Family Center Handbook - Granite School District

Joyce L. Epstein, director of the Center on Families, Communities, Schools,
and Children's Learning at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, discusses
how "school, family, and community partnerships" is a better term than "parent
involvement" to describe the efforts of these three elements working together for the best
outcome in the education and development of children. Excerpted from "Theory to
Practice: School and Family Partnerships Lead to School Improvement and Student
Success," by J.L. Epstein, 1994, in School, Family, and Community Interactions: A View
from the Firing Lines, edited by C. Fagnano and B. Werber, Boulder, CO: Westview
Press. A text version is available.
• Help parents increase their knowledge of child development and support them in their
parenting skills.
• Encourage many different types of parental involvement and develop school strategies
for increasing this involvement.
• Break down barriers and establish trust by reaching out to families through home visits,
having meetings in less formal and intimidating settings, and using written
communication that all parents can understand.
• Communicate regularly with parents in a variety of ways to keep them informed about
their children's progress and school activities.
• Accommodate parents' work schedules and time constraints when creating parentinvolvement
opportunities.
• Ensure that school staff are accessible to parents and families.
• Learn about the various ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds of students and
know how to communicate with diverse families; reach out to families whose first
language is not English.
• Begin building close relationships with families in the opening conference of the school
year and continue to provide a comfortable environment for parent-teacher conferences.
• Make parents feel welcome in the school by providing opportunities for parents to visit
the school, observe classes, and give feedback. Consider building a parent center for
parents to use while at school.
• Engage parents in decision-making practices of advisory groups (such as local schoolimprovement
councils), school reform committees, and other school restructuring efforts.
• Write a school policy statement that delineates ways to ensure a positive school climate
for family involvement.