Parental involvement is a crucial part of a child’s educational road map. But this can be tougher to achieve for parents of English learner (EL) students. Communication is a large component of effective engagement and it’s up to educators to ensure that a positive discourse is reached between the school and the parents of EL students. There are a variety of obstacles which often hinder effective communication between home and school. It might be that there is not enough school staff to reach out to parents in Spanish, or perhaps parents are not comfortable with the educational setting yet due to their own experiences in their country of origin. If parents are not documented, they might be reluctant to come to the school or to talk to teachers for fear of jeopardizing their documentation process. Another major factor is the simple unavailability of one or both parents to get involved as much as they may like. Many immigrant parents hold down one or two jobs that require them to work long hours, which doesn’t leave much extra time during the school week. In addition, there may be cultural differences that hinder communication, where some parents believe that the school and the teachers have the last word on the education of their child, and they do not want to interfere.

Educators need to find ways around these obstacles and it starts with outreach from a person at the school level who is familiar with these issues. It may also involve finding interpreters to help break down the language barrier and to open up the lines of communication. A parents’ native tongue is a vital first step to getting them more involved. Demonstrating a willingness to communicate in their language will help them feel more at ease about coming to the school. Providing a welcoming and safe environment for both students and parents will go a long way towards getting parents to become more heavily involved in talking about their child’s academic progress and identifying the problems the child is facing in school while also figuring out ways to solve them alongside the teacher. Arranged visits and tours of the school along with educating parents on how the U.S. school system operates with respect to a collaborative effort between the teacher and parent can also engender a better understanding about what is necessary and expected from parents to ensure successful academic outcomes for students. This is up to the school to initiate in an organized and systemic way. The Latino Family Literacy Project can train your school staff for a culturally relevant and meaningful approach for working with Spanish-speaking parents at school. The approach is to start with what parents know and introduce meaningful activities and conversation that are true to their lives and are reflected in culturally rich literature.

Lectura Books publishes bilingual books exclusively for The Latino Family Literacy Project. When staff joins a webinar for training with The Latino Family Literacy Project, they learn a whole new framework for understanding Latino immigrant parents and will help parents learn how to read with their kids, develop English vocabulary and regular family reading routines. See what one district leader has to say! Join the experts for an award-winning parent involvement program.