176 Ways to Involve Parents: Practical Strategies for Partnering With Families

"This very accessible book is filled with practical, doable activities and ideas that will enhance the learning of students by involving parents in respectful, meaningful, and productive ways."
-Judy Chapman, District Principal, Curriculum
Instruction & Assessment, School District #34, Abbotsford, BC

"Dr. Boult has written the ultimate guide for helping school administrators and teachers create an effective partnership with parents. Any educational stakeholder (parent, teacher, administrator) will benefit from its content." -Connie Brownell, Teacher
Lester B. Pearson School Board, Montreal, QC

Use these practical strategies to engage parents and create more successful outcomes for students!

Would you like to see children score significantly higher on reading tests? Stay in school longer? Excel in academics? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you′re not alone! These goals, obtainable and achievable, are directly linked to parent involvement. By taking a committed role in their children′s education, parents make a direct, positive impact on academic achievement. With decades of research to support this claim, 176 Ways to Involve Parents, Second Edition, presents ready-to-use ideas to fully engage parents in the school community.

Containing numerous new strategies for building bridges between schools and families, this updated edition provides practical ways to:

• Welcome parents as vital members of the school community
• Sustain ongoing communication with families
• Include parents in school governance
• Develop parent volunteer programs
• Foster shared ownership of the educational process

By including parents as educational partners, schools can create a rich environment that fosters positive student self-esteem and academic success.

Betty Boult, EdD, is currently an educational consultant. She retired from the position of assistant superintendent of School District No. 43 (Coquitlam) in British Columbia in June 2000. She has served as director of instruction (curriculum), supervisor of staff development, principal, assistant principal, teacher-librarian, and classroom teacher. Her back ground experience ranges from primary to adult education in both Canada and the United States. In addition to these full-time positions, she has served as a provincial community education consultant, a guest lecturer for the University of Lethbridge, a sectional instructor for the University of Alberta, and instructor for Nova Southeastern University. She has done part-time consulting with an international consulting company. During the past fifteen years, she has been contracted to do workshops and seminars at the district, provincial, and international levels. In addition, she has appeared on educational television and published numerous articles.

Currently Betty is in her eighth year as Superintendent/ Program Consultant of a British Columbia Offshore School just outside Shanghai. The student population is 1200 students (900 of the students are in Grades ten to twelve). She also is a lead auditor for the Ministry of Education in British Columbia and continues to consult for various jurisdictions throughout the province.