Establishing systematic, ongoing family engagement is essential for a strong home-school partnership. Schools can develop partnerships in many ways; but there are several common elements that signal strong parental involvement on behalf of their students at school. Strong family-school partnerships include the following common elements:
Communication with families is one of the highest priorities. This is accomplished using a variety of effective communication tools to meet individual family needs. Consider communicating in non-traditional ways.
Families periodically and routinely are asked how the school is doing in meeting their children’s education needs and how the school can be welcoming to families.
Students and families are comfortable offering suggestions to staff and administrators.
The school’s actions and activities indicate respect for the ethnic diversity in the school.
The school offers opportunities for families to increase their own ability to become actively involved; e.g., helps families get the necessary information to make informed choices about schools.
School staff is responsive and returns calls in a timely fashion, even when an answer is not readily available. Families know that staff care and are looking into their questions.