Relationship between teachers, schools, families and

community that supports the school:

There is a strong relationship between teachers, schools, families and communities in order to

support school. School is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the

directions of teachers. Family engagement is a shared responsibility of families, schools

and communities for student learning and achievement. It is continuous from birth to young

adulthood and it occurs across multiple settings where children learn. In addition to

benefiting individual students, family and community engagement is a core resource for

whole-school improvement. A longitudinal study of school improvement in Title I schools

found that schools in which teachers were “especially active” in meeting with and

telephoning parents, and in sharing instructional materials to reinforce learning at home, had

larger gains in student achievement .

Different types of relationship:

Links between school, family and community occur for the

following reasons:

• Decision-making and management of the school:

Parents and community representatives

participate in school governing bodies, parent/teacher associations and advisory committees.

• Communication between home and school:

There is a continual exchange of information

between families and schools over individual children, through letters, reports, phone calls

and meetings.

• School support for families:

Schools may provide help for families on matters like health,

development and creating home conditions that support school achievement and social

behaviour.

• Family and community help for schools:

Parents, community and employee volunteers

may assist children, teachers or school management in the classroom or in other aspects of

school activities.

• School support for learning at home:

Schools may help families to develop learning at

home to help in turn the child’s learning at school.

• Collaborations with community agencies:

Outside agencies, both local and national,

provide the school with access to community and support services for children and families.

• Community education:

Learning opportunities may be available for all age-groups, both

within and outside the school and within and outside the conventional school hours.

Differing needs:

The kinds of relationship change as children grow.

In pre- and primary school, support for the child is directed through the family.

In secondary school there is gradual need to view the child as an individual with needs for

information, help and experiences which reinforce autonomy and independence.

The period of middle childhood is not well served by support programmes. There is little

evidence of thinking about the changing support needs of children in transition to adulthood

and from primary to secondary school.

Community schools relationship:

Which offer community education to local people and facilities outside

school hours, are well-placed to develop relationships with other agencies. There is some

evidence that this approach has improved failing schools, and that the experience of learning

alongside adults can improve motivation and behaviour in young people. Community

education supports young people by:

• making the school a more convivial place.

• presenting learning as desirable at all ages.

• giving opportunities for social interaction.

• enabling parents to participate in meeting their own needs.

• offering learning situations to meet individual need.

• raising the reputation of the school in the local community.

The Relationship between Family Involvement and Student Success:

There is a positive and convincing relationship of School, Family, and Community Connections on

Student Achievement.

1. Involvement programs that link to learning improve student achievement:

It’s

simple: The more parent and community involvement activities focus on improving

student learning, the more student learning improves. Learning-focused involvement

activities may include

● Family nights on math or literacy.

● Family-teacher conferences that involve students.

● Family workshops on planning for college.

2. Speaking up for children protects and promotes their success.

Children whose

parents are advocates for them at school are more confident at school and take on and

achieve more. The more families advocate for their children and support their

children’s progress, the longer their children stay in school and the better their

children do.

Families should:

● Become knowledgeable about the operations of schools and the laws that govern

those operations.

● Be confident about their ability to work with schools.

● Expect only the best from their children and for their children.

● Join PTA.

3. All families can contribute to their children’s success.

Family involvement

improves student success, regardless of race/ethnicity, class, or parents’ level of

education. For involvement to happen, however, principals, teachers, and parents

themselves must believe that all parents can contribute to their children’s success in

school. Parents can promote their children’s academic success by:

● Teaching their children the importance of education.

● Finding out what their children are expected to know and to be able to do and

reinforcing lessons at home.

● Sending their children to school ready to learn every day.

Principals and teachers must support parent involvement by:

● Making parent involvement a priority.

● Recognizing and removing barriers to parent involvement.

● Sharing decision-making power with parents and community members.

● Working to understand class and cultural differences.

4. Community organizing gets results:

Engaging community members, businesses, and organizations as partners in

children’s education can improve the learning community in many ways. For

example, community partners may be able to:

● Provide expanded learning opportunities.

● Build broad-based support for increased school funding.

● Provide quality after-school programs.

Our schools are not working very well for any students, so that the entire system

Needs fundamental changes if we are to prepare youngsters to be productive citizens

And workers for the next century. This perspective calls for fundamental shifts in our

Conceptions of the classroom, of the school, of governance and authority

Relationships, and of organizational structures supporting schooling.

In turn, these changes require a new series of relationships between the classroom and

home, between educators and families, and between schools and their broader

community. Government should take steps to make this relationship stronger in order

to support the schools more efficiently so, that students can learn more effectively

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