Schools and communities

It is no great secret that the road to good schools and good students goes through the home. Unfortunately, that road is often blocked by barriers that prevent parents from becoming full partners in the education of their children.

The Parent Involvement Summit this Saturday (9 a.m.to 4 p.m. at Bangor High School) can provide the tools to clear the obstacles. Sponsored by the Maine PTA, the Maine Coalition for Excellence in Education an the Maine Department of Education, the event will feature presentations by Joyce Epstein of the Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University on the links between those partnerships and student achievement and by National PTA President Ginny Markell on how those links can be forged.

Decades of research has proven beyond dispute the positive connection between parental involvement and student success. It is a far greater factor in good grades and high test scores than economic status, ethnic or racial background or the parents’ education level. It dramatically improves graduation and post-secondary enrollment rates. It reduces substance abuse, violence and anti-social behavior. It is the most effective school-reform initiative going.

The National PTA has developed a road map to parental involvement that goes beyond wishful thinking to a solid and practical six-step plan: regular, meaningful two-way communication between home and school; improving parenting skills; getting parents to play an integral role in learning; helping parents feel welcome as volunteers; making parents full partners in setting education policy; and using community resources — such as businesses, charitable organizations, churches, civic groups and senior citizens — to strengthen schools and families.

Parents, says Carol Jo Morse, president of the Maine PTA, “are the silent partners in Maine’s education reform effort. This event is meant to provide an opportunity for parents to speak out about the obstacles and barriers that deter meaningful parent involvement practices in their school communities. Most importantly, the summit will engage the greater community in helping to minimize and remove those barriers.”

To register for this important event, call Lynne Smith at 746-9047 or log on the Maine PTA Website (www.mainepta.org).