A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Objective 1.5. Families and communities are fully involved with schools and school improvement efforts.

Key strategies for FY 1999

• Financial support for federal programs that support families in helping their children learn.
  • Support the start up or expansion of 3,800 21st Century Community Learning Centers that would provide extended learning services to over a half million students ($200 million in FY 1999).
  • Create local "High Hopes" College-School Partnerships ($140 million under proposed legislation).
  • Continue family literacy programs through Even Start ($115 million).
  • Support Goals 2000 Parent Information and Resource Centers that exist in every state and territory ($25 million).
  • Continue to support IDEA parent centers for families of children with disabilities ($20.5 million).

• Partnership for Family Involvement in Education.
  • Support Read*Write*Now!, the summer reading component of the America Reads Challenge, promoting the development of literacy skills
  • Engage local communities in America Goes Back to School, which encourages parent and community involvement in schools throughout the year.
  • Engage middle schools students, their families and teachers in the Think College Early nationwide campaign
  • Promote the creation of 500 new after-school programs in fulfillment of the Partnership's America's Promise pledge
  • Partner with member organizations to further their own family involvement activities.
  • Sign on new members to the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education and continue to involve them in the four major initiatives of the Partnership--America Goes Back to School, READ*WRITE*NOW!, Think College Early, and After-School Learning.

• Technical assistance.
  • Provide federal program assistance and support for family involvement in children's learning through Title I compacts
  • Provide training materials for teachers and school administrators on the importance of family involvement in education

• Research. Develop and implement a long-range applied research agenda to strengthen family involvement in children's learning.

Coordination

• Partnerships with organizations representing families, schools, communities, religious faiths, and employers. Work through the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education to successfully implement national and sector-initiated activities, such as teacher training modules, compacts, conferences, guidebooks, and tutoring and mentoring programs.
• Work group on after-school time. Work with the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, Justice, and Corporation for National Service on coordinating department efforts that make the most of young people's out-of-school time.

Programs supporting this objective

Selected performance indicators and charts

By 2002, the number of children participating in after-school programs will double, from 1.7 million to 3.4 million children. (Goal 1, indicator 34)

Indicator background and context. While a number of communities are already developing after-school programs, such programs are not wide-spread, particularly in the public schools.

• In 1995, there were 23.5 million school-aged children with parents in the workforce. But as recently as the 1993-94 school year, 70 percent of all public elementary schools did not have a before- or after-school program.

• In addition, the majority of extended-day programs are aimed at kindergarten and early elementary school students, and focus on supervised care rather than academic instruction.

Data source. Seppanen, P., Love, J., deVries, D. And Bernstein, L. (1993). National Study of Before-and After-School Programs. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

The percentage of parents who meet with teachers about their children's learning will show continuous improvement, reaching 90 percent by 2002. (Goal 1, indicator 32)

Indicator background and context. Although schools almost universally sponsor various programs for parents, parents frequently do not attend these events. School events that feature some interaction with students' teachers, especially parent-teacher conferences, appear to attract more parents than other types of events. This is important since families who are consistently informed about their children's progress at school have higher-achieving children. Parent-teacher conferences are once important way to establish a partnership founded on improving children's learning.

Data source. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Survey, 1996.

Verification/validation of performance measures: The Steering Group of the "Partnership for Family Involvement in Education," composed of representatives from outside organizations engaged in family involvement, will review all indicator data. Information will be collected through rigorously designed and independently administered surveys of schools and families as part of program evaluations and of collections by the National Center for Education Statistics.

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[Objective 1.4]

[Objective 1.6]