Tomás Rivera Policy Institute releases new report that suggests effective ways for schools to get Latino parents more involved in school life.

A new study and report by The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute indicates that the meaning of parental involvement in education varies greatly among teachers, school administrators, and Latino parents and children in their middle and high school years. Realigning the perceptions of Latino parents and teachers with regard to participation in education is critical, says the author of the report, as policy makers see to include parental participation in school reform measures.

This new report is based on the findings of a study conducted in three cities with significant Latino populations (Los Angeles, New York, and Miami). Interviews with teachers and program coordinators, and focus groups with Latino parents and students reveal that schools have not been successful in recruiting parents to participate in the everyday life of their children’s schools.

In the absence of a clear organizational vision of the role parents should play in their child’s education, teachers agree that, “it’s more or less in the teacher’s hands” to design parental involvement opportunities.

Many of the Latino parents that participated in the TRPI study said they felt that schools policies discourage parental participation, that it was difficult to get in touch with teachers and school staff during school hours, and that schools only called on them when there was a problem.

The new TRPI report provides recommendations for policymakers, schools, organizations, and teachers that want to encourage Latino parents to become more engaged in school life. Some of these recommendations were voiced directly by the teachers, counselors, principals, parents, and students that participated in the study; others were borne out of the analysis and findings of the focus groups and interviews.

The complete list of policy recommendations along with more details about the study’s findings may be found in the report, which may be downloaded by clicking here.

The study and report were made possible with a grant from Time Warner, Inc.

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