A hot topic within my district currently is figuring out how to get parents involved in their kid's learning. We are teaching in a way that is very different than most parents out there, especially new strategies in math and phonics. Many times a technique that parents might use to help kids with homework or practice at home can confuse a student because it differs or clashes with the way the content is taught at school. For example, we use so many manipulatives now and offer 3 or 4 ways to solve a math problem, but a parent might teach the child a way they won't learn until the following year. This has a potential to confuse a child in the mean time, leaving them uncertain on how to approach a given problem. I don't mean for it to sound so dramatic, but you get what I mean (hopefully).

As a school we have held a parent night and a workshop to show parents some of the ways that kids learn today and helpful tips to best help their children outside of school hours. However, there has still been low involvement. Busy schedules, intimidation, lack of interest, etc. are all involved. I wanted to see if there were any others that are currently dealing with this issue or had a success story concerning parent involvement either individuall or class/schoolwide. 

I recently did some PD training centered around Math Recovery called "Strength in Number" and my eyes were open to all the times I may have accidentally confused a child's method of counting, adding/subtracting, approach to dolving equations, etc. It was very convicting and insightful for all of us to hear and learn. One of the mornings magnified the issue of parent involvement and the great correlation it has with student success and growth, not just in math, but across the board. 

Anyways, what are your thoughts? Any suggestions? It is an important aspect of colaborative growth for our students, but how can we as educators set up a kind of environment that promotes more parent involvement?