I have recently read an eye-opening book called, Do Parents Know They Matter? Raising achievement through parental engagement. Written by, Alma Harris, Kirstie Andrew-Power, and Janet Goodall, three well-established women in the field of education. I deem this book a must read for parents, educators, and school administers. The book goes beyond parent volunteering within the school and highlights: the importance and impact of parent engagement, what engagement looks like at home, how to support home engagement in schools, how to overcome the challenges that teachers might face, and provides examples of effective school-home communication.
I found there to be two overall take home messages in this book: 1) is that parents are the most underused and yet the most effective means of improving student academic success, 2) that administrators, teachers, and parents need to work together and put parent engagement at the core of learning, encouraging the involvement of parents with the school and its curriculum.
I leave you with a quote from this book, (p. 60)
“… engagement with learning in the home should be the ultimate aim of all school and parental collaboration if there is to be a positive impact on student achievement”
Thanks for stopping by,
alyshia.marli
alyshiamarli 