Strategies for Supporting Educators and Engaging ELL Families

Abstract

Parental involvement, or engagement, often plays a crucial role in the ways in which students are successful in their classrooms. Research has shown increased parental involvement and collaboration with teachers lead to higher success rates for students. However, it is not always easy for parents, especially English language learners, to engage in their child’s education, due to challenges including economic status, employment, family stressors, unfamiliarly with school engagement, and teachers’ lack of preparedness to support culturally and linguistically diverse students. To address this problem, teachers will participate in sessions to become better equipped to support and involve parents in the classroom community. ENL teachers will work alongside them by teaching them strategies and providing them with materials to use in their classrooms to help engage them in the material. Teachers will collect data to share it with colleagues, fostering mutual learning and improvement.