The purpose of instituting parent involvement projects is to encourage parents to take an interest in their child's school and show them the importance of doing so. These projects typically lay out exactly what is expected of parents and creates opportunities in which parents can become involved. In some districts, parent involvement projects are not required, but in other districts, some level of involvement may be required. The projects can also help parents to know what they can do to help their children to do better in school.
One of the biggest aspects of a successful parent involvement project is communication between the school and parents. When teachers and parents stay in close contact about the behavior of the children, as well as the academic successes and struggles, parents can help the teachers work on issues. For instance, if a parent knows his child struggles with math, he can set aside time to help his child with any math homework so the child can better understand. Likewise, if the teachers know about issues going on within the home, they can be more understanding with the student.
While many families require both parents to work, many schools use parent volunteer opportunities to enhance parent involvement. To accommodate parents who may work during the day, some schools offer opportunities to help out during after-school activities or during weekend sports tournaments instead. The more opportunities the school provides, the more likely parents will choose to get involved. If a school does not offer many opportunities, parents who are more restricted on availability are less likely to sign up to help.
Some parents do not realize that their child's education can improve with their cooperation. When using parent involvement projects, a school may need to meet with the parents and show them how parental involvement can improve their children's education. This can be done by having individual meetings with parents who do not typically become involved or a school can set up a meeting for all parents to attend. The more parents the school can convince to participate, the greater the effect will be.
While some parents feel that the responsibilities of educating students falls solely on teachers, children often have homework that must be completed. Often, parents feel that children should be able to complete these assignments on their own. If teachers send home frequent notes, detailing what is going on in the classroom and telling parents what they need to know to help children with homework, parents are more likely to sit down and help children with their work and check it over to make sure children are grasping the material.
The decisions necessary to run a school, such as hiring practices, curriculum choices and activity choices, are made by a school board or other organization. Parents who are involved with these decisions feel more confident in their children's education. For instance, a school does not have to rely solely on the whims of parents, but if educators present potential options to parents and receive feedback, that feedback can be taken into consideration. Parents know their children better than anyone and can help the school make decisions that are right for those children.