12/24/2007

Parent Involvement Matters

Parent involvement in a preschool setting improves academic scores and the social emotional development of children. If this involvement is continued, it will contribute to improved academics in grade school and improved graduation rates from high school. Thus observes Joseph Henry, executive director of the Shoshone and Arapahoe Head Start Program on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. In his paper, "Academic Success and Preschool Parent Involvement," he describes the results of research conducted at his Head Start site...

"A parent involvement plan was implemented in the Head Start Program.... The plan allowed parents to become involved in the education of their children. This involvement included the development of a personal relationship with the child, the completion of homework, high expectations, communication with Head Start teachers, and the development of a partnership that included a welcoming environment for parents in the program. The hypothesis was that parent communication with the children and teachers, high expectations, a literacy-friendly environment in the home, and a welcoming school environment resulted in increased academic and social-emotional performances for children.

"The results of the research confirmed that when parents are involved in the education of the child, that child is more focused, comfortable, and trusting and excels in both academics and social behavior. The children of all parents who were exposed to parent involvement demonstrated significant improvements in all categories: How much involvement and what type of involvement are the questions. It appears from the research that the extent and type of involvement depends on the location and the audience. There is consensus on the need for parents, schools, and communities to partner in the format acceptable to that community, for the good of the child. The context is the key and what occurs on a Native American Indian reservation may not be appropriate for New York City. [But] the principles are similar in all locations: the respect, the welcoming environment, and the acceptance of all social and economic groups..."

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Only one week remains in our Annual End of Year Book Sale. We are discounting all the books in our online bookstore by 20% during this sale. Twenty-nine Exchange books, such as those listed below, are now on sale in the Exchange Bookstore.

• Caring Spaces, Learning Places: Children's Environments that Work by James Greenman
• The Power of Play by David Elkind
• From Conflict to Peace Building
• On Being a Leader
• Staff Challenges
• The Complete Parenting Exchange Library

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