According to the Mississippi Department of Education, when parents and community members get involved with schools, children greatly benefit. Adult and community participation validates the necessity of school for children and encourages children to study harder. The Mississippi Department of Education additionally reports that having parents and communities involved in schools improves school quality and enhances student academic achievement.
Identification
Parent involvement in schools includes parent education, such as lecture series on standardized tests, a monthly recommended reading list for their children, counseling classes on child discipline and parent-teacher conferences. Parents also get involved in their children's schools by volunteering to tutor or coach after-school sports teams. Community involvement in schools entails partnerships with local organizations. Examples are having students volunteer in retirement homes or holding car washes after school to raise funds for the local March of Dimes.
Significance
Parents play a key role in the overall functioning of a school by, for example, providing suggestions for the school at the Parent Teacher Association meetings. Parents who get involved in their children's education also set a positive example for their children and demonstrate to them the importance of education.
Schools often play a key role in the community by volunteering and taking part in important local causes, such as charity fundraisers. Having community involvement in schools helps students feel empowered to take active roles as citizens in their local communities by continuing volunteering even after leaving school.
Benefits
There are also benefits to community business involvement in schools. Businesses can benefit students by providing mentoring, shadowing and internship opportunities for students to develop new skills. This brings positive attention to the company from parents in the same community. Businesses are also beneficial for schools in that they can provide necessary funding and human resources.
Considerations
Parents wanting to get more involved in schools can start by shadowing their child at school for one day or offering to help their child's teacher as a volunteer. Parents can also get involved with school fundraisers and after-school activities their children take part in, such as Girl or Boy Scouts or a sports team. School administrators can solicit more community involvement by reaching out to local organizations and offering support with fundraising efforts, such as doing school bake sales to benefit the local American Red Cross chapter.
Other Tips for Schools
School officials can get parents more involved in schools by creating parent resource centers that offer information about child development, parenting and support services. School officials can also partner with community organizations to create workshops for parents on topics like parenting skills. School teachers can communicate with parents of students who are performing at the bottom of their classes by asking to set up parent meetings in person, sending letters and making phone calls.
