Embedded Files
Position Statement ~ Declaración de posición
Position Statement ~ Declaración de posición
"Authorize Dingle parents to share in control of WJUSD parent engagement programming and implementation."
"Autorizar a los padres de Dingle a compartir el control de la programación e implementación de la participación de los padres del WJUSD."
Closing Message ~ Mensaje de cierre
Closing Message ~ Mensaje de cierre
Though we have a list of suggestions to improve parent engagement, we're asking WJUSD Trustees to direct WJUSD to do these two things in 2025-2026:
"Make every conference count." Parents should walk away:
knowing the school(s) cannot close their child's academic achievement gap
believing their child's grade level relative to life goals* and that being below grade level is an important problem to address
knowing their child needs them (parent) to be engaged in their education in order to close gaps
knowing their teacher better understands their life goals for their children, the parents' abilities and needs for engagement, etc.
submitting a form to the school/WJUSD while at the parent-teacher conference that requests/gets parents the support they need
having in hand a resource that is meaningful and usable, especially a contact list, to support their own engagement
"No about them without them." Parents should have a voice and a choice in their own parent engagement support.
* See our little training web page for "grade level." Basically, it says that parents need to (1) define their own grade level and (2) understand the difference between that and, for example, state assessment scores. PTA refers to this as "going beyond grades." Talking about numbers without context is confusing.
Communications ~ Comunicaciones
Communications ~ Comunicaciones
September 24, 2024 Position Statement (English)
Part 1: (introduction)
November 20, 2024 YouTube video starting our campaign (English, Inglés con subtítulos en varios idiomas)
Part 2: (system-wide findings)
January 12, 2025 Part 2 Letter to WJUSD Board of Trustees ~ Parte 2 Carta a la Junta Directiva de WJUSD (Bilingual ~ Bilingüe)
January 12, 2025 YouTube Video "Advocacy on Parent Engagement, Part 2" (English, Inglés con subtítulos en varios idiomas)
January 12, 2025 Slides for YouTube Video "Advocacy on Parent Engagement, Part 2" (Bilingual ~ Bilingüe)
Part 3: (specific priority area)
May 26, 2025 YouTube video "Advocacy on Parent Engagement, Part 3" (English, Inglés con subtítulos en varios idiomas)
May 26, 2025 Slides for YouTube Video "Advocacy on Parent Engagement, Part 3"
May 26, 2025 YouTube "Parent Voice 1" (English)
May 26, 2025 YouTube "Parent Voice 2" (English)
May 26, 2025 YouTube "Parent Voice 3" (English)
Part 4: (closing)
June 12, 2025 YouTube Final Public Comment to WJUSD Board of Trustees on setting direction for parent engagement
June 12, 2025 Written Final Public Comment to WJUSD Board of Trustees on setting direction for parent engagement
June 30, 2025 YouTube video "Closing Comments"
June 30, 2025 Slides for YouTube video "Closing Comments"
Parents Don't Understand Grade Level (esp. Report Cards)
Parents Don't Understand Grade Level (esp. Report Cards)
Study shows parents overestimate their student’s academic progress by PBS, April 6 2023
Learning Hero's Parent, Teacher, and Principal Study on Family Engagement 2022
GoBeyondGrades.org (discover why report cards are failing to communicate students' grade levels to parents)
For Teachers, GoBeyondGrades.org (tips for what to say and how to say it so parents understand student achievement)
Example resource to help parents understand a grade level standard
The one question to ask about your child’s grades | Cindi Williams | TEDxBellevueWomen
Standards for Meaningful Parent Engagement
Standards for Meaningful Parent Engagement
At a very high level, most of National PTA's standards and Flamboyan's recommendations for parent engagement are in Dingle's parent-teacher-student-district compact.
National PTA - YouTube. Practitioner and Parent Perspectives on Impact and Evidence - "staff start with dispelling biases against parents", "it needs to be systemic through every office in the district", "it must be a partnership in which staff shares power with parents on engagement", "we don't equip senior leaders [in the district] to speak about parent engagement to trustees", "at least 1% of Title 1 funding must go to parent engagement but it should be more", "story telling directly from parents and teachers ['sells' meaningful parent engagement to decision makers]", "you have to track engagement (home visits, training attendance, etc.)", "student led conferences", "train school leaders to lead family engagement"
National PTA - YouTube. Setting the Stage for Family Engagement as an Essential Strategy
National PTA - Website. National Standards for Family-School Partnerships - "1 Welcome All Families, 2 Communicate Effectively, 3 Support Student Success, 4 Speak Up for Every Child, 5 Share Power"
Flamboyan Foundation - Parents who "Communicate High Expectations, Monitor their Child's Performance, Support Learning at Home, Guide Their Child's Performance, Advocate for their Child" make a positive difference in their child's education. Higher resource families have more resources for these actions.
California Department of Education's Parent Involvement and Family Engagement resource page - contains links to a multiple frameworks, standards, etc.
Additional Factors for Economic and Social Mobility
Additional Factors for Economic and Social Mobility
In 2024, The New Teacher Project (TNTP) published their Paths of Opportunity study. They spoke about it at the National Governor's Association in 2025.
Why: "After accounting for young people’s academic outcomes, no other factor was strongly linked to increased earning and well-being in adulthood.... But academics are also insufficient. Excelling in school does not guarantee mobility...."
Five Factors: "Our analysis resulted in the identification of five interconnected factors critical for ensuring young people can thrive both now and in the future. 1. A strong academic foundation that enables young people to learn on grade level, 2. Career-connected learning to build the skills and experience for evolving careers, 3. Opportunities to build social capital and activate networks to advance goals, 4. Personal support in their lives to navigate toward goals and stay on track, 5. Civic and community engagement to participate fully in society and shape a better future."
Law on Parent Engagement Spending
Law on Parent Engagement Spending
Though "Parent Involvement and Family Engagement" is legally required federally and by the State of California Department of Education, rules governing spending depends on the source of the funds. Here is what we found.
WJUSD Policies
WJUSD Policies
This advocacy asks the WJUSD Board of Trustees to create (or revise) policies. These are some existing documents that may be affected or relevant.
Role and Responsibilities of School Boards
Role and Responsibilities of School Boards
Source: Woodland Joint Unified School District Board Governance Handbook
Setting the direction for the district by involving parents/guardians, community, students and staff while focusing on student learning and achievement.
Establishing an effective and efficient structure by employing the superintendent, developing and adopting policies, establishing academic expectations and adopting curriculum and instructional materials, establishing a framework for hiring staff, establishing budget priorities and adopting the budget, providing safe and adequate facilities to support student learning, and setting parameters for negotiations with employee organizations and ratifying collective bargaining agreements.
Providing support to the superintendent and staff by following standards of responsible governance, making decisions and providing resources that support district priorities and goals, upholding board policies, and being effective spokespersons by being knowledgeable about district programs and goals.
Ensuring accountability through evaluation of the superintendent; monitoring and evaluating policies; serving as a judicial and appeals body; monitoring student achievement and program effectiveness; approving, monitoring, and adjusting district budgets; and monitoring the collective bargaining process.
Providing community leadership and advocacy on behalf of students, the educational program, and public education.
Expected School Board/Superintendent Team Behaviors
Expected School Board/Superintendent Team Behaviors
1. Emphasis on Building a Human Organizational System - For example, expressing a belief that all parents can be engaged and dispelling biases against parents. Board members expect to see improvements in parent engagement quickly as a result of initiatives.
2. Ability to Create and Sustain Initiatives - For example, board members learn about a parent engagement issue together, focus on parent engagement supports that work, set goals, and follow it through implementation.
3. Supportive Workplace for Staff - For example, board members express a high level of confidence in staff and are able to site specific examples of how staff members are working to help engage parents.
4. Staff Development - For example, board members are able to describe staff development for parent engagement and are able to link it to parent engagement goals, especially particular areas of focus.
5. Support for School Sites through Data and Information - For example, all board members receive and share information from many sources, including the superintendent, district office, schools, and outside sources. Board members make data-driven decisions using data on parents' needs, students, and groups of students. They receiving parent engagement information on a routine basis, such as monthly reports, such as on parents' needs and requests, home visits, parent attendance, it's impact, etc.
6. Community Involvement - For example, board members describe how they connect with and listen to diverse parents, expressing pride in the effort and a desire for more involvement.
7. Integrated Leadership - For example, board members are knowledgeable about parent engagement conditions in the schools, alternatives, the needs of the parents, and can mention specifically how the board contributed to initiatives on parent engagement and the outcomes. Board members expressed finding ways to reach all parents and high expectations of parents.
Source: THE LIGHTHOUSE INQUIRY: School Board/Superintendent Team Behaviors in School Districts with Extreme Differences in Student Achievement
Abbreviated Abstract: This study investigated whether some school boards create higher student achievement than others, studying districts with schools that ranked very high or very low on standardized achievement tests for three academic years on schools with similar demographics. It produced "The Seven conditions for school renewal" (listed above) that differentiated districts that improved from those that didn't improve.
Date: April 2001
Recommended by: David Irwin, Co-Founder Thru (K-12 Strategic Planning)
Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IsJyW1jNvlBFGOa0RrClDNMssHHN5SyW/view?usp=sharing
Shop for Family Engagement Solutions
Shop for Family Engagement Solutions
Family Engagement Solutions (directory) - co-sponsored by National PTA
Parent Teacher Home Visits (PTHV) - "1 Visits are voluntary and arranged in advance. 2 Teachers are trained and compensated for visits. 3 Visits focus on hopes and dreams. 4 Educators visit a cross-section of students. 5 Educators go in pairs and reflect."
rootED Alliance - "Every rural student should be in a position to graduate high school on a path to achieve career success and economic stability. rootEd places dedicated college and career advisors directly in rural high schools to work with all students to define and plan their futures, whether through a college degree, work-based learning, or military service."
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