The document discusses parental involvement in education, particularly for English language learners (ELLs). It notes that parental involvement is crucial but there can be language barriers that distance ELL parents. It proposes ideas to encourage, educate, and empower ELL parents, such as providing homework help during ESL classes, holding question and answer sessions for parents and teachers, extracurricular activities, and projects that involve learning about students' home cultures. The goal is to find the most effective ways to motivate different communities, schools, and families.

1. Ana Colburn, Jennifer Drake, Gail Harper
Yeilding, Sarah Hicks, and Julie Paul
Dr. Kristi Shaw-Saleh
EESL 610

2. Understanding
different kinds
of parent
participation
Parents may not fall
into one category
specifically or stay in
one category for the
duration of the year.
Our project proposes
ideas to encourage,
educate, and
empower parents.
http://www.mc3edsupport.org/community/knowledgebases/parental-involvement-what-does-it-really-mean-295.html

3.  Parental involvement is crucial to ALL students
 Important to reach out specifically to ELL parents as
they will experience more distance because of the
language barrier
 We will address the issues and provide ideas to
increase parental involvement.

4. • ELLs received homework assistance for content classes during
ESL classes because the ESL teacher knew that it was unlikely
that students would receive help from their parent(s) at home.
• ESL teacher was expected to have greater insight into lives of
students.
 Non-ESL teacher claimed that none of the ESL students’
parents returned any of the forms that she sent home with
them.
 Non-ESL colleagues continuously asked ESL teacher why
parents were not enforcing the students’ completion of
homework assignment.
 Some ESL teachers are bilingual and this is helpful but not
necessary.

5.  Rationale:
 Parental involvement increases student performance
 Helps parents be more comfortable and visible in the
community (creates a positive image of ESL parents).
 Creates an intercultural orientation for the school
 Increases interaction among different cultural groups
 Provide opportunities for exchange of language in a
respectful environment
 Intention: To find out what is most effective in
motivating each community, school, and family.

6.  Group & Individual Q&A sessions (at request of teachers
AND parents)
 Extracurricular activities
 Teach a mini-lesson about their language
 Diversity days
 Language partner program
 Home projects
 Design projects that require students to work with their
parents and learn about their culture
 Encourage students to re-teach what they learned to their
parents.