HOUSTON – Parental engagement has been proven to increase student achievement levels, but some administrators say they’re struggling to get families and the community involved at their campuses.
Almost 90 schools in Texas’ largest school district have been operating under the state-appointed administration’s New Education System (NES) curriculum. Next year, nearly half of the district will join this model.
Houston ISD says the changes will help close achievement gaps and improve underperforming schools.
KPRC2′s Candace Burns has been embedded at Fleming Middle School this year, sharing the stories of students, teachers, and parents navigating these changes.
Fleming Middle School Principal Deven Adams said parental engagement in schools is among the most important components of positive student outcomes.
“I would tell my students that they are awesome, and to make good choices. I would tell my community to come and visit the campus and bring a friend. There is work that we cannot do in the absence of support from our community. It is critically important that we work and partner together.
Research shows that parental engagement improves students’ engagement, and attendance and can lead to higher grades.
“They may not communicate with you, but they are watching to understand what mom said was important, but to see, ‘Wow, she actually came not only to the basketball game but she came to the PTO meeting and the open house and she met with my teacher and looked at my work.’ It could be a proud moment,” said Fleming Middle School teacher Angela Tillman.
Tillman said at Fleming, they’ve been trying to build Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) but have “fallen flat.”
“You know, I am literally going into my cap pocket to spend $700 to buy snacks for the kids so they have something for testing. And, so, what I am hoping is that we can begin to really partner with some more organizations in the community,” said Adams.
He added that the partnerships are necessary for the students and the school’s success.
“I don’t believe that this is too far-fetched from any campus that serves students like ours in communities like ours, but we need the support of the community. It’s very easy for the community to come in times of strife... if they were talking about closing the campus or something like that, then the community would be up in arms. But right now, you know, that is not the case. At least not in the foreseeable future. But as a principal, I am saying that I’m doing callouts, I’m sending fliers, I’m putting things on the billboard and I’m reaching out to different organizations within the community to try to get them to reach out to people who they know. And I just have not seen much success,” Adams said.