New Ways to Engage Parents: Strategies and Tools for Teachers and Leaders, K–12 - Softcover

Edwards, Patricia A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807756717 ISBN 13: 9780807756713

Publisher: Teachers College Press, 2016

Synopsis

Just as populations change, ideas about how to encourage and work with parents also need to evolve. This practical resource by bestselling author Patricia Edwards provides school leaders and classroom teachers with new and creative ways in which to welcome, encourage, and involve parents. Enacting these types of practices requires a special kind of commitment from teachers and school leaders, which often coincides with a particular kind of mindset about families and one’s responsibility to engage them. Educators often develop this mindset as they deepen their understanding of families, literacy/language, culture/race/class, and themselves. Edwards pulls these understandings together and presents them in a straightforward, concise, and easy-to-use guide that is perfect for professional learning communities and teacher preparation courses. New Ways to Engage Parents is essential reading for all educators who care deeply about working with a wide range of parents in today’s schools.

Book Features:

• A clear view of the changing community demographics and what that means for teachers and administrators.
• Strategies for communicating with parents, including the use of technology.
• The best times to make contact with parents.
• Examples of how to bring parents together for meaningful activities.
• The importance of understanding parental constraints and the need to meet them halfway.
• Approaches for overcoming “school ghosts” as well as negative histories and perceptions in the community.
• Additional resources available online, including an extended example of a parent-teacher-student conference.

About this title

Book Description

“While decidedly among the most important literacy scholars of our era, Pat Edwards locates progress on the ground—in the work of educators and in the operation of schools. Specifically, Edwards invites educators to consider the data that matters to children and communities. It is about people's lives and the lessons that people can teach us about their worlds and about education. It is my hope that this book inspires teachers to seek ways to make schools more equitable and caring spaces for all children.”
—From the Foreword by
Catherine Compton-Lilly
, professor of curriculum and instruction, University of Wisconsin–Madison

"Long a leader in the field, Professor Patricia Edwards reinforces the fact that education is a shared responsibility of home, school, and community. She presents scores of practical ideas and resources to enable educators to involve all parents in their children’s education. This includes details on effective open house nights, new technologies for two-way communications between teachers and parents, designs for student-led parent–teacher conferences, and more."
—
Joyce L. Epstein
, director, Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships and National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS), Johns Hopkins University

"Finally a book that brings partnering with parents into the 21st century! Edwards begins this book with a heartfelt personal history and rationale for why developing parent–teacher partnerships is so important, and she then packs it with detailed, engaging, and practical suggestions for bringing parents and teachers together so that children have rich and relevant opportunities to learn. This is a book teachers will want to keep at their fingertips!"
—
Jeanne R. Paratore
, professor and program director, Literacy and Reading Education, Boston University

"This book moves beyond traditional parent involvement approaches to focus on specific strategies for engaging all families in partnerships to support their students’ learning. With lots of practical suggestions and resources, this book will help readers immediately update, expand, and enhance their parent-engagement efforts."
—
Laurie Elish-Piper
, acting dean, distinguished teaching professor, and presidential engagement professor, College of Education, Northern Illinois University

"
New Ways to Engage Parents
is loaded with practical advice that can help educators engage with families in respectful and culturally sensitive ways. With strategies ranging from teacher notes to classroom blogs, every teacher should find a wealth of ideas for building home–school partnerships."
—
Deborah Wells Rowe
, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University

“Patricia Edwards provides an action-oriented framework and proven strategies for school administrators, teachers, coaches, and teacher educators to create partnerships with families that are linked to student learning goals. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Edwards helps us think critically about outmoded practices that often distance diverse parents from schools and shows us how to replace them with up-to-date strategies for engaging contemporary families.”
—
Judy Carson
, manager for school-family-community partnerships, Connecticut State Department of Education

From the Author

Patricia A. Edwards is professor of language and literacy in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University and former president of the Literacy Research Association and the International Reading Association. Her books include Bridging Literacy and Equity and Change Is Gonna Come.

Edition details

• Publisher: Teachers College Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0807756717
• ISBN 13: 9780807756713
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 168