Six Kinds of Involvement
In her book, School, Family and Community Partnerships, Your Handbook for Action, Joyce Epstein recommends six major types of parent involvement for schools to promote Partnerships include:
1. Parenting
Help families with parenting skills by providing information about children’s developmental stages and home environment considerations that support children as students.
2. Communicating
Communicate effectively with families about student progress, school services and programs, and also provide opportunities for parents to communicate with the school.
3. Volunteering
Find ways to recruit and train volunteers for the school and classroom. Try to accommodate parents’ schedules to maximize support for students and programs. This category also includes opportunities for parents to attend events kinds of skills students are required to learn.
4. Learning at Home
Involve families with their children in learning activities at home, including homework and other curriculum-linked activities and decisions. 5. Decision Making
Include families as partners in school decisions. Recruit members for school organizations, advisory groups and committees.
6. Collaborating with the Community
Create two-way connections between the school and community that encourage businesses and other groups to take an interest in schools and offer students and their families ways to contribute to the well-being of the community.