Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997) found that the quality of parent involvement seems to depend on three variables:

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1 1 Improving Student Achievement by Increasing School-Family Communication and Family Involvement Kate Orsinger and Juan Otal Carlin Springs Elementary Submitted June 2002 Introduction Family involvement in the schools has many components and numerous methods of implementation. There is a plethora of research stating that family involvement is critical to improving student achievement. Strong Families, Strong Schools (1994) states, Studies of individual families show that what the family does is more important to student success than family income or education. This is true whether the family is rich or poor, whether the parents finished high school or not, or whether the child is in preschool or in the upper grades (Coleman 1966; Epstein 1991a; Stevenson & Baker 1987; de Kanter, Ginsberg, & Milne 1986; Henderson & Berla 1994; Keith and Keith 1993; Liontos 1992; Walberg, n.d.) Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997) found that the quality of parent involvement seems to depend on three variables: 1. The parent s understanding of his or her role in the child s life 2. The parent s level of belief that s/he can help the child succeed in school, and 3. The general opportunities for involvement presented by both the child and the school. Joyce Epstein, Director of the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University, identified six categories of involvement that have shown a positive effect on student achievement: 1. Providing for children s basic needs. 2. Improving communication between home and school. 3. Helping children at home with school work. 4. Volunteering and participating at the school. 5. Participating in governance and advocacy activities. 6. Collaborating with the community. Our action research attempted to incorporate areas from both Hoover- Dempsey & Sandler and Epstein. We encompassed the second and third variables from Hoover-Dempsey & Sandler and the second, third, and fourth variables from Joyce Epstein s categories of involvement. Mrs. Orsinger, first grade teacher, examined the effects of increasing family involvement through home-school activities and Mr. Otal, fifth grade teacher, emphasized improving

2 2 communication between home and school as means of improving student achievement. Culture, language and educational differences were major factors in designing and implementing our action research. We took into consideration the differences in language, parenting practices and expectations of parental involvement our parents maintain due to their experiences and cultural values. Traditional American values contrast with many of our parents cultural values. Vertical rather than horizontal approach to authority, group rather than individual orientation, and a need for structure as opposed to a perspective which is more tolerant of uncertainty are several areas of contrast. In addition, many of our parents cultures do not emphasize parental involvement and communication. Many of our parents began the school year with little prior knowledge on the positive effects of family involvement and improved communication. Background Carlin Springs Elementary is a newly constructed school whose diverse population moved from an older building down the street this school year. Five hundred sixty-three students attend from over thirty countries around the world. Hispanic students constitute 61.6% of the student population, followed by Blacks (14.7%), and White (8.2%). A majority receive free or reduced lunch. Most students, 98%, live within a mile of school, but over 90% ride school buses because of the heavy traffic on Carlin Springs Road. The majority of students live in a poor section of Arlington, Columbia Heights, in aged apartment buildings with few amenities. Mr. Otal s class has students of Afghani, Pakistani, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Cuban, Honduran, North African, African American, El Salvadoran, Phillipino, and Bolivian descent. Fifty-two percent are Hispanic, with Spanish as their first language. Sixty-one percent are English as a second language speakers (62.7% students at Carlin Springs receive English as a Second Language support). Sixty-one percent of the parents do not have enough literacy in English to understand communication from the school in English. Sixty-seven percent of the Hispanic parents need communication to be solely in Spanish. Twenty-two percent of the parents were born in the United States, while eighty-seven percent of the students were born in the United States. Mrs. Orsinger s class has students of North African, El Salvadorian, Bolivian, Pakistani, Mexican, Iranian, Caucasian, and Haitian descent. Forty-four percent are Hispanic, with Spanish as their first language. Thirty-nine percent are English as a Second Language students. Seventeen percent are native English speakers. Fifty- five percent of the parents do not have the skills in English to understand communication from school in English. Of that fifty-five percent, forty-five percent need communication in Spanish, which Mrs. Orsinger can provide. Eleven percent of the parents were born in the United States, while fifty percent of the students were born in the United States.

3 3 Design Mr. Otal s primary research question asked if increasing parental communication would improve parents ability to support their children s learning and improve student achievement. The major strategies utilized were doubling the number of parent-teacher conferences, sending home mid-quarter reports and calling parents at least one time per grading period. A related strategy included using student portfolios to discuss students strengths and weaknesses at our parent-teacher conferences. In addition, students were included in the conferences so that they could add information and insight into their portfolios (the conferences were renamed Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences). At each conference Mr. Otal stated the purpose of his action research project so that parents would better understand the important role they play in their child s education. Inviting parents to our unit celebrations (four per year) was intended to better inform parents about what their child was learning in school. Videotapes were made of our unit celebrations so that parents unable to attend could still see the students projects, skits, and songs. One celebration was held at night so that more parents could attend (many of our parents work jobs that do not allow leave time for school events). Friday Folders were also utilized so that parents could see their child s work each week and stay informed on what lessons, activities, and experiments the class had accomplished. Parents were informed on the grading system at Back To School Night and at the first Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences. Friday Folder papers were graded and marked with excellent (A), very good (B), good job (C), or needs improvement. Unit outlines were also sent home (English only this year) so that parents were informed about what was going to be learned in the weeks ahead. The unit outlines explained the objectives in math, language arts, and content (social studies and science). They also included the project choices for each unit that students needed to choose and discuss with their families. In addition, each unit outline restated the expectations for students in each subject area. For example, it reminded students that they are expected to participate in class discussions, complete all homework, read for thirty minutes each night, and write entries in their writer s notebook at least three times a week. Students and parents signed the unit outline indicating that they had discussed it together. A final strategy was creating and tabulating a parent survey. The survey included questions on parents feelings concerning parent conferences, portfolios, and parental involvement (see appendix). The survey was completed after the first and fourth Parent-Student-Teacher conferences. Mrs. Orsinger Mrs. Orsinger believed that the students would receive more support from home if families were included. Also, that strong communication ties would be built in order to increase insight into students lives outside of school to find reason behind certain behaviors or occurrences. She expected an increase in student growth should the family be included in the activities involved in the learning process.

4 4 This was implemented through a number of activities. The first activity was a newsletter sent home each month with a calendar of both school activities as well as classroom activities to keep parents up to date on happenings as well as classes their students should be prepared for, such as art, PE, and library. The newsletter was sent home in both English and Spanish and included a section for parents to respond to a question or participate in a class activity. This was to increase two-way communication between the families and the teacher. The second activity was a Family Stories Notebook as a part of the first grade family unit. This was a notebook that was taken home each night by a student and the assignment was for the student to talk with their family about when they were little or a certain memory be it a vacation or their country, students were to write the story down in the notebook or illustrate it and share it with the class the following day. The directions were included in both English and Spanish inside the notebook. The students then received a bound copy of all the stories to keep. Families were asked to complete a questionnaire (see Appendix) and give feedback on the activity. Another activity included in the Family Unit was a class recipe book. Each student was assigned the task of recording a recipe from their country and bringing it in to share with the class to become part of a classroom cookbook. This assignment was also in conjunction with the Carlin Springs International Dinner. The students were then asked to make the food and bring it to share at the dinner. Each family would then receive a copy of the class cookbook. Families were asked to complete a questionnaire for this activity as well. Mrs. Orsinger also worked on the Carlin Springs Families And School Together Committee. This committee was established to increase communication and activities between home and school to include families in their children s learning process and education. This committee has hosted many activities for families to do together such as computer classes in the school computer lab and a family histories project to put together a scrapbook of family memories. Many other activities are planned for the coming school year. Within the classroom, the use of homework bags for various subject areas has been established in order to allow the students to share some learning with their families. Each bag includes a story that pertains to a unit or area of study, a reading buddy to read with, and a notebook to record how the time was spent with the book and the buddy either through writing or an illustration. Students keep these bags from Monday until Friday and are assigned to share them with their families. Mrs. Orsinger has also increased the number of positive phone calls home to families to keep them updated on the accomplishments of their child. This has also been done through personal letters written to the students to thank them for things that they have done, goals they have achieved or accomplishments in behavior or academics. These notes are to be shared with their families to celebrate their successes. Analysis The parent surveys provided a look into parents views on the following issues:

5 5 Whether parent conferences provided information on child s progress Whether parents felt better informed on what their child was studying Feelings on importance of parent conferences Whether parent conferences are the best means of learning about their child s progress If four conferences are better than two Value of portfolios to parents Parental involvement in the classroom Feelings on parental involvement Below are the results from the parents surveys: Table 1 Results from Parents s First Second First Second First Second First Second 1. Parent conferences gave me information on my child s progress 2. I am more informed on what my child is studying in school after Parent-Teacher conferences 3. Parent conferences are important 4. I learn more about my child s progress through parent conferences than any other means 5. I think four conferences a year are better than two. 6. My child s Strongly Agree 75% 82% Agree 25% 18% 58% 73% 42% 27% 58% 82% 42% 18% 50% 73% 42% 27% 8% Disagree Strongly Disagree 58% 64% 17% 27% 17% 8% 9%

6 6 portfolio gave me real examples of where my child is academically. 7. I plan on visiting the classroom to see my child at work. 8. Parental involvement is critically important to my child s success at school. 17% 64% 58% 27% 25% 9% 25% 27% 42% 45% 33% 27% 58% 64% 42% 36% The percentage of parents attending the four conferences is shown in the table below. Three students, all boys, moved to other school districts for better housing during the first semester. All three families were English proficient and bilingual. Three new students, all boys, were added to my roster during the second semester. Two of the three boys came from another Arlington elementary school and the third boy was promoted from the ESOL/HILT class into a mainstream class. None of the three families are English proficient. Table 2 Percentage of Parents Attending Parent Conferences First Quarter Second Quarter Third Quarter Fourth Quarter 18 conferences 20 conferences 19 conferences 18 conferences 22 students 22 students 21 students 22 students 82% 91% 90% 82% Other measures of student achievement were used to gain a sense of Mr. Otal s class. Below are the writing sample scores from September and May. A score of 16 represents a passing score for September. A score of 18 represents a passing score for the May sample. The highest possible score is 24. Table 3 Writing Sample Scores for Mr. Otal s Class Student September May One Two Three Four Five Six 18 21

7 7 Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Twenty-two percent (22%) passed the September writing sample. Thirty-eight percent (38%) passed the May writing sample. The average score increased four points from September to May. The preliminary results from the state s writing assessment show that 79% of Mr. Otal s students passed. Below is a chart showing the homework completion rates from the first quarter and the fourth quarter (up to 5/22/02). Student Table 4 Homework Completion Rates Fall Homework Completion Spring Homework Completion One 85% 87% Two 80% 71% Three 88% 100% Four 100% 80% Five 79% 53% Six 100% 87% Seven 85% 100% Eight 83% 80% Nine 100% 93% Ten 79% 93% Eleven 81% 100% Twelve 95% 87% Thirteen 85% 93% Fourteen 44% 40% Fifteen 77% 67% Sixteen 85% 80% Below are the initial reading levels and the May reading levels for our Accelerated Reader program. This program is an independent reading program

8 8 in which students check-out Accelerated Reader books from our library (over 1,000 titles), read the book independently, and take a short, multiple choice quiz on the computer. If a student shows success at a certain level the teacher moves the student up to a higher level. Table 5 Accelerated Reader Reading Levels Student Initial May Level Level One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Eleven Twelve Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Mrs. Orsinger s Class Newsletter/Monthly Calendar- The newsletter did not establish as much two way communication as was anticipated resulting in only 2-4 parent responses a month to the monthly question or request. The monthly calendar did result in students being better prepared for certain specials classes and events as a result of having the calendar to refer to each month. Family Stories Notebook and Questionnaire- There was one hundred percent participation in the notebook project. Each student recorded their own story or else had family support in writing it down. Every student then shared their story with the class the following day. The questionnaires were distributed two times as a result of only receiving seventeen percent back the first time. Sixty-one percent were received from the second distribution. Thirty-six percent responded that their child wrote in the notebook. Seventy-three percent indicated that they helped their child write the story. Forty-five percent talked about family stories with their child. Twenty-seven percent responded that their

9 child shared the story with their class. Thirty-six percent provided comments or feedback, twenty-seven percent being positive and nine percent being negative. Class Recipe Book, International Dinner and Questionnaire- There was seventy-two percent participation in bringing in the recipes, thirty-three percent attended the International Dinner and five percent brought food in to share with the class as a result of not being able to attend the dinner due to a schedule conflict with a religious celebration. The questionnaires were distributed two times also receiving the same seventeen percent the first time. Sixty-one percent were also received from the second distribution. Sixty-four percent of the families turning in the questionnaire indicated that they selected a recipe and also sent it to school. Thirty-six percent cooked the recipe and brought it to the International Dinner. Forty-five percent indicated that they came to the International Dinner. Twenty-seven provided feedback and comments and all were positive. Families And Schools Together Committee- the committee has had a continual increase in family participation in its activities since activities began this school year. Mrs. Orsinger has been actively involved with the planning and implementation of the activities yet has not had much participation with parents directly linked to her class. Homework bags-there has been one hundred percent participation of the homework bags thus far. They were implemented late in the year, but they have increased the motivation of the students. Families have shown that they are involved with the assignment through their participation in the notebook included in each of the bags. Phone calls/student letters- Student behavior, class participation and ownership of work have improved as a result of each of these strategies. Previous to their implementation students rarely took ownership and responsibility for their behaviors and work. Through providing this type of positive feedback, families and students are shown the successes that have occurred as well as areas to still work on. This communication has taught the students the benefit of taking ownership of their work. Phonemic Awareness Literacy Screening-The following table provides the results of the PALS scores from Fall 2001 and Spring 2002 to show the effect that these activities have had on phonemic awareness in literacy. These results reflect eighty-three percent of the current class as that is the percentage of students who have been in the class from the beginning of the year. The Level A Benchmark passing score in the Fall is 39 and Benchmark passing Level B is 63. For the Spring, the Level A Benchmark score is 33 and Level B is 83. In the Fall, forty percent passed Level A and did not have to continue to Level B. Thirteen percent then passed Level B, giving a total of fifty-three percent passing overall. Forty-seven percent did not pass Level A or Level B. In the Spring, sixty-seven percent passed Level A. Of the thirty-three percent who did not reach the Level A benchmark, eighty percent did not have to go onto Level B, giving a total of ninety-three percent who passed Level B overall. Six percent did not pass Level A or Level B. 9

10 10 Table 6 Student Scores from Phonemic Awareness Literacy Screenings Student # Fall 2001 Level A Fall 2001 Level B Spring 2002 Level A Spring 2002 Level B Student 1 41 N/A 48 N/A Student 2 49 N/A 43 N/A Student 3 59 N/A 46 N/A Student N/A Student 5 70 N/A 50 N/A Student N/A Student N/A Student 8 44 N/A 33 N/A Student Student N/A Student N/A Student N/A Student N/A 25 N/A Student N/A Student N/A Developmental Reading Assessment- The following table provides the results of the DRA scores from Fall 2001 and Spring 2002 to show the effect that these activities have had on reading comprehension. These results reflect the same eighty-three percent of the current class as that is the percentage of students who have been in the class from the beginning of the year. Grade Level in the Fall is a Level 4. Grade Level for the Spring is Level 16. Thirteen percent were on grade level in the Fall and forty-seven percent were on grade level in the Spring. Average student increased 13 levels from Fall to Spring. Table 7 Students Developmental Reading Assessment Scores Student # Fall 2001 Spring 2002 Student Student Student Student Student Student 6 A 24 Student 7 A- 14 Student Student 9 A- 3 Student Student 11 A- 14

11 11 Student 12 A- 18 Student Student Student Writing Samples- The following table provides the results of the Writing Sample scores from Fall 2001 and Spring 2002 to show the effect that these activities have had on writing skills. These results reflect the same sixty-seven percent of the current class as that is the percentage of students who have been in the class and present on writing sample day from the beginning of the year. Students are scored on a rubric from 1-6. The average student increased 1.4 levels from Fall to Spring. Eighty-three percent went up in their writing scores, eight percent went down and eight percent stayed the same. Conclusion Mr. Otal Table 8 Students Writing Sample Scores Student # Fall 2001 Spring Change 2002 Student Student Student 3 3 ¾ +.5 Student 4 2/ Student Student 6 2 ¾ +1.5 Student Student Student / Student /3 -.5 Student Student / After analyzing the data, feel that the improvement in student achievement can not be attributed to my premise that improved communication with parents will improve student achievement. Student improvement has been documented in the core subjects of reading and writing. Student growth is also evident in the portfolios students have assembled this school year. However, homework completion rates and the independent reading program (Accelerated Reader) data show mixed results. Homework completion and our Accelerated Reader program are heavily influenced by parental support. Parents were informed of the three expectations the school had for them at Back-To-School Night and at all four Parent-Teacher-Student conferences.

12 12 The three expectations tie closely with Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler s three variables. The parental expectations were: 1. Set up a homework schedule and be aware when your child is completing his/her homework (one hour each night) 2. Set up a good environment for homework completion (table, light, supplies, minimal noise) 3. Check to see if your child has completed homework (look at checks in assignment notebook; not necessary to check for errors). If parents followed through on the three expectations, homework completion would have been higher and more progress would have been seen in our Accelerated Reader data. I found that many of the parents did not understand their role in the child s life even after four conferences. In addition, the majority of parents have a low opinion of their ability to help their child succeed in school, even after four conferences and numerous examples of ways they can be involved (trips to the library, trips to the store, washing laundry, following recipes, etc.). The positive responses on the parent surveys and high rates of attendance to the four conferences indicate that parents want to be informed about their child s progress. I feel the design of my action research should have yielded better results. The parents definitely want their children to succeed at school, but many do not have the skills or time to be highly involved. In addition, language is a huge barrier between home and school. Parents who do not have literacy in English were unable to understand a huge amount of information sent home. This meant they were less informed on what their child was learning at school and ways they could be more involved. Ms. Orsinger Improvements in literacy are not the only results of increased family involvement and communication in my first grade classroom. In addition, an increase in enthusiasm and motivation of the students has been apparent. Some of the activities implemented received positive feedback and results, although others did not. All activities addressed the three variables of Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler (1997). Parents began to feel confident in their role in their child s education as well as the ways in which they could help their child succeed. Many opportunities were given for families to be involved in homework assignments, classroom activities and whole school activities. The increase in student literacy achievement can be strongly linked to stated activities as well as an increase in motivation. The students worked a lot harder and completed assignments that were previously not done. Family involvement helped to encourage student ownership in their education, allowing the families to celebrate and become a part of their educational success. The following factors hindered more progress as well. Limited English skills and lack of translation for communication in some of the languages made some communication difficult. Also, limited literacy skills of the families proved to be a negative component for written communication sent home. Some

13 13 contained large amounts of text that proved to be intimidating and a turn off to some parents. As a result of both limited language and limited literacy skills, families did not always understand the assignments and activities. Therefore, they were not always active participants. This was seen both through the surveys received and completed, as well as through conversations with parents at conferences or other school functions. The overall breakdown of success that the class has achieved is very impressive. Students and families who were not entirely proactive in their education have shown that they are motivated to learn as well as feel successful for whatever accomplishments that they have achieved. Although the results were not what I expected, a strong basis has been established for the future and a door has been opened that should never have been closed. Families and schools have the same goal in mind, the success of the children. The strongest way to achieve that success is to work as a team. These activities will continue in the future and will always require fine-tuning. Through it all, I have learned the importance of the family and school working together and the impact this has on the students involved. References United States Department of Education. (1994). Strong Families, Strong Schools: Key Research Findings. [Available online at ESOL/HILT Department. (2000). Family Resource Handbook, School & Community Resources for Families of Second Language Learners. Arlington Public Schools.