Ideas and Challenges When Working with Families Assignment: Often, families of children with ?special needs are concerned about their child, particularly if they are ?beginning the

Copyright © 1996 The Parent Institute

68 Parent Involvement Ideas That Really Work

1. Know THE SECRET to getting parents to attend meetings at school—make sure they know they’re genuinely invited.

2. Establish a friendly contact with parents early in the year, “In Time of Peace.”

3. Insist that teachers not wait until its too late to tell parents about potentially serious problems. Early contact helps.

4. Ask teachers to make at least two positive phone calls to parents each week. Add a phone line or two if needed. Parent communication is a cost-effective investment.

5. Remember the 3 “F”s for suc- cess—Food, Families, Fun.

6. Focus on the strengths of fami- lies—they know their children better than anyone else. Find ways to get that information to teachers, other school staff.

7. Learn how to deal with angry parents—separate the parent from the argument he is making. Use active listening. Don’t get angry. Look for areas of agreement, “We both want your child to do well.” Find a win-win solution. If you’re not sure about a parent suggestion say, “I’ll certainly keep that in mind.” If necessary, devise a temporary solution.

8. Provide a brief parent newsletter. One sheet of paper is best.

9. Remember “30-3-30” in writing school newsletters. Eighty percent of people will spend just 30 seconds reading it. Nineteen percent will spend three minutes. One percent will spend 30 minutes (your mother).

10. Remember the dollar bill rule for newsletters. A dollar bill placed anywhere, at any angle, on any page should touch some element of graphic interest—headline, box, screen, bullets _, bold type, picture—or it’s too dull for most people to read.

11. Develop written policies encour- aging parent involvement. If it’s not in policy, the message is we don’t care much about it.

12. Write for parents at 4th to 6th grade level. Use a computer to check the reading level.

13. Know why parents say they are not involved: 1) Don’t have time, 2) Don’t know what to do, 3) Don’t know it is important, 4) Don’t speak English.

14. Take heart from the “one-third rule.” Research says if you can get one- third of a school’s parents involved, you can begin to make significant improvement in student achievement.

15. Be aware that teachers are more reluctant to contact parents than vice versa. Solution: get parents and teachers together—just as people—in comfortable social situations.

16. Stress two-way communication between schools and parents. “One- way” isn’t communication.

17. Conduct school surveys to reveal family attitudes about your school.

18. Use “key communicators” to control the rumor mill. Keep those to whom others turn for school information well informed, especially the three “B”s—b arbers, bartenders & beauty shop operators.

19. Use simple evaluation forms to get parent feedback on every meeting or event. If we ask, they will tell us what they want.

20. Try “quick notes” home—notes the day something happens. A parent helps the child with a spelling test and the child does better. Shoot an immediate note home to say, “It’s working!”

21. Take parents’ pictures. Tell them in advance that pictures will be taken with their child, and prepare for a crowd.

22. Encourage teachers to assign homework that requires talking with someone at home.

23. Ask teachers what they would like to tell parents if they had the chance—and ask parents what they would like to tell teachers. Then exchange the information! Great program.

24. Put up a “Welcome” sign in every language spoken by students and parents at your school—get parents to help get the words right.

25. Have handy a ready reference list of helpful materials parents might use to help them cope with student problems. Better yet have a lending library.

26. Set up a parent center in your school stocked with resources to help (and lend to) parents.

27. Offer parenting classes—with videos and lots of handouts.

28. Know the facts about the changing structure of the family—and consider how schools can cope to best help children.

29. Consider an inservice program for staff on facts about single-parent families—it can be a real eye- opener.

30. Breakfast sessions at school draw busy parents like crazy.

31. Be very careful to monitor how your school telephone is answered. Phone impressions are lasting ones!

32. Provide “Go to the Office” slips for teachers to give students who do something good. Student takes slip to principal who compliments child, writes note to parents on the slip (or calls parents), sends it home.

33. Be aware that parents are looking for a school where their children are likely to succeed—more than a school with the highest test scores. Show parents that you care.

34. Send a school bus filled with staff around the school neighborhood to meet and welcome students. parents just before school starts.

35. Solicit parent volunteers at the Kin- dergarten Registration Day program. Make it easy to sign up when parents are most enthusiastic.

Copyright © 1996 The Parent Institute

36. Don’t make judgments about parents’ lack of interest in their children’s education. You’ll probably be wrong. “Walk a mile in their shoes” and understand that what looks like apathy may be exhaustion.

37. Try day-long parent academies with short repeated workshops on topics such as building self-esteem, language development, motivating children, encouraging reading, discipline, talking with kids about sex, dealing with divorce, etc. Test weekdays vs. weekends.

38. Provide training and lots of school information for parent volunteers. They are powerful goodwill ambassadors.

39. Invite parents to fill out interview forms detailing child’s special qualities—interests, abilities, accomplishments. Teachers can use information to write story about child to read at school program, post on bulletin board.

40. Investigate “voice mail” systems to keep parents up-to-date on homework, school activities.

41. Find ways to provide positive re- inforcement to parents. Everyone responds well to recognition.

42. Involve parents in goal-setting for their children. It promotes working as a team.

43. Use research findings that one of the best ways to get parents involved is to simply ask them, and also tell them what you’d like them to do.

44. Give parents specific suggestions about how they can help their children. Many just need to know things like: “Read aloud every day.” “Turn the TV off during homework time.”

45. Try a short student-written newsletter for parents about what students have been learning. (You still need your own parent news- letter. You cannot fulfill your obligation to communicate by dele- gating the job to students.)

46. Help parents understand why excessive TV hurts children—TV robs them of needed play, exercise, reading practice, study time, dulls critical thinking, encourages obesity through snacking.

47. Understand the diversity of single parent families. Living with one parent can be wonderful for some children, destructive for others

48. Offer school sponsored sessions on single parenting.

49. Help parents understand that student effort is the most important key to school success, not just ability.

50. Encouraging (and assisting) parents to network among themselves to solve common problems builds parent support.

51. Provide some parent education classes at the workplace. Con- venience works for 7-11 stores and it also works for schools.

52. Try providing “Good News Post- cards” for teachers to write short positive note about students and mail them home. One thousand postcards cost less than $200 to mail.

53. Ask parents’ help in developing questions for a school “audit” to see if your school is family friendly.

54. Invite parents to a program about helping children do well on homework and eliminating things that distract them. Most have never had such information.

55. Ask parents to fill out a “Contact Sheet” listing home and work addresses and phone numbers—and the best times to be contacted in either place.

56. Have children write personal notes to their parents on school papers, surveys, invitations to school programs, etc. Watch parent response rates soar!

57. Help all school staff understand the central role they play in building parent attitudes, support and involvement—secretary, custodian, food service staff, bus driver, librarian, aides, everyone

58. Try sending home “Resource Bags” filled with games, videos, reading materials and instructions on specific activities parents can do with children at home. They’re very popular.

59. Having problems getting parents involved with a child who’s having discipline or other problems? Try videotaping class sessions. Showing the “candid camera” tape to parents and children works wonders.

60. Make sure all staff know the top things parents report they want to know about school: 1) How they can be involved with their child’s education, 2) How they can spend more time at school, 3) How to talk to teachers, other school staff, 4) How to help their child at home.

61. Try holding “non-academic” social events to draw parents to school to see students’ work.

62. Try an evening Curriculum Fair to give parents a better understanding of what’s being taught.

63. Try a “Family Math Night” to inform parents about the math curriculum through math games.

64. Try “refrigerator notes.” Ask stu- dents to “Take this note home and put it in the refrigerator.” That gets attention!

65. Know that parents are also looking to schools for help in dealing with non-academic problems (child care, raising adolescents, advice on drugs, sexual activity). Providing help can build parent support.

66. Understand one key reason for parent non-involvement: Lack of information. One memo won’t do. Try letters & notes & signs & calls & newspaper & radio & TV. Repeti- tion works & works & works.

67. Transition Nights (or days, or afternoons) for parents and students getting ready to go to a new school help answer questions, relieve anxieties, build involvement and support.

68. Want to get parents out for school meetings? Make children welcome by offering child care.

—These ideas from a presentation by John H. Wherry, Ed.D., President, The Parent Institute, P.O. Box 7474, Fairfax Station, VA 22039-7474. The Parent Institute pub- lishes the Educators’ Notebook on Family Involvement newsletter for school staff (from which all ideas for this handout have been taken), the Parents Make the Difference! newsletter for schools to distribute to parents of elementary grade children, the Parents STILL Make the Difference! newsletter for parents of secondary school children, as well as booklets and videos for parents. For informa tion about publications and services call toll-free: 1-800-756-5525. Copyright © 1996, The Parent Institute. Permission granted for reproduction of this material if this credit message is included.

“Parents are their child’s first teacher.”

How many times have you heard this platitude, usually at workshops about how to involve parents in their children’s education? The challenge for educators of children from immi- grant families is to figure out how to engage parents from ethnic and lin- guistic backgrounds different from their own (see box, “Overview of Current U.S. Immigration”). What if the parents speak Urdu or Hmong, Somali or Chinese, and the only for – eign-language teacher or resource person at the school is the Spanish teacher? This article provides many practical suggestions, tactics, and resources for questing educators who are sincere in their desire to involve all parents.

Parental involvement in the edu- cation of children with disabilities in the United States is a legal right mandated with the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Public Law 94-142, 1975), further strengthened in P.L. 101-476 (1990), and in the most recent reauthorization of P.L. 105-17 (1997). Unfortunately, despite the 25 years of such mandates, U.S. special education programs still lack active involvement and participation from parents of diverse cultural and lin- guistic backgrounds (Thorp, 1997).

Barriers to Participation by Immigrant Parents of Students with Disabilities Several potential barriers limit par- ents’ participation in their children’s education in the school setting. Knowledge and understanding of these barriers is the first step toward bridging them. (See “Resources” boxes for helpful instructional tools and other useful resources.)

Language

Limited English-language proficien- cy is a major factor that affects par- ent participation in the school sys- tem (Holman, 1997; Sileo, Prater, & Sileo, 1996; Turnbull & Turnbull,

2001). Parents with limited English proficiency may not feel confident communicating with school person- nel and, in fact, might feel intimidat- ed by highly educated school person- nel (Holman, 1997). New or unskilled English-language speakers should be encouraged to use their native language (with appropriate supports) to gain and give informa- tion about their child’s education.

Further, these parents might not understand the special educational needs and the nature of their child’s disability (Thomas, Correa, & Morsink , 2000). For example, they may not be able to read the reports that teachers are sending home—in some cases, even when the report is in their native language. Some par- ents may be illiterate in their native language.

On the other hand, some parents may have strong English sk ills and want to communicate in English. These parents will be able to gain a full understanding of their child’s educational process through tradi- tional home-school communication. Tactics • First, try to assess and understand

the language needs of each immi- grant family. Your first task is to ask parents if they are comfortably

52 ■ COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

Involving Immigrant Parents of Students with Disabilities in the Educational Process

Suha Al-Hassan

Ralph Gardner III

The challenge for educators of

children from immigrant families

is to figure out how to engage

parents from ethnic and linguistic

backgrounds different from their

own.

TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN ■ MAY/J UNE 2002 ■ 53

U.S. Census Information. The population of U.S. schools is becoming increasingly diverse. According to the popula- tion survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000 (Camarota, 2001); there are 28.4 million immigrants liv- ing in the United States, they account for about 1 in 10 res- idents (10.4%), the highest percentage in 70 years. The census also revealed that school-age immigrant children in the United States number 8.6 million; and researchers have projected that this number will be even larger in the coming years, because 17.6% of the children approaching school age have immigrant mothers (Camarota, 2001).

New Immigrants. Families immigrate to the United States for many different reasons: political conflicts, economic opportunities, education, to reunite with family, and a combination of these and other concerns. Whatever their reasons, the immigrants seek a better life and opportuni- ties for their families, including access to a system of free public education for their children (Holman, 1997). Immigrant families come with educational expectations for their children, but a lack of familiarity with the U.S. education structure. The U.S. schools are required to meet the needs of the diverse students and inform parents of their rights and responsibilities. In 1974 the Supreme Court’s decision in the Lau v. Nicholas case (Ohio Department of Education, 2001) stated that equal access to education involves having instruction in a language that the student can communicate in and understand. This decision has resulted in an increased availability of translated materials and translators to meet the educa- tional needs of children with limited English proficiency. Effectively teaching immigrant children demands addi- tional resources from a school system that is already struggling to meet the educational needs of its domestic students.

Socioeconomic Profile of Immigrants. The survey conduct- ed by the Census Bureau shows that 53% of immigrant

children live in or near poverty, compared to 35% of chil- dren of natives (Camarota, 2001). Some immigrant stu- dents might be suffering from the harmful effects of living in refugee camps. These immigrant students may not have had formal education opportunities in their native countries. Immigrant parents may work in jobs that do not provide family health insurance. Poverty, emotional and physical trauma, or poor medical care that some immigrant children experience may create circumstances that increase the likelihood of the children having special educational needs. A consequence may be that many immigrant students are at increased risk for school diffi- culties. In particular, special educators are challenged to not only address cultural and linguistics differences but also meet the needs of children with disabilities (Artiles, Trent, Hoffman-Kipp, & Lopez-Torres, 2000). Educators are faced with immigrant students who struggle with lan- guage (Roseberry-McKibbin, 1995). Teachers need par- ents’ assistance in distinguishing language differences from language disabilities.

Barriers to Instruction. Teachers of immigrant children have to overcome barriers to instruction, such as lan- guage and cultural differences, parental lack of informa- tion about U.S. schools, and differences with previous educational system or the lack of previous formal school- ing. Despite these barriers, teachers are work ing hard to meet the individual needs of students in their classrooms. Teachers alone cannot achieve the goal of an appropriate education for all children; parents and families must be fully and meaningfully engaged in this process. In addi- tion, educators must take into consideration that the fam- ily is the most important element in a child’s life (Heward, 2000). Parents are their child’s first teacher and often are the first to recognize the special needs of their children. Yet, involving parents and families becomes a difficult issue in improving the academic and social devel-

Overview of Current U.S. Immigration

in receiving communication in English. You can informally assess whether English is an appropriate language for communication with a family by talking with family members and evaluating if the parents or other significant adults in the family can effectively receive and give clear information. Be careful to emphasize with par- ents that at any point, if the par- ents’ language skills change (e.g., parents become more proficient in English or you realize that there are frequent miscommunication in English), then you can change the language of communication.

• Include translators in meetings with parents. Translators must have the family’s confidence and be held to a high ethical code, including confidentiality. School districts usually maintain bilin- gual translators in languages that have a significant population in their area. Most states or districts have community-based translators who are available to schools. For example, in central Ohio, the Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS) is a community-based program devel- oped in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Education that provides translators to school dis- tricts. CRIS has a pool of transla- tors for 22 languages. The transla- tors usually have other jobs but assist schools on request. Schools use services like CRIS for lan- guages less frequently found in the school districts. The Ohio Department of Education also partnered with the Ohio Dominican College to set up sum- mer training for bilingual transla- tors to increase the pool of avail- able translators (D. Fleak , person- al communication, September 1, 2001). Individuals who successful-

ly completed the program were listed by language as persons available to schools as translators. Schools typically pay a nominal fee to the interpreters.

• Give the parents the opportunity to choose a translator with whom they feel comfortable and may have worked with in the past (Turnbull & Turnbull, 2001).

• Ask other parents who speak the same language to assist in the communication with the family.

• Provide classes to teach parents English as a second language, if possible, or direct the interested parents to certain programs, such as Center for Applied Linguistics, which offers online language and academic programs for recent i m m i g r a n t s (www.cal.org/crede/newcomers).

• Large urban school districts or a coalition of smaller school dis- tricts may develop transition or welcome educational centers that provide assistance to immigrant children and families in adjusting to U.S. schools. The centers allow educators to assess the skills of the students and the development of student sk ills needed for school success. For example, the Columbus, Ohio, Public Schools has developed a Welcome Center that provides services to immi- grant children and their families. Such centers enable schools to use resources more efficiently.

Lack of Information

Parents of children with disabilities often report that their greatest need is information (Thorp, 1997). Parents need frequent and precise information about their child’s progress; it is not enough to receive progress reports a few times per year. Moreover, as stated by Thorp, “The information received by the parents may or may not be in their home language, and it may or may not be provided in a way that is understandable” (p. 267). Tactics • Provide information, both written

and oral, in ways that enable the

parents to understand. The Regional Resource and Federal Centers (RRFC) Network is com- posed of the Federal Resource Center and the six regional resource centers for special educa- t i o n (http://www.dssc.org/frc/index. htm). Immigrants from a particu- lar culture/country often settled in the same region of the United States. For example, Minnesota has a large Hmong community; central Ohio, a significant Somali population; south Florida, a large population of Cubans. Schools in these areas may have parental information and teaching aids already translated into the native languages of particular groups res- ident in their community. By con- tacting the appropriate federal regional office, you may obtain the needed translated materials. General information about work- ing with immigrant children and their families is also available from the regional centers. For example, the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory provides online self-report check lists ( w w w . n w r e l . o r g / c n o r s e / b o o k – lets/immigrantion/5.html) for teachers and administrators to assess the school environment’s friendliness toward immigrants.

• Make school reports simple. Use icons (e.g., happy or sad faces) to convey information. If you are sending written reports, have it translated into the family’s native language. Translators can help with the development of school forms in the parents’ native lan- guage.

• Use positive, direct, and simple language. Avoid using medical or psychological terms or language.

54 ■ COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

Provide information, written and

oral, in ways that enable the

parents to understand.

Assess and understand the

language needs of each

immigrant family.

Provide examples of student behavior, preferably on graphs or charts that are more easily under- stood.

• Use translators if you need to com- municate orally with the parents.

• Deliver positive massages through nonverbal communication; some- times it is the only direct commu- nication between you and the par- ent.

• Do not assume that you have com- municated effectively; verify it by having the parents communicate to you what they heard.

• Develop a survival vocabulary list in the native language(s) of your families for use with parents and school personnel (Thomas et al., 2000). Include basic special educa- tion terminology, greetings, action words, and calendar words in the list. The National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education (NCBE, 2001) (http:// www.ncbe.gwu.edu/classroom/fu n.htm) provides much of this information. After choosing the list of vocabulary you feel is important to facilitate the commu- nication between you and the fam- ilies, you may find on-line resources to translate the list to other languages (e.g., www.world.altavista. com). This Web site allows you to translate any text, or even Web sites, to eight different languages.

Teacher’s Unfamiliarity with Immigrant Parents’ Culture

As the school population has become increasingly diverse, the teacher population in the school environ- ment has remained unchanged with the vast majority of teachers coming from middle class Euro-American backgrounds. This creates unequal representation of students with a dis- proportionate number of teachers coming from the majority culture and the majority of students from diverse cultural backgrounds (Sileo, et al., 1996; Thorp, 1997). Unless teachers actively seek opportunities to learn about other cultures, they will be unfamiliar with the immi-

grant family’s cultural traditions and practices. Tactics • Read about other cultures. For

example, The Culturalgram: The Nations Around Us (Brigham Young University, 1996) provides a synopsis of countries and cultures from around the world.

• Ask bilingual parents, especially those who have children with dis- abilities, about their experiences with the education system in their native country.

• Understand the different needs of the families and appreciate their culture and language (Fradd & Tikunoff, 1987).

• Welcome the parents to your class- room and encourage them to share their culture and experiences with your whole class.

• Be sensitive to matters pertaining to nonverbal communication (e.g., eye contact, facial expression, ges- tures, proximity, touching, cloth- ing) among diverse cultural groups (Thomas et al., 2000). In some cultures looking directly and making eye contact could mean respect, but in other cultures it could be interpreted as disrespect- ful.

• Be careful with physical proximity and touching. Cultural norms vary widely on the type and frequency of touching that occurs during friendly professional interactions.

Negative Educational Experiences

Parents’ negative experiences may affect their participation in the edu- cational process of their children. Some parents may have had prior negative experiences with educators. For example, parents who never have been invited to their child’s classroom, or the parents who don’t speak English yet have been told that they should only speak English to their child with a disability (Thorp, 1997). These messages may have created negative attitudes toward school personnel. The teacher must gain the trust of the families and engage them in the edu- cation process of their child.

Tactics • Send welcome notes to the new-

arrival families in their language and invite them to visit the school.

• Communicate personally with the family, through e-mail, a phone call, or quick “home note” (Thomas et al., 2000) regarding the progress of their child, notify- ing parents about upcoming activ- ities, and any other concerns.

• Include special cultural and reli- gious holidays on the school calen- dar. Ask parents to help plan cul- tural events and celebrations at the classroom. Use the interna- tional calendar on the NCBE Web site (http://www.k idlink. o r g / K I D P R O J / M C C / c a l e n d a r – index.html).

• Make home visits by appointment with the family member. Dress appropriately and comfortably. Respond with sensitivity to offers of food and beverages (Turnbull & Turnbull, 2001).

• Home visits provide an opportuni- ty to instruct parents in special- ized strategies designed to meet their child’s educational needs. Make sure your suggestions coin- cide with the parents’ behavioral goals for their child.

Unfamiliarity with the U.S. Educational Practices

Learning about and gaining access to community services can be challeng- ing to parents, especially immigrant parents (Bailey, Sk inner, Rodriguez, Gut, & Correa, 1999). Immigrant par- ents may not understand their legal rights and the rights of their chil- dren, and they may not be familiar with the educational practices in the United States. Many developing countries do not have mandates and laws for educating children with dis-

TEACHING EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN ■ MAY/J UNE 2002 ■ 55

Send welcome notes to new

immigrant families in their

language and invite them to visit

the school.

abilities. Parents may or may not have had formal schooling opportu- nities themselves. The result is that some may not be aware of their right to ask for special education services for their children.

Zetlin, Padron, and Wilson (1996) studied culturally diverse parents of children with developmental disabil- ities regarding their attitudes and experiences with the special educa- tion system. The researchers found that all the families indicated high

degrees of commitment and involve- ment, but responses varied in terms of their understanding of the individ- ualized education program (IEP) process, awareness of rights and options, and willingness to challenge school district’s decisions concern- ing their child. Tactics • Fully inform immigrant parents

about their rights and their role in their child’s education. Educators can find parental information in

various languages through the Federal Regional Resource Center.

• Provide information about the identification, referral, and inter- vention process; legal, ethical, financial matters; and other resources (e.g., transportation and child-care services) (Sileo, Prater, & Sileo, 1996). Provide written handouts in the family’s language. See the Web site of PACER center, the Parent Advocacy Coalition of Educational Rights, which serves

56 ■ COUNCIL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

Beach Center on Families and Disability (http://www.beachcenter.org/). Conducts research and training to en

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