Barriers to Family Engagement

Parents’ Work Schedules

New Orleans families identify work-life balance as a major deterrent for family engagement. Families indicated that their work schedules make it difficult for them to be able to engage with schools. In addition, they note that schools do not give them adequate notice to make arrangements to be engaged in certain activities. Parents in the study suggest that schools be more cognizant of the responsibilities parents have when planning family engagement activities. They also indicate that school staff also project negative attitudes when families cannot be involved. Parents suggest that schools improve the timeliness of their communication if they are invested in family involvement.

Distance Between Home and School

In the New Orleans education landscape, the variety of open enrollment schools from which families have to choose has resulted in students going to schools outside of their neighborhoods. As a result, many families find it increasingly more difficult to get engaged at their children’s schools. Families in the ULLA study indicate that they face challenges in engaging with schools due to the proximity of schools to their homes and in instances that children from the same family are enrolled at different schools. For those who rely on public transportation, this presents an additional issue. This unique issue in the New Orleans landscape requires schools to think creatively about how they design family engagement activities and the types of resources they are willing to allocate to ensuring families can be more involved.

School Policies and Appointment Requirements

According to parents involved in the ULLA study, some schools have policies that hinder family engagement. For instance, appointment requirements established by schools that require families to engage with teachers and administrators at determined times can be problematic if those appointments are not honored. Families express frustration with this experience and express an interest in being able to visit schools without notice in order to be the most responsive to issues as they arise. Unfortunately, unannounced visits pose significant challenges to schools. In addition, families indicate that some schools require background checks before parents can volunteer at schools. While this requirement helps to protect students and staff, it can also prevent well-intentioned families from engaging with schools.

School Strategies to Remove Barriers

Address transportation challenges for parents.

Consider implementing car pooling program to encourage family engagement, provide public transportation vouchers or utilize ride share programs to get families to schools for important events or meetings.

Provide childcare and food at important school functions to encourage family involvement.

These resources can make it more feasible for families to attend events, particularly on weekends and evenings. Often turnout is higher at events where these resources are available, and families are able to redirect energy they spend on planning for childcare and meals to school activities or events.

Provide ample notice to families about upcoming events in which you expect their participation.

A school calendar of events should be released at the start of each semester with important dates and should be disseminated through a variety of channels (e.g., mass text messages, website, newsletter, mailers, via student).

Open numerous communication channels to engage with families.

Families are using a variety of tools to communicate these days, so the possibilities are endless. Use social media, email, web announcements, newsletters, emails, text messages, mailers, etc. to communicate with families. Home visits or meet-ups are another strategy to engage families on important issues. Families can also be transient and phone numbers and addresses change frequently. Make sure to get information for family members that are most stable in the event a change occurs (e.g., grandparents). Introduce families to options like Google Voice numbers to provide them with an alternative to pay-based phone options.

Ask families how they want to be engaged at your school and satisfaction with your current family engagement efforts. (See Parent Surveys)

Include short surveys with any important paperwork completed by parents during orientation, field trip permission slips, and other paperwork that has a higher rate of return from parents. Take advantage of events that have high attendance to survey parents. Invite a handful of parents to participate in focus groups to get their perspectives on how to design family engagement efforts. Keep surveys short and focus groups to 90 minutes or less. Incentive participation in all these information gathering activities (e.g., gift cards or school-based rewards).

Establish “office hours” for meetings with families.

Schedule family/parent meetings during established office hours that school staff can honor with minimal chance of interruption. This will create an expectation and understanding between school staff and families about your availability and establishes a reliable window of time for when families and school staff can engage. In the event that families are not available during that time, work with them to determine how other communication channels can be used.

Establish a 24-hour follow-up policy for all school personnel.

Whenever families reach out to school staff regarding any matter, school staff should get back to them within 24 hours. This establishes a reasonable expectation for families and schools to manage their interactions.

Identify numerous volunteer opportunities for families that allows for engagement regardless of parents’ background.

Consider all the tasks that must be accomplished to execute work in a school and identify ways that families can help. This list should go beyond chaperoning trips and assisting in class. Families can help do outreach to other families, do prep work for bulletin boards or write thank you cards to school partners. Think of the myriad ways families can get involved and create pathways to do so. Also, remember to celebrate and acknowledge families’ contributions to further encourage engagement at your school. Work hard to send the message that families are welcome to your school and integral partners with schools in supporting student success.