Asano R, Shimomura I, Konno S, Ito A, Masakari Y, Orimo R, Taki S, Arai K, Ogata H, Okada M, Furumoto S, Onitsuka M, Omasa T, Hayashi H, Katayose Y, Unno M, Kudo T, Umetsu M, Kumagai I. Asano R, et al. MAbs. 2014;6(5):1243-54. doi: 10.4161/mabs.29445. Epub 2014 Oct 30. MAbs. 2014. PMID: 25517309 Free PMC article.

Liu C, Zhou J, Kudlacek S, Qi T, Dunlap T, Cao Y. Liu C, et al. Elife. 2023 Jul 25;12:e83659. doi: 10.7554/eLife.83659. Elife. 2023. PMID: 37490053 Free PMC article.Tim Newcomb, “Whether Through Texts or Apps, Schools Are Using Technology to Get the Message Out to Students’ Families,” The 74, March 25, 2019, available at https://www.the74million.org/article/whether-through-texts-or-apps-schools-are-using-technology-to-get-the-message-out-to-students-families/. CAP created and distributed a survey to K-12 public school parents, teachers, and school leaders that asked about the content, frequency, and importance of multiple types of information parents receive, as well as the methods schools use to communicate this information. The authors also reviewed current parent and family engagement plans—required under Title I, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act—choosing plans from three districts in Colorado and three districts in Pennsylvania and highlighting observed trends. (see “Title I review methodology” in the Appendix for more information about why these districts were selected)

Parent perceptions about how much communication they receive may predict the extent of their engagement. One 1997 study found that parents’ perceptions of the amount of information they received from teachers, more so than the actual amount, predicted their self-reported involvement in their child’s learning. 42 Unfortunately, there is some evidence of a disconnect between schools’ and parents’ perceptions of communication. The same study found no correlation between parent- and teacher-reported amounts of information, even within the same school. Kristin Turney and Grace Kao, “Barriers to School Involvement: Are Immigrant Parents Disadvantaged?”, The Journal of Educational Research 102 (4) (2009): 257–271, available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3200/JOER.102.4.257-271. The influence of receptor density, antigen-binding affinities, molecular format, and cytotoxicity kinetics, as…

Every Student Succeeds Act, S. 1177, 114th Cong., 1st sess. (December 10, 2015), available at https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1177. Encourage parent surveys to look at parent attitudes toward schools and disaggregate data as much as possible. States should consider administering statewide parent surveys to better understand parents’ attitudes toward schools, specifically including questions to assess the quality of school-parent communication. States can disaggregate the information by school and student characteristics—including by race and ethnicity, income, home language, and disability status—to help districts identify which schools may benefit from strategic changes and to focus technical assistance in areas that need it most. For example, Illinois conducts an annual survey of teachers, students, and parents to gather information on effective leaders, collaborative teachers, involved families, school environments, and rigor of instruction. 77 The Illinois State Board of Education makes these data publicly available, reports the information by school, and uses the information to better support school districts. Sharice Stevens, parent of a Sidney Lanier High School student, personal communication with authors via phone, November 22, 2019, on file with authors. Lesa Holt, parent of a Sidney Lanier High School student, personal communication with authors via phone, November 22, 2019, on file with authors.

In addition to living in neighborhoods with high levels of environmental stress, ethnic and racial minority youth are disproportionally more likely to have interactions with the juvenile justice system ( Freudenberg & Ruglis, 2007; Lauritsen, 2005), or to have relatives involved in the criminal justice system as compared to their white peers. As a consequence, these minority youth may expect greater injustice from formal institutions ( Woolard, Cleary, Harvell, & Chen, 2008). Persistent exposure to discrimination and racial profiling ( Rousseau et al., 2009) can also impact their ability to trust and collaborate with mental health providers. Community, religious, and social agencies are therefore more typically trusted as resources to confront the hardships and stressors associated with their own and/or their family’s living circumstances ( Alegria et al., 2002). Expectations of misunderstanding and/or coercion within traditional institutional services (e.g. schools, police, and government services) tend to discourage minority youth and families from seeking professional mental health care ( Takeuchi, Bui, & Kim, 1993). As a result, there is a larger gap between the mental health service system’s offerings in contrast to the negative expectations and unmet needs of diverse children and youth. English–Arabic English–Bengali English–Catalan English–Czech English–Danish English–Hindi English–Korean English–Malay English–Marathi English–Russian English–Tamil English–Telugu English–Thai English–Turkish English–Ukrainian English–Vietnamese In military gear, some items have just one size (but smaller or larger people have already been excluded from military service). Timberly L. Baker and others, “Identifying Barriers: Creating Solutions to Improve Family Engagement,” School Community Journal 26 (2) (2016): 161–184, available at https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1124003.pdf. EdNavigator, “Muddled”; Seth Litt, “For Families to Help L.A. Schools Improve, District Must Provide Clear Information About Their Kids’ Education,” The 74, September 29, 2019, available at https://www.the74million.org/article/new-report-los-angeles-needs-powerful-parents-to-help-citys-schools-improve-but-lausd-must-first-give-families-clear-information-about-their-childrens-education/.

There are grade-level differences in the frequency and importance of different types of information, but there were few differences among parents by race and ethnicity or income. SDP describes the need to “provide multiple entry points” to ensure that more families can participate in their children’s learning. In addition to the district’s use of technology, it also hires family and community engagement coordinators to help work with parents and build trusting relationships. Mesa County Valley School District 51, “KBA: District Title I Parent Involvement,” available at http://www.mesa.k12.co.us/board/policies/documents/kba.pdf (last accessed December 2019). Of the six plans, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) has the most detailed and comprehensive plan. It also describes multiple types of communication approaches geared to improve district and school communication with families. Sandra Wilder, “Effects of parental involvement on academic achievement: a meta-synthesis,” Educational Review 66 (3) (2014): 377–397, available at http://parented.wdfiles.com/local–files/family-engagement/Parent%20Inv%20and%20achieve.pdf.