Improving Parental Involvement of ELL Families

Abstract

Parents of English Language Learners (ELLs) attending public schools in the United States, including at Clinton Central School District, face barriers that limit their parental involvement (PI). Research has identified five main barriers resulting in this limited PI which includes differing views and expectations of PI within culturally diverse families, language barriers, family anxieties, family lifestyles, and a lack of adequate teacher preparation. The literature shows these barriers can be improved upon when parents are educated directly, communication is improved, and the school to adopts practices that supports culturally and linguistically diverse families. To address these problems, a parent-teacher open house is proposed for the Clinton Central School District, where families will be invited into the school for one night of programming. The goal of the open house is to inform families of the school’s policies and practices, improve the communication between parents and teachers, help families feel comfortable in the school building, and encourage parents and teachers to learn from one another. Recommendations for further research and improvement include expanding the open house to occur monthly with new topics, hosting professional development sessions to improve teacher effectiveness, and researching alternative transportation and different program location options for families.