8 Ways to Encourage Family Engagement in Secondary Schools

Read the informative article from Edutopia about engaging families in educating children.  The author of the article, Heather Wolpert-Gawron, states that it is vital for schools to actively search out all families with determination.

According to DropOutPrevention.org, studies show that with more family engagement:

There is greater student achievement.
Student attendance is higher.
Graduation rates are higher.
Alcohol abuse is lower.
Students from diverse backgrounds and who are farthest behind benefit.

So how does a school walk this tightrope of asking for age-appropriate involvement? Here are eight ways to engage families:

1. Engage Families in Their Elementary School First
2. Create a Parent Advocacy Group
3. Take School Information on the Road
4. Utilize Your Local Businesses
5. Find Out What Your Families Need
6. Reach Out to Families Just to Build a Relationship
7. Provide Trainings
8. Host an EdCamp for Parents

We know that in every school there are the families who will always be involved and there are those who, for whatever reason, might not be. The school, however, can no longer be a part of the reason for this split.

Trussville City Schools has a plan in place for actively reaching out to parents.  We are looking forward to hosting our first Parent Edcamp, June 23, at HTHS.

To read the entire article, click here.