South Panola School District
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Purpose and Goal

Parent Involvement DOES Make A Difference in Student Achievement

You are your child's first and most important teacher!  Your involvement in your children's education -- all the way from birth until they leave home -- has a major positive impact on their achievement at school.  In fact, did you know that the SINGLE most important thing you can do as a parent, to help your child do well at school, is to read with him/her at home?  If you have time, you can help in other ways with simple learning games and tutoring strategies. 

How do students benefit from family involvement in children's learning.

Ø      Higher test scores

                Ø      Better grades

                Ø      More consistent attendance at  school

                Ø      More positive attitudes and behavior

                Ø      More effective academic program 

Families benefit, too! When you know that you are doing all you can to help your children get ready for learning opportunities at school, or to assist them while they are attending school, you feel better as a parent and as a  person.

Teachers and schools gain, also, when families become involved with their children's education.  Teachers gain a better understanding of families' needs and cultural backgrounds; they find out what  parents can offer to the school program and to their children at home.  Schools with active parent involvement programs almost always have better academic results and better morale on the part of faculty and students.

Get involved!  Find out how to help  your own children learn better and enjoy it more.  If you have time, try serving as a volunteer at your school.  Just listening to a child read for half an hour a week can make a big difference.  Or you can volunteer to help in some other way. 

You can get more information about the link between parent involvement and student achievement from a U.S. Department of Education publication entitled Strong Families, Strong Schools: Building Community Partnerships for Learning.

For a free copy, call 1-800-USA-LEARN

Tips:  From the Family Learning Association 

MAKE READING FUN!

 How to Raise Your Child's Reading Level

Three ways that will NOT work:

• Making reading a chore.     
• Forming an opinion of your child based on his/her reading ability.
• Constantly pushing your child to read at a higher level.

ONE sure way to raise your child's reading level:

                    MAKE READING FUN!

    Create A Reading Environment:

• Let your child see you read.
• Read to your child.
• Listen and respond to your child's question
• Encourage your child to write and then ask for the meaning of the message.
• Build a reading environment in your home.
• Encourage older children to read to younger children
• Help experienced readers talk and write about what they read.

Let's Write!

    ENJOY A FAMILY WRITING NIGHT:  Ask family members to join in a writing night once or twice a month.  You can write letters to family and friends, or write thank-you notes to helpful people in your community.  Each person can contribute a section to the family letter or write his own letter.  The payoff is more than improving writing skills-its receiving a reply in the mail.

Make writing portable.

• When your child says something that you want to treasure, say, "that's so interesting I want to write it down so I won't forget."
• If you're driving down the road and see a sign that captures your imagination or tickles your funny bone, say, "Please get the notebook out an write that down."
• Encourage your child to keep his/her eyes open. When he/she sees something interesting, have him jot it down.  He may want  to write about it when he gets home.

Let's Do Math!

    Math is a very important part of life.  We use math to set an alarm clock, buy groceries, keep score or time at a game, wallpaper a room,  or wrap a present.  We all need math in the world of computers and electronic communication.  It is important to encourage children to think of themselves as mathematicians who can reason and solve problems.

Here are some things you can do:

• Show your children that you like numbers.  Play number games and think of math problems as puzzles to be solved.
• From the time your child is very young, count everything.   When you empty a grocery bag, count the number of apples.  Count the number of stairs to your house.
• Put things into groups.  When you do laundry, separate items of clothing: all the socks in one pile, shirts in another, and pants in another.   Divide the socks by color and count the numbers of each. Draw pictures and graphs of clothes in the laundry: 4 red socks, 10 blue socks, 12 white socks. 
• Help your children do math in their heads with lots of small numbers.  Ask questions: "If I have 4 cups and I need 7, how many more do I need?" or "If I need 12 drinks for the class, how many packages of 3 drinks will I need?"

JUST FOR FUN

First grader:  I'm going to give Miss Jones a rope.

Mother:  Why are you going to give her a rope?

First grader:  She told me that she's just about at the end of hers.

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