La Familia -- parents of middle school children that had not been performing well in school -- began with small meetings in the homes of parents (conducted entirely in Spanish) and as trust was established among the parents, they created a "working partnership with the school" (Jasis, 2004, p. 38). "Convivencia" means "…the flowing moments of collective creation and solidarity" -- and in the case of La Familia, convivencia also brought a "bonding" that was built from an "…emerging moral quest" to help children become better students, Jasis relates (p. 39). The group began as a "self-affirming" activist assemblage, and moved from there into a "desvelamiento critico" (critical unveiling) of reality (p. 41).
The group avoided "political posturing" during their interactions with the school, and in fact the Latino parents believed, Jasis continues on page 39, that "…their views of the school had to be reconciled with the teacher's views and ideas." Mrs. Gutierrez, a La Familia member, said that she personally learned to have "more communication with the teachers" and learned through that communication that "sometimes our children don't treat them with respect" (p. 39-40).
Over the first two years of La Familia there was a vast improvement in communication and understanding between Latino parents and the school. But what were the academic results? On page 40 Jasis references the principal of this school, who explained that after two years "there were three Latino students among the top ten" on the honor roll. No Latino student in the past "had ever shared that honor" (p. 40). Granted, La Familia emerged around a middle school, but the concept is ideally suited for elementary school parents as well.
Empirical Study Shows Latino Parents' Concerns
Latino children who attend elementary schools in rural communities are "confronted with a variety of positive and negative experiences" (Villalba, et al., 2007, p. 510). But when teachers and counselors engage in "an egalitarian dialogue with Latino parents and children," that interaction can help "…pinpoint educational obstacles and related interventions, which may contribute to the success of an entire community," Villalba explains. The research conducted by Villalba and colleagues took place in a rural southeastern community in the U.S., where educators have been "caught off guard by the influx of Latino children…into...
The research of Wofendale (1991) demonstrated the effectiveness of parents who provided support for the learning process of their child and holds that involvement in schools by parents is likely the primary indicator of performance of the child in school. The Michigan Department of Education reports that the "most consistent predictors of children's academic achievement and social adjustment are parent expectations of the child's academic attainment and satisfaction with
According to Copland (2001), although the following job description is a parody, it is not too far from the truth concerning the current set of responsibilities that confront the nation's elementary school principals: Position Opening: Elementary School Principal, Anytown School District. Qualifications: Wisdom of a sage, vision of a CEO, intellect of a scholar, leadership of a point guard, compassion of a counselor, moral strength of a nun, courage of
Secondary School Parent Involvement Parental engagement in a child's learning is typically imperative and required for a student to realize their true potential and this is a generally accepted fact for a number of reasons. However, the level of involvement that a parent or parents have with their child's learning at the pivotal and important secondary school level that connects elementary learning and college-level learning has to be balanced as going
Parents\\\' Perspective on why they choose to send their children to Private Schools. Why are more and more parents choosing private schools over public schools in Ontario?IntroductionOver the years, private schools have been playing a vital role in the education sector in Ontario. This has been notable over the last decade as new private schools are being built and the rising number of parents sending their children to private facilities.
Parent Involvement and Student Academic Performance: A Multiple Mediational Analysis David R. Topor, Susan P. Keane, Terri L. Shelton, and Susan D. Calkins Numerous studies have shown a clear positive relationship between the involvement of a parent in a child's education, and the academic performance of the child. This particular study seeks to explore the mechanisms of the said association. On that front, only two potential mechanisms are taken into consideration. These,
Parental Involvement in Schools Research Plan for Quantitative Study: The basis of this study is to gain a better understanding of why children do better academically if their parents take an interest in their school and participate in school activities (such as meetings, events, committees, etc.). Throughout the course of the study, we hope to determine why parents who come from a higher educational background and income might participate more readily in
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