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A Guide for Engaging ELL Families: Twenty Strategies for School Leaders

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A Guide for Engaging ELL Families: Twenty Strategies for School Leaders

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Kevin describes the ways in which his school welcomes families into the school community. See more of the interview: http://www.colorincolorado.org/multimedia/experts/video/eberle/ See more on this topic: http://www.colorincolorado.org/principals/family/

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Increasing the Parental Involvement of ELL Students in Our Schools: Improving Teacher-Parent Communication

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Increasing the Parental Involvement of ELL Students in Our Schools: Improving Teacher-Parent Communication

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As an educator it is very important to me to understand the family of my ELLs.  I have found it difficult to communicate with a number of parents efficiently because of their lack of involvement in their child's education due to time constraints or language barriers. AdLit.org suggests, "getting to know ELL families helps build an important relationship based on trust, which in turn can pave the way to student success.” Student comes into the classroom with their own world of experiences, so having an inside look into their home life gives a better understanding of the various elements that influence their learning.
A review of recent research published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (2002) suggests "students whose parents are actively involved in their education, no matter what their income or background, are more likely to:

Earn higher grades and test scores and enroll in higher-level programs.

Be promoted, pass their classes, and earn credits.

Attend school regularly.

Have better social skills, show improved behaviors, and adapt well to school.

Graduate and go on to post-secondary education."

These results alone influence my decision to learn more ways to involve ELL parents in their child's educational development.

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I have found incorporating activities/lessons that reflect or relate to my students' cultural background increases engagement.  With this increased interest, it is my hope that this will be communicated to parents from their children and trigger more of an interest in their daily happenings. So often, I see parents glued to their phones when picking up their children which to me signifies a closed door for communication between parent and child.  Creating activities that build excitement in students will hopefully shine through enough for parents to take notice and engage their children in meaningful conversation about their daily experiences and what they learned.

Through my research I found an interesting program called "Fresh Grade"  which acts as a digital portfolio for parents to see what their child is learning and the progress they are making. Google translate can be accessed and used to help better communicate with parents as well. Although taking this "extra step" may be time consuming, I really believe that this could be an effective way to reach parents of ELLs. Since I already see how much technology has become a daily resource in parents lives, I thought utilizing a technology based program to reach them would be an effective medium to reach them.

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Engaging ELL Families: 20 Strategies for School Leaders

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Engaging ELL Families: 20 Strategies for School Leaders

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Bilingual Family Night for ELL FamiliesBy : Kristina Robertson

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Bilingual Family Night for ELL FamiliesBy : Kristina Robertson

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"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."
- Abraham Lincoln

Grade Levels: K-12
Subject: All

Each of the Latino parents wrote their child's name on a post-it note and stuck it on the board in the front of the classroom. The teacher had invited the families together to discuss ways they could help their child succeed, and they began with this simple activity. When the 33 post-its were on the board, the teacher stated, "50% of Latino students drop out of school by 9th grade." Then she removed half of the post-it notes at random. "Another 20% drop out of high school before 12th grade." She removed another handful of post-its. "Another 10% are not able to pass state required tests and do not receive a diploma." She took off a few more post-its. The room was quiet as everyone looked at the five little post-its left on the board. The teacher continued, "The graduation rate in our district for Latino students is about 22%. National statistics show the Latino college graduation rate at about 14%. This means that of the five Latino students who get high school diplomas, one will receive a college degree."

This was a very stark and depressing picture to contemplate, but the teacher's message was clear - the only way the students were going to be able to make it was with strong support from school and home. The teacher gave her pledge to the families that she would do all she could to provide a quality education for their children, but she also told them that she wanted to partner with the families so they could provide support at home that would ensure their child would be a high school graduate.

Although it may seem like children spend most of their time at school, it's estimated that 70% of their waking hours (including weekends and holidays) are spent outside of school (Michigan Department of Education, 2001). This means that even if a teacher is competent, creative, and able to reach every student during the school day, there are many more hours of the day that are spent mainly in the student's home. Therefore, a strong home-school connection is crucial to the success of the student.

According to a review of recent research published by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (2002), students whose parents are actively involved in their education, no matter what their income or background, are more likely to:

Earn higher grades and test scores and enroll in higher-level programs.

Be promoted, pass their classes, and earn credits.

Attend school regularly.

Have better social skills, show improved behaviors, and adapt well to school.

Graduate and go on to post-secondary education.

Additional research shows that more and more families from a wider range of income and educational levels, as well as from diverse ethnic and cultural groups, are engaged in supporting their children's learning at home. Encouraging greater involvement at school from all students' families may be an important strategy for addressing the achievement gap between high-literacy and low-literacy families. When schools support parent involvement at home and school, students make greater gains. When schools build partnerships with families by responding to their concerns and honoring their contributions, they succeed in sustaining connections that are aimed at improving student achievement. ( For help setting up parent outreach workshops that focus on literacy development go to the Colorín Colorado - AFT Toolkit for Teachers: Reaching Out to Hispanic Parents of English Language Learners.)

The question then becomes: if family support is critical to the ongoing academic achievement of your students, how can a strong partnership be established and maintained throughout the school year? I believe it begins with the family night at the beginning of the school year. At this meeting a teacher can achieve two objectives:

establish shared expectations with the parents about the upcoming school year

offer suggestions and support to assist families in helping their child.

How to host a successful family night for bilingual families

First things first - get the parents to the meeting. Be sure to create invitations that the families will be able to understand. This may mean sending translated invitations and/or making a phone call to the family to personally invite them to the meeting. It will help them understand how valuable their participation is. Some schools also advertise book fairs or raffles that add a little more interest to the outing. Encouraging parent involvement may also mean considering the option of having the meeting at a location more convenient for the families - such as a community center or church. Many of my ELL families only had one vehicle, and public transportation in Minnesota is still a developing concept, so sometimes it made sense to have the meeting at a place that was within walking distance of where many of the families lived.

If at all possible, provide food and childcare. Providing light snacks and beverages really help to put people at ease and set a friendly, non-threatening tone for the meeting. Many parents may feel intimidated by the formal school setting, and food is a universal way to welcome new friends. Childcare is very important if you want to have the parents' undivided attention. It will allow them an opportunity to participate effectively and ask questions. Some administrators are able to help pay for these items through Title I funding or other special family involvement funds, so be sure to discuss it at a staff meeting prior to the first family night.

Make sure there are staff members available who will be able to speak to the families in their home language. If you are hosting a family meeting with English speakers and Spanish speakers, you may want to stop to allow time for interpretation. If your school has many Spanish-speaking families and very few bilingual staff members, teachers may want to run two meetings simultaneously - one for Spanish speakers and one for English speakers - to cover the same educational support topics, and then bring families together in classrooms for social interaction with their child's teacher.

Have a clear agenda, and begin and end on time. Your time, as well as the families', is very valuable and it's important to use the time wisely. Following an agenda and organizing needed information in a "Parent Folder" will help parents understand the expectations for the year and how they can help their child succeed. As usual, offer translated materials whenever possible.

Offer an "ELL Summary Newsletter" where families can receive weekly school information. I created an "ELL Newsletter" for my students when I realized that many families were overwhelmed with the amount of paper that was coming home each week and found it difficult to figure out which items they really needed to attend to. My "ELL Newsletter" was printed on bright yellow paper in Spanish and simple English and offered a summary of the events and issues parents needed to be aware of. At the beginning of the year I showed the "ELL Newsletter" to the families and said, "If you only read one thing in your child's backpack - read this. And always call if you have questions or aren't sure what you need to do."

"Show" rather than "tell" about the curriculum. When you tell the families what the children will be working on during the year, show examples of past student work so families can see what you mean. It will also help them recall the information when they are helping their child at home.

Emphasize the importance of attending conferences and communicating regularly. Make sure the parents know the date of the first conferences and that they have your phone number and e-mail information. Describe the kinds of things you need to communicate about frequently - absences, school work, behavior concerns, accomplishments, upcoming events, etc. Families from a different country probably have different expectations about communicating with their children's school, so covering the basic expectations is a good idea. For example, one of my ELL students went on vacation with his family for a month, and the parents had not called to inform the school. When they returned, they were very surprised to find out that their son had been withdrawn from school due to the long, unexplained absence.

If there is time, do a fun learning activity with the families. If families are able to interact with their children during an educational activity in the classroom, they are more likely to participate in a similar activity when it is sent home again. The activity should be simple and something that the families can take with them, such as cards for matching games, dice for math activities, or word cards for making sentences.

Last, but not least, find opportunities for families to volunteer in ways that will work for them. Some of my students' mothers did not have a lot of prior formal education and felt uncomfortable coming to the classroom to do reading or math support. However, they were excellent cooks, and because they worked in the evening, they were able to bring treats to the children and help organize celebrations when we finished our units. Many parents also don't realize how valuable their input can be when they talk about the importance of school, go to the library with their children, encourage reading and do school success, and regularly ask their children what they learn in school every day.

With creativity, teachers can think of many ways families can volunteer - whether it is helping to cut out flashcards or reading in the students' native language. I believe that providing parents with an opportunity to visit the school regularly and contribute their time and talents helps build trust and a stronger home-school connection. As the African proverb says, "It takes a whole village to raise a child." The American community is quite different from an African village, but through parent meetings, a teacher can play a strong role in bringing the community together to raise children who will graduate from high school, and one day, college.
Colorín Colorado: Reaching Out to Hispanic Parents of English Language Learners
Reading Rockets and the American Federation of Teachers have developed the Colorín Colorado-AFT Toolkit for Teachers: Reaching Out to Hispanic Parents of English Language Learners. This toolkit includes background information on reaching out to Hispanic parents, four sample workshops, videos in Spanish and English, and bilingual handouts.
Colorin Colorado: El día de los niños/El día de los libros
El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book) is a celebration based on childhood and literacy that began in 1997. Borrowing from the traditional Mexican holiday "El día de los niños," the American version expanded to include literacy when acclaimed author Pat Mora took up the cause in 1997. A year later, the U.S. Congress officially designated April 30 as "Day of the Child."
Parents + Schools = Successful Children: Practioner Guide
The Parents + Schools = Successful Children series is a project developed by the National Center for Family Literacy. The project includes bilingual materials to promote the importance of parent involvement and literacy support at home. This Practitioners' Guide offers numerous ideas and resources for reaching out to parents.
Cuentos y Más
Celebrate the joy of reading with Cuentos y Más, a dynamic show offered by the Arlington Public Library in Arlington, VA and winner of the Outstanding Children's Program award by the Virginia Public Library Directors Association. The program features the talented and engaging bilingual storyteller Mariela Aguilar, who tells stories in English and Spanish and then visits places in the community such as the library. Produced for television, the program is now available as an online video for free viewing.
Great Schools: Back-to-School Night
This article discusses some ideas for parents so that they can make the most of back-to-school night at their child's school, as well as information that they should take with them from the event about their child's school, classroom, and teacher (such as important contact information). This article is available in English and Spanish.
Campaña Quetzal
Campaña Quetzal is a coalition of parent, youth, individuals, educators, and organizations committed to unleashing the academic and personal potential of each Latino student and eliminating the academic achievement gap.
Reading at Home with Your Child
Delta Publishing sells videos, DVDs, and handouts available in English and Spanish for educators to teach parents how to read with their children.
Los Bloguitos
Los Bloguitos, managed by children's authors and illustrators, is a Spanish-language blog for Spanish-speaking children. It highlights colorful tales, poetry, drawings, and more.
U.S. Department of Education: Helping Your Child Series
The U.S. Department of Education's "Helping Your Child" publication series offers downloadable PDF booklets and brochures in English and Spanish with practical lessons and activities to help preschool and elementary school children to master reading, understand the value of homework, and develop important skills and values.
U.S. Department of Education: Resources For Parents
This main page for parents leads parents through important issues in their child's education, such as school involvement and finanical aid. There are also helpful downloadable guides and pamphlets.
U.S. Department of Education: Family Involvement Case Study
Additionally, the U.S. Deptartment of Education also features a case study on Hueco Elementary School in El Paso, TX that describes the process the school went through to increase parent involvement and develop better partnerships with their Spanish-speaking families. This article is part of the Department's online archive.
Education World: Parent Involvement in Schools
Practical family meeting ideas with links to other websites and resources.
Search Institute: Developmental Assets
A listing of the 40 Assets that are recommended to raise successful young people. Asset lists are categorized by age level. A Spanish version of the list is also available.
Parent Institute for Quality Education
This website outlines the work PIQE has been doing to promote parent involvement by providing nine-week training courses that will assist parents in understanding the U.S. educational system and becoming better advocates for their children.

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"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." - Abraham Lincoln Each of the Latino parents wrote their child's name on a post-it note and stuck it on the board in the front of the classroom.

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An article entitled, "Engaging ELL Families: 20 Strategies for School Leaders" suggests ways to create a welcoming school and classroom environment for students and parents.  Some of these ideas include:

Enlisting a bilingual morning greeter to get the day started on the right foot. (morning announcements)

Creating a special area for families to gather such as an extra classroom or lounge

Displaying maps and flags from your students' native countries

Knowing how important parent involvement is in their child's life, I am motivated to consider more open ended ideas when approaching my lessons/activities. Hearing from the students about what their interests are and their cultural practices will help me to implement more create approaches. My intent is to help parents see their child reflected in their daily schooling experiences and encourage more parent involvement even in the simplest form such as more conversations between child and parent.

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