Key Components

According to experts, the definition of parent engagement is parents and teachers sharing a responsibility to help their children learn and meet educational goals. Parent engagement happens when teachers involve parents in school meetings or events, and parents volunteer their support at home and at school.

Parent engagement in schools is different from parent involvement, though both are useful. It helps to think of parent involvement as the first step to parent engagement. While teachers can advise parents on some things, parents also have important information about their child that teachers might not know. Both can bring perspectives to the table that enrich a student’s learning experience. Neither is complete without the other.

Parent involvement in schools is the first step to parent engagement and, ultimately, parent partnership. When parents and teachers work together to establish a thriving classroom, the effect on their students is profound. Students with engaged parents don’t just have high test scores: their attendance, self-esteem, and graduation rate rise, too. Parent-teacher relationships are more than an optional classroom benefit, they are key for helping students on a personal and classroom level reach their academic potential. If we as educators don’t make a space for parent partnerships in our schools, we’re limiting our classroom’s capacity for growth.

Across fifty different studies on parental engagement, educational researchers found a connection between family involvement and academic achievement. Parent partnerships formed during elementary school years build a strong foundation for student success and future engagement opportunities. (View study here)

Students aren’t the only ones who benefit from family engagement, parents and teachers do, too. Knowing more about a student’s family life can also help teachers prepare lessons that better fit that student’s needs or interact more efficiently with families. When parents and teachers team up, everyone wins!