English Language Learner KnowledgeBase for Administrators & Teachers

A Toolkit for Title I Parental Involvement

This SEDL website provides a Toolkit for Title One Parental Involvement, which is designed to provide information to those who are implementing Title I Part A parental involvement provisions. In this toolkit, SEDL provides detailed explanations of the Title I, Part A parental involvement provisions as well as 33 tools to assist state departments of education, districts and schools in meeting these requirements. The toolkit includes information on: (1) Policy, Planning and Building Capacity, (2) Communication, Notification, Reporting and Information Sharing, (3) Parent Rights and Options, (4) Meaningful Involvement and Decision Making and (5) Fund Allocation.

AFT Toolkit for Teachers: Reaching Out to Hispanic Parents of English Language Learners

This Colorin' Colorado website offers The Toolkit for Teachers: Reaching Out to Hispanic Parents of English Language Learners,which was developed by Colorín' Colorado, Reading Rockets and the American Federation of Teachers. This toolkit includes background information on reaching out to Hispanic parents, four sample workshops, videos in Spanish and English, booklists and bilingual handouts.

Tips for Teachers on Family Engagement

This PTA document is a one page tip sheet for teachers on Family Engagement.

Toolkit for Hispanic Families

As noted via the U.S. Department of Education's website, "This U.S. Department of Education toolkit will show Hispanic families what to expect from their schools, their teachers and their child at all ages and grade levels. It will tell them how to help their child through school, what resources are available and what they, their family and their community can do to help their child learn."

Alternate version in Spanish

Discover the Power of Partnerships (in Spanish)

This PTA guide shows how to build a successful family-school partnership the PTA way. En Espanol

Family-School-Community Partnerships

This National Center for Safe Supporting Learning Environments website focuses on family, school and community partnerships.

Head Start Parent, Family, and Community Engagement Framework

This Head Start website features the Head Start Parent, Family and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework provides programs with a research-based, organizational guide for implementing Head Start Program Performance Standards for parent, family and community engagement. Download PDF Head Start and Early Head Start staff work together with families, other professionals and community partners in ways that promote equity, inclusiveness and cultural and linguistic responsiveness.

National Standards for Family-School Partnerships

This National PTA website shares national standards for family-school partnerships. There is also a national standards implementation guide and additional resources for creating a successful family-school partnership. En Espanol

A Parents' Guide to ESSA

This guide aims to help parents like you understand the flexibility provided to states and school districts in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a landmark federal education law. We know that parents are the most important advocates for their children. Because states and school districts have significant flexibility in how they meet the requirements of the law, you have an opportunity to influence how they use that flexibility to best help your child. We hope that this document empowers you with information that will help you advocate for better education for your child and every child in your state and district and help you make the right choices for your family. Betsy DeVos -Secretary of Education

Best Practices for Parent Involvement of Immigrant Secondary Students

The "Compendium of Best Practices for Immigrant Students in Secondary Schools" from the Council for Chief State School Officers identifies practices aimed at parent involvement. This document lists those practices.

Handbook on Family and Community Engagement

Thirty-six of the best thinkers on family and community engagement were assembled to produce this handbook. The authors tell what they know in plain language, succinctly presented in short chapters with practical suggestions for states, districts and schools. The vignettes in the handbook provide vivid pictures of the real life of parents, teachers and kids.

National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE) Resources about Parental Involvement

NCHE website provides information on a variety of topics related to Parental Involvement.

Parent Involvement Under ESSA

The document offers two resources that explain the parent involvement requirements under the ESSA and a third resource that provides an overview of ESSA for parents. The parent resource is available in English and Spanish and PDF formats for sharing with parents.

Parent Involvement Under Title I

This U.S. Department of Education web site offers information is designed to assist local educational agencies, schools and parents in meeting the requirements of parental involvement provisions required under Title I, Part A. Please refer to the law for more specificity and citations.

Family Engagement Strategies

This Center for Community School Strategies website supports the belief that families should always be acknowledged and respected as the child’s first teacher and best advocate. Providing family engagement services and resource, families are welcomed and respected as true partners in their children’s education. They are equipped with resources and information to fully engage in the learning and development of their child and take the lead in planning and decision making.

Ideas to Implement Communication Requirements with Parents

This document summaries the deliberations of a workshop on communicating with parents from the 2002 Leadership Conference sponsored by the National Network of Partnership Schools.

Tips for ELL Parent Involvement

The content and thoughts for this document were derived from interviews conducted with ELL practitioners from several Nebraska school districts. The article offers practical ideas for encouraging ELL parents to be involved with their child's school.

Latino Outreach and Family Support

This Center for Community School Strategies website features Latino Family Outreach and Family Support resources.

Spanish Version of Educational Resources

This U.S. Department of Education website provides this translated version of relevant information for Spanish-speaking parents.

Awareness of Cultural Differences in Parental Involvement

This Department of Education archived documents focuses on Bridging School-Family Differences.

Family/School Partnerships

This link to National Parent Teacher Association's website provides information on family/school partnerships.

Parent Brochures

The Center for Literacy at the University of Illinois at Chicago offers a series of bilingual brochures for parents on an array of subjects about involving parents in their child's education. The project was funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The brochures are available in English and Spanish versions.

Six Types of School-Family-Community Involvement

This National Network of Partnership Schools webpage discusses six types of cooperation among families, schools and other community organizations as identified by Johns Hopkins University Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships Director Joyce Epstein.

The Impact of School, Family and Community Connections on Student Achievement

The resource "is a synthesis of 51 studies about the impact of family and community involvement on student achievement and effective strategies to connect schools, families and community." The document offers links to the complete report, a summary of key findings and a self-assessment tool. It provides a compilation of relevant research studies on the impact of school, family and community connections on student achievement.

Writing to Linguistically Diverse Audiences

Writing effectively for an audience with a wide variety of backgrounds is difficult. This page provides several resources to help writers craft their message to reach the widest possible audience.

Strategies for Community Engagement in School Turnaround

This Department of Education website provides this Reform Support Network March 2014 PDF report on Strategies for Community Engagement for School Turnaround. This report examines one key strategy for making school turnaround more effective: community engagement.

Elements of Effective Family-School Partnerships

This webinar provides participants with a framework that identifies the elements of effective family-school partnerships. Participants explored four versions of family-school partnerships and assessed where their school community falls within the framework. The webinar explores various strategies to help schools move from basic levels of partnership to more effective and systemic family-school partnerships that support learning and school improvement.

Parent, Family, Community Involvement in Education

This NEA policy brief shares that Parents, families, educators and communities—there’s no better partnership to assure that all students pre-K to high school—have the support and resources they need to succeed in school and in life.

Parent Involvement Checklist

This checklist is designed to serve as a tool to help LEA administrators, parents and community leaders determine whether their schools and school districts are on the right track when it comes to involving parents, as Section 1118 of ESSA requires.