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Module 5: Parent Involvement
and Leadership All parents want their children
to succeed in school.
Research shows that parent involvement
in a child's school experience promotes academic success,
decreases behavioral challenges,
and increases commitment to learning.
This presentation explains how parents can be involved
in teaching and supporting their child's appropriate behaviors
at school.
School-wide Positive Behavior Interventions
and Supports (often referred to as school-wide PBIS) is a model
for creating a predictable and positive environment
in which students can learn and grow.
By implementing a program of consistent teaching
of behavioral expectations, reinforcement,
and appropriate consequences, schools can create a climate
of success for all students.
Parent involvement is a collaborative process
between parents and professionals
that assumes each has something to learn and something to teach.
This model recognizes families as a source of strength
and information where parents are valued for their knowledge
and understanding about their child.
For successful collaboration to take place however,
parents need information and support about how to work side
by side with professionals.
Because family involvement in school discipline is a new idea,
professionals and parents often struggle with how
to achieve a balance of shared responsibility and power.
Both parents and professionals must focus
on building relationships that are positive and recognize
and promote each other's strengths rather
than weaknesses.
Professionals and parents often have significantly different
understandings of what is meant by family involvement.
Many professionals see parent involvement
as a supportive role.
Parents, however, may view involvement more
as their opportunity to have valid input
into their child's school program.
Ideally, the focus of family involvement in school should be
on the bigger picture of developing a partnership
that increases optimism and satisfaction
in the school process, respects the ever-changing definition
of "family," and embraces cultural styles in families.
School-wide PBIS is a new framework
for parent involvement in school.
The concept focuses on managing behaviors
by identifying appropriate behavioral expectations,
teaching those behaviors, and reinforcing them
across all environments.
Research shows that having positive behavior supports
reduces suspensions, expulsions, and drop-out rates.
Fewer students may be referred to special education
for their behavior needs,
because they receive support early
on to help manage their behaviors.
Engaging parents in that process is important, because it helps
to maintain consistency across all environments.
When parents are involved with their child's school
in identifying appropriate behavior
and are given the opportunity to participate in teaching
and sustaining that behavior through the use
of positive reinforcement,
the outcomes are more likely to be positive.
According to studies done by the National PTA,
when families are involved,
there is a positive effect on student behavior.
Students whose parents were involved
in their school reported feeling more self-confident,
liking school more, and being less willing
to engage in at-risk behaviors.
While family involvement is important to school success,
development of parent leadership is crucial to making changes.
Identifying and training parents to be leaders is a necessary
and important part of creating positive family involvement.
Parent leaders who are willing to work closely with the school
to make sure that services and supports are provided or offered
as needed can be models of advocacy for other families.
They also can influence decision making about what services
and supports are necessary.
Parent leadership can take the form
of leading a parent-teacher organization,
serving as a parent representative
on the SW-PBIS leadership team,
or offering to be the parent liaison
to school administration.
With solid parent leadership, schools
and families will work together more effectively.
Some professionals may face a number of potential barriers
when working with families.
They may, for example, believe that parents expect too much
of the school, are unwilling to cooperate,
or are a part of the problem.
Similarly, parents may face a number of potential barriers
when working with professionals.
These barriers may include not knowing how the school system
works, how decisions are made in school,
what factors influence decisions,
or what legal constraints schools must address.
Parents may also feel that they are being blamed
for their child's problems or feel isolated from their family,
friends, and community because of their child's behaviors.
Parents who have experienced frustration
in school themselves may also bring those experiences
into their interactions.
To reduce the potential for problems in parent collaboration
and to maximize the potential for school success
for every child, parents and professionals must work together
to overcome those presumptions and instead focus
on establishing a learning environment
that works for all children.
SW-PBIS is focused on creating a school climate that is positive
and safe, where all children can learn and grow.
It is also based on the premise that parents are more effective
when they are involved in this process.
If you are a parent, you can help set a school climate
that is positive and safe by educating yourself
on how School-wide Positive behavior interventions
and supports works.
You also can meet with your school administrator
to bring the idea to your school.
One way is to mobilize other families to work with you
to take an active role in the creation
and implementation of the project.
If your school already uses School-wide PBIS,
you could offer to develop ways to include families.
For example, at the school's open house,
families could be offered a calendar of activities
or a guide that explains how they can teach
and reinforce similar appropriate behaviors at home.
Developing a consistent, clear communication
about School-wide PBIS activities is also important.
Some schools may develop Friday Folders with weekly updates
on their activities; others may offer regularly scheduled school
gatherings to acknowledge student success
in behavior management.
Parents can be instrumental in helping to set
up effective communication
between the school and the family.
If you are a professional,
a good way to involve parents would be to make certain
that information
about School-wide positive behavior interventions
and supports reaches all families--
not just those who come to school.
This outreach could include participating
in cultural festivals or nurturing someone
from a culturally diverse family as a parent leader.
Promoting school-wide PBIS in events outside
of school also encourages community support
of the concept.
Families want their children to succeed.
Professionals want their students to be successful.
School-wide positive behavior interventions
and supports promote both school success and family involvement.
When schools and families work in partnership
to promote learning and positive emotional growth,
children are more likely to succeed
in life as well as in school.
These resources will be helpful in giving you more information
about School-wide positive behavior interventions
and supports.