided from the reviewed literature.

In order to accomplish this I sent an online ten-question survey to a local Mom’s group

whose children attended the target school. I also conducted interviews with three


school officials in various roles. The three school officials were the principal, a

kindergarten teacher and the PTO president.

Surveys were sent to families in the local Mom's Club whose students attend

William Shatner Elementary School. Those taking the survey had ten questions of both

multiple choice and open ended. Some of the multiple-choice questions could have

more than one response and therefore the data could not be calculated in percentages.

The goal of the survey was to find out the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of parent participation. The

‘what’ being the types of volunteering they did. The ‘how’ being when they volunteered

or participated with consideration to the barriers (if any) and perceptions of the ‘what’

(types of volunteering). The survey received a total of eleven responses.

Interviews with the principal, D. Umbridge, kindergarten teacher, E. Halsey, and

the president of the PTO, A. Gold were done in order to understand the perception of

the school’s view to see if it was the same as the parents. The questions in the

interviews were similar, however some of the questions were based on the participant's

role within the school. For example all three interviewees were asked about the

recruitment methods the school used and if it is difficult to retain volunteers. E. Halsey,

in addition, was asked about her strategies to involve parents in the classroom and

through school to home connections. This questions could not be asked to A. Gold and

D. Umbridge because they are not classroom teachers.

In addition to the interviews and surveys a journal of my findings, thoughts, and

tribulations of the process was kept in order to identify any researcher biases in order to

rule them out. Scholarly articles on parent involvement, student achievement,

viewpoints of various school and other educational professionals, and barriers or


challenges of parent involvement were read in order to help formulate survey and

interview questions as well as gain background knowledge on the subject.

Data consideration

The parents, teacher, and administrators who participated in this research were

hand-selected individuals. They were chosen based on their educational backgrounds

and extended years of service in the field and within this subject matter. This qualitative

study was done to generate more questions in order to help and take action at the

target school. This study is not intended to be generalizable to everyone. However, it

may provide ideas and provoke thoughts in others to try similar examples or research

this topic in their own setting. Those who participated in the study wanted to be a part

of the research project in order to help be a part of the change that this research would

invite.

The information contained in this study can be measured for reliability and

validity through the following factors. All interviews and surveys were taken with

consent and based on their anonymity. The parent surveys were taken via an online

data collection website. Therefore all was done anonymously. The parents received an

email that was forwarded from me through the leader of the Mom’s club. Since I am not

a member of the Mom’s club I did not have direct access to each member's’ email

address. The email consisted of a link to the online survey and a consent form that

explained the research being conducted and that participation was optional. The email

also stated that the parents could opt out at any time and/or skip any questions they

were not comfortable answering with no consequences. Interviews were conducted

with a variety of school constituents (principal, teacher, and PTO president). From the


interviews I received similar answers to the questions that were the same from interview

to interview by the participants. Therefore I am confident that my study was valid.

All research documented in this paper used pseudonyms and therefore is regarded as

confidential and is only going to be shared in contexts that will not harm any individual.

All answers were provided through open and honest communication and therefore if

these individuals were to be asked the same questions again I am confident that they

would produce the same answers.

Data analysis and interpretation

Parent survey data

Figures 1 through 5 represent the answers from all eleven participants in the

online survey. The participants in this survey were all parents of kindergarten students

at William Shatner Elementary School who belong to the local Mom’s Club. The ten-

question survey was divided into two sections, school based involvement and home

based involvement. All but the tenth question was multiple choice. All the multiple

choice questions had ‘other’ listed as one of the options for parents to write in their own

answer or elaborate on their chosen answer.

Figure 1 shows that when the eleven participants were asked, “Do you volunteer

at your child’s school”, seven answered the questions “yes”, three answered “no”, and

one answered “only when no one else volunteers and someone needs to step up”.

64%

27%

9%

Do you volunteer at your child's school? (Figure 1)

YesNoOnly when no one else has volunteered and someone needs to step up


Figure 2 shows how the eleven parents in the survey define

volunteering/participating in their child’s school. On this question the participants could

choose from a few predetermined responses as well as list other answers. More than

one answer was allowed to be chosen. Out of the eleven participants seven chose

“donating items” and “attending parent-teacher “conferences” as their main way of

participating/volunteering in their child’s school.

64%

27%

9%

Do you volunteer at your child's school? (Figure 1)

YesNoOnly when no one else has volunteered and someone needs to step up


Types of Volunteering

(Figure 2)

Donating Items

Classroom Parent

Attending PTO

Meetings

Library Volunteer

Fun Fairs and other

events held by the PTO

Back to School Night

Attending Parent Teacher

Conferences

Fundraising

School Trip Chaperone

Coaching Athletic Teams

Driving to Events Held

by the School

Reading to or with my child(9)

Helping with homework(8)

Discussing my child's day(9)

Creating activities and projects of our own to accomplish with my

children(3)

What activities do you do at home to encourage and connect what is taught at

school?(Figure 3)


Figure 3 displays the information from one of the survey questions on home-

based parent participation. This question could have multiple answers by one

participant therefore the numbers in the chart total over the number of participants.

Figure 4 contains the data about the participants’ view on school to home

activities. According to the results, the participants mostly view the home to school

activities as a way of participating in their child’s school. It can also be concluded that

the participants value home to school connections because no one answered “no”.

45%

18%

36%

Do you feel the activities you do at home are your way of particpating in

your child's school? (Figure 4)YesSometimesNoThe activites at home are more for family bonding time


Based on the results of figures 1 and 2, parents are more apt to donating

items than physically being present at their child’s school but still see donating as their

main way of participating. The reason parents in this survey are more apt to donating

items than being physically present is due to their work schedule. This reasoning is

based on the results from the “the barriers the participants face” survey question.

Overwhelmingly the answer was “work schedule”. Only one parent said they are not

interested in the opportunities available to them.

In order to find out how to become more inclusive of parents’ busy schedules the

parent online survey asked one open-ended question, “If you could change one thing

about parent participation at the school what would it be?” The answer was unanimous,

“Parent and student engagement that was meaningful and connected the learning”.

Since this was an anonymous online survey, I could not follow up with the parents for an

elaboration of what “meaningful engagement” would look like. From the results of

figures 3 and 4, I can only concluded that parents wanted to be able to have their home

based activities count and connect to in school participation, as a majority of the parents

feel that the activities they conduct to home are their way of participating in their child’s

school. The “meaningful engagement” that the participants would like to see should be

discussed in more detail and will be the focus for the dissemination of this action

research with the faculty at William Shatner Elementary School.

Data from interviews

The interviews for this action research project were conducted with three school

constituents. E. Halsey is one of four kindergarten teachers at William Shatner

Elementary school. She has taught at the district for over 17 years and has exclusively


taught kindergarten for 10 years. D. Umbridge is the principal at William Shatner

Elementary School. D. Umbridge is new to William Shatner Elementary School but has

been a principal in the districts three other elementary schools for 14 years. A. Gold is

the PTO President for William Shatner elementary school. This is A. Gold’s last year as

President, as his youngest child will graduate from the school in June. He has been the

PTO President for 11 years. This district has made the jump from half-day kindergarten

to full day in the fall of 2014. Therefore some of the comparisons made to previous

school years may be slightly askew as the dynamics may have changed in terms of stay

at home parents versus working parents and the fact that before and after care run by

the elementary school can now be offered to the kindergarten students.

The interviewees were asked a series of questions on parent involvement

including recruitment, how they engage parents to volunteer, how do they show parents

they are valued, what emphasis they place on school to home connections, and what

types of parent volunteering is most preferred (donating, classroom parent, joining the

PTO, etc.).

All three interviewees’ answers were similar when asked about, “How does your

school promote parent involvement?” and “Do you find it difficult to recruit and retain

volunteers?” The common answers to recruit and promote parent involvement for

upcoming events were, our Facebook page, twitter, send home flyers, email, using the

virtual backpack system, and newsletters (A. Gold, Personnal communication,

November 5, 2014, E. Halsey, personal communication, November 11, 2014, D.

Umbridge, personal communication, November 13, 2014). For retaining parent

volunteers the school constituents claim that retaining parents is not an issue,


“Every year we have a core base of parents who will step up to do what is

needed and they continue the same path from when their kid starts at the school

in kindergarten until their kid leaves at fourth grade graduation” (A. Gold,

personal communication, November 5, 2014).

In the interview with E. Halsey I asked, “Have you noticed a trend in the past

years of parent involvement rising or declining? Why do you think that is?”

“Since I started teaching in 1996 there has definitely been a decrease in parent

participation. I think this is due to how busy parents are with full-time

jobs/careers, and the influx of new technology allowing parents to continue

working after work hours (text, email). I believe the economy has definitely

caused the number of stay-at-home parents to sharply decline. In the past four

years alone I have fewer volunteers, but I have never had to donate things on my

own. I have always had parent support in that respect. ” (E. Halsey, personal

communication, November 11, 2014).

PTO president A. Gold and Principal D. Umbridge agree that economics have led

to a decline in physical volunteers (A. Gold, personal communication, November 5,

2014, D. Umbridge, personal communication November 13, 2014).

“I wish we could have more parents who would ‘chair’ events. Since last year, I

have often wondered why we can get so many donations both monetarily and for

specific items, but I cannot get many to ‘hold the clipboard’ and lead an event.”

(A.Gold, personal communication, November 5, 2014).

From this statement and through the answers A. Gold gave, he prefers that


parents volunteer their time in addition to just donating items (A.Gold, personal

communication, November 5, 2014). In an effort to help the PTO, D. Umbridge stated

that she has been reaching out to those who donate items frequently to find different

ways to incorporate their physical involvement but has had little luck finding an answer

(Personal communication, November 13, 2014). It is unclear if D. Umbridge prefers

parents to physically volunteer, as she did not give any indication on her preference,

however her efforts to help gather volunteers can be considered that she is in favor of

having parents volunteer at the school.

From the interviews I conducted with the D. Umbridge and E. Halsey the school

does promote school to home connections through, sending home tips on how to read

with your child and newsletters to promote meaningful academic conversations. (E.

Halsey, personal communication, November 11, 2014, D. Umbridge, personal


“If the parent truly wants to help out more than donating items they can volunteer

to cut out or organize projects for hallway displays” (E. Halsey, personal


The perception here, based on the interview answers, is that when a parent

helps in this manner they are meaningfully connecting to their child’s school day

because the parent ‘helped’ make the project (E. Halsey, personal communication,

November 11, 2014). From the interview with E. Halsey, based on her answers, she in

the past has welcomed parent volunteers into her classroom but has not done much to

promote school to home connections or help find ways for working parents to be more

active in their child’s education at school.


This research from the both the online surveys and interviews show that there is

a discrepancy between what the school is doing to engage working parents with limited

time and what options parents would like in order to be a part of their children’s

education. Even though the parents are willing to donate items and help with school to

home activities there are still shortcomings on the school’s part to bridge the gap in

helping the parents connect in a meaningful way to the school and their child’s

education.

Connecting the data

Action plan

The data collected in this research showed how the perception behind parental

involvement was similar between both parties but the ways to achieve such were mixed

and filled with more questions than answers. Both parties agreed that parents need to

be involved in their child’s education and that by participating in school activities is one

way to feel connected to their child’s education. The difference was in how to make the

connection. The research also showed that there is a discrepancy between what the

school is doing to engage working parents with limited time and what options parents

would like in order to be a part of their children’s education. The PTO and principal

wanted more leadership for events. The teacher liked sending items home to be cut,

sorted, and compiled for upcoming projects. The parents wanted meaningful activities

to participate in, beyond volunteering to run the concession stand of the fun fair.

This Action Research provided the opportunity for a deeper look into the multi-

faceted views of parent participation. The data is both powerful and valuable in terms of


bringing about change to the school. The discussion that will be brought forth to the

staff and PTO will be focused on activities that can incorporate what the working

parents would like in order to feel as they have options and are connected to their

children’s education in a meaningful way. Based on the data and themes that emerged

from this study, I plan to take the following steps:

1. Findings will be presented to the principal and PTO president in the form of an

info graphic flyer.

2. A round table discussion on the findings will be presented to the staff at an

upcoming meeting.

3. The parents will receive a take home flyer on the top ten ways they can be

involved in their child’s school. The parent flyer will then be included in the

school’s 2015-2016 edition of the parent handbook.

4. One event will be created for the following school year that takes into

consideration the data from this research.

Final thoughts

This Action research has opened a path of discussion for my center as well as

the elementary school. I found that the needs of the parents are not fully being met and

that the school recognizes there is a problem but does not know how to approach

change. I am looking forward to the meeting at the elementary school and the event

they will put together. It will be interesting to hear the feedback from the parents as I will

be invited to the event to see the outcome and have casual conversations with the

parents. I will also be conducting my own study at my center after the staff and I have

looked at the data and created one event that could be seen as meaningful connection


for the parents. I want the parents at my center to compare past events to the new

meaningful event in order to receive feedback on the direction my center should take.


References

Bates, C (2014). Digital portfolios: Using technology to involve families. Young Children,

69(4), 56-57.

Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development:

Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22, 723-742.

Cheung, C. S. S., & Pomerantz, E. M. (2012). Why does parents' involvement enhance

children's achievement? The role of parent-oriented motivation. Journal of

educational psychology, 104(3), 820.

Epstein, J.L. (1995). School/family/community partnerships: Caring for the children we

share. Phi Delta Kappan, 76, 701-712.

Epstein, J.L. (2001). School, family and community partnerships. Boulder, CO:

Westview Press.

Fantuzzo, J., Tighe, E., & Childs, S. (2000). Family Involvement Questionnaire: A

multivariate assessment of family participation in early childhood

education.Journal of educational psychology, 92(2), 367.

Galindo, C., & Sheldon, S. B. (2012). School and home connections and children's

kindergarten achievement gains: The mediating role of family involvement. Early

Childhood Research Quarterly, 27(1), 90-103.

Hornby, G., & Lafaele, R. (2011). Barriers to parental involvement in education: An

explanatory model. Educational Review, 63(1), 37-52.

LaRocque, M., Kleiman, I., & Darling, S. M. (2011). Parental involvement: The missing


link in school achievement. Preventing School Failure, 55(3), 115-122.

Mendez, J. L. (2010). How can parents get involved in preschool? Barriers and

engagement in education by ethnic minority parents of children attending Head

Start. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 16(1),

26.No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110, § 115, Stat. 1425

(2002).

Souto-Manning, M., & Swick, K.J. (2006). Teachers’ beliefs about parent and family

involvement: Rethinking our family involvement paradigm. Early Childhood

Education Journal, 34(2), 187-193.

Summer, M., and Summer, G. (2014). Creating family learning communities. Young

Children, 69(4), 8-14.

Taliaferro, J. Decuir-Gunby, J., & Allen-Eckard, K. (2009). I can see parents being

reluctant: Perceptions of parental involvement using child and family teams in

school. Child & Family Social Work 14(3), 278-288.

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological

processes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.


Appendix AOnline survey questions

1. Do you volunteer at your child’s school?-yes -no -only when other parents ask me to -only when the teacher contacts me directly-Only when no one else has volunteered-other

2. What makes it difficult to volunteer and/or participate at your child’s school?-work schedule-I have younger children who would need care if I were to participate-I am not interested in the volunteering positions available to me-I participate/volunteer when my schedule allows-other

3. What types of volunteering do you participate in? -donating items

-classroom parent-attend PTO meetings-library volunteer-any function created by the PTO-other

4. Do you attend in a non-volunteering capacity at parent and family social activities held at the school?-only events held during school hours-only evening time events-only when they raffle off appealing prizes-only weekend events-I would like to but cannot due to my work schedule-I participate in every event regardless of time-I am always a volunteer at every event-other

5. Do you feel valued when you participate and/or volunteer?-yes


-no

6. If you could change one thing about parent participation at school what would it be?

7. What types of activities do you do at home to encourage and connect what is taught at school?-reading to/with child-helping with homework/projects-discuss school day with child everyday-create projects/activities of your own to accomplish with your child-other

8. Do you feel that the activities you do at home are your way of participating in your child’s school?-yes-no-sometimes-the activities at home are more for family bonding time-other

9. Do you feel your participation at home or your volunteering at school helps your child achieve more academically?-yes=applies to home based activities-yes=applies to school based participation/volunteering-no

10. Is there anything else you want to tell me about parent participation?


Appendix B

Interview questions

Principal:How does your school promote parent involvement?

Do you find it difficult to recruit and retain volunteers?

What do you see as the biggest challenge for promoting parent participation?

Is there a certain group (by grade) that tends to volunteer more?

What types of involvement do you value the most?

PTO President:How does your school promote parent involvement?


If you could change one thing about parent volunteering what would it be?

Is there a certain group (by grade) that tends to volunteer more?

How do the parents know they are valued as volunteers?

Teacher:How does your school promote parent involvement?


Have you noticed a trend in the past years of parent involvement rising or declining? Why do you think that is?

How much do you want parents to be involved? Do you have a preferred method (donating of items, reading to the class, homeroom mom, etc.)?

If you could change how the parents get involved, what would you do differently?

Do you encourage involvement in other ways besides functions at school?


Do you see a difference in children's academics whose parents are involved (volunteering to be at school functions) compared to those that are not?


Appendix C

Info graphic for staff development


Info graphic for parent involvement

KMiletoActionResearchProjectFinalWriteUp12.19.14

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