Technical Assistance for Part B, Indicator 8

Data Collection & Analysis

• What is your overall approach for collecting and reporting parent involvement data?
• If you are sampling, what is your sampling methodology? 
• What survey instruments are used?
• Is the survey available in a variety of formats (paper, Web-based, oral, etc.)?
• What criteria are used to indicate a “positive response” to the survey?
• When are the surveys conducted – ongoing, or at set points during the year?
• What policies and procedures are in place to guide LEAs in distributing parent involvement surveys to families?
• What types of training and technical assistance are in place to support LEAs in collecting the parent involvement data?
• Do you have the appropriate data system for analyzing collected data? Do you use a contractor or complete the analysis within the SEA?
• In what ways do you collaborate with your Parent Training and Information Center and/or Community Parent Resource Center in data collection and analysis?

Response Rates, Parent Outreach, and Diversity

• How do you ensure that the sample is representative of the diversity of children (race, ethnicity, language, disability, etc.) receiving special education services in your state & districts?
• How do you ensure that underserved families (limited English proficient, immigrant, racially diverse, low income, limited literacy, etc.) are sufficiently represented in your data?
• Is the survey translated into other languages?
• What options are available for parents who need assistance, such as a translation or an oral presentation, in order to respond to the survey?
• What activities are conducted to promote the survey and encourage parents to respond and increase the response rate?
• What are the various ways the data are collected from parents (by mail, online, by telephone, etc.)?
• How do you assure parents that their responses will be kept confidential?
• How do you address questions regarding the purpose of the survey and how the information will be used?
• In what ways are parent and community organizations involved in assisting in outreach to increase response rates?
• In what ways are parent and community organizations involved in assisting in outreach to ensure responses are representative of the State’s diversity?

Improvement Activities

• How are parent involvement data analyzed and used in the State? 
• How do you utilize results from all survey items, not just the items used to calculate the positive response for Indicator 8?
• How are stakeholders involved in the interpretation of data? 
• What changes has the State made as a result of these data?
• How are the data used to identify or modify improvement activities?
• How have the State and local districts evaluated the impact of the improvement efforts to date?
• What strategies could be used to improve your performance on Indicator 8?
• What are your areas of strength?
• What are your areas of greatest concern?
• How do you connect improvement activities for Indicator 8 with other APR indicators?
• In what ways do you engage your Parent training and Information Center and/or Community Parent Resource Center in improvement activities?

Original Word Document

Data Collection & Analysis Tools

NCSEAM Parent Involvement Survey

• LSU Accountability Data Web Site (Formerly NCSEAM)
• NCSEAM Parent Involvement Scales and Resources

Early Childhood Outcomes Center Family Survey

• Early Childhood Outcomes (ECO) Center Web site
• ECO Center Family Outcomes Survey Page
• Guidance for States in Documenting Family Outcomes for Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education

Survey Methodology

• Definitions of Various Sampling Methods (StatPac)
• National Post-School Outcomes Center Sampling Calculator
• Sample Size Calculator (Creative Research Systems)
• Sampling Information (Web Center for Social Research Methods)
• Survey Research and Questionnaire Information (Child Care and Early Education Research Connections

Strategies to Increase Response Rate

States may wish to contact their Parent Training and Information Center(s) and/or Community Parent Resource Center(s) to collaborate on developing and implementing a plan to increase parents’ response rate to the Indicator 8 Parent Involvement survey.

Following are some possible strategies for increasing survey response rate:

• State Education Agency and Parent Center could develop a joint cover letter explaining the purpose and importance of Parent Involvement Survey.
• Parents could be instructed to mail the surveys back to the Parent Center, rather than the State.
• Parent Centers could include information about the survey in their newsletters and Web sites.
• Parent Centers could mention the survey at their workshops and other events, giving parents the opportunity to ask questions.
• Radio or Cable TV ads could be developed to air around the time surveys will be disseminated.
• Alternative methods of conducting the survey could be used, such as in-person interviews, verbal surveys over the phone, and focus groups.

 

Parent Involvement Resources & Publications

Diversity

• Building Support for Better Schools:  Seven Steps to Engaging Hard-to-Reach Communities (SEDL, 2000)
  This publication is also available in Spanish
• Culturally Responsive Parental Involvement: Concrete Understandings and Basic Strategies (American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, 2002)
• Diversity: School, Family, and Community Connections (SEDL, 2003)
• Early Childhood Parent Outreach Materials for Diverse Families (PACER Center, 2006)
• Family and Community Involvement: Reaching Out to Diverse Populations (SEDL, 2000)
  This publication is also available in Spanish
• Parent and Professional Collaboration: A Cultural Persepective (PACER Center, 2002).
  

Parent-Professional Collaboration Models

• Collaborative Partnerships Between SEAs and Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) (Müller, 2007)
• Elements for Successful Parent-Professional Collaboration: The Fundamental Things Apply As Time Goes By (Sheehey & Sheehey, 2007)
• Epstein’s Framework of Six Types of Parent Involvement (Epstein, 1997)
• Evolution of Family-Professional Partnerships:  Collective Empowerment as the Model for the Early Twenty First Century (Turnbull, Turbiville, & Turnbull, 2000)
• The Family-School Partnership Lab (Vanderbilt University)
• IRIS Collaborating with Families Module (IRIS Center for Faculty Enhancement)
• Modeling the Parent-Teacher Strategies of Special Education (McLaughlin, NEA Today 2008)
• Parent Centers and State Education Agencies: Collaborative Models (Brick & Markowitz, 2004)
  

Home – School – Community Partnerships

• Building Home, School, and Community Partnerships (SEDL, 2005)
• Building Relationships for Student Success:  School-Family-Community
  Partnerships and Student Achievement in the Northwest (Dorfman & Fisher, 2002)
• Educating Our Children Together: A Sourcebook for Effective Family-School-Community Partnerships (Carter, 2003)
• Family Involvement Network of Educators (Harvard Family Research Project)
• How Can Schools Involve Family and Community Members in Supporting a Child's Readiness for School?: An Interactive Research Brief (SEDL, 2006)
  This publication is also available in Spanish
• A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement (Henderson & Mapp, 2002)
• Parents, Families, and Local Communities (IDEA Partnership)
• The School Community Journal (Academic Development Institute)

Parent-Professional Communication

• How Families and Professionals Can Build Winning Partnerships (Vermont Parent Information Center, 2005)
• Working Together: A Parent’s Guide to Parent and Professional Partnership and Communication (PACER Center, 2006)

Parent Leadership

• Minnesota Special Education Advisory Councils Web Site (PACER Center)

Parent Involvement Activities

• Engaging Parents in an Urban Public High School: A Case Study of Boston Arts Academy (Ouimette, Feldman, & Tung, 2004)
• Focus on Families! How to Build and Support Family-Centered Practices in After School (Kakli et al., 2006)
• Parent and Home Involvement in Schools (Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA, 2007)

Misc. Parent Involvement

• Briefs for Families on Evidence-Based Practices (Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice)
• Family Involvement and Family Perceptions/Satisfaction: SEA Data Collection (Project Forum, 2004):
  http://www.projectforum.org/docs/family_data.pdf
• NCLB: Parental Involvement, Title I, Part A, Non-Regulatory Guidance (U.S. Department of Education, 2004):
  
• Parent Involvement Page from Schools Moving Up
• What Schools Want Parents to Know (The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement, 2006)

Examples of Parent-Professional Involvement Activities & Models

• Arkansas Parent Mentor Program (Arkansas Disability Coalition and Arkansas Department of Education)
• ASPIRA APEX Program (ASPIRA Parents for EXcellence)
• Families As Faculty (Parents Reaching Out, New Mexico)
• Family and Child Education (FACE) Program (Bureau of Indian Education Programs, U.S. Department of the Interior)
• National Parent School Partnership Program (a program of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF)
• North Dakota Title I Parental Involvement Resources (North Dakota Department of Public Instruction)
• Ohio Parent Mentor Project (Ohio Coalition for Education of Children with Disabilities and the Ohio Department of Education)
• OrPTI IEP Partners Program (Oregon PTI)
• A Shared Responsibility: Recommendations for Increasing Family and Community Involvement in Schools (Final Report of the Maryland Parent Advisory Council (M-PAC), 2005)
• South Carolina Red Carpet Schools Program (South Carolina Department of Education)
• South Dakota Navigator Program (South Dakota Parent Connection)
• START Project (Statewide Technical Assistance Resource Team)
• Services to Families of Children with Special Education Needs and School Districts (Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN) and the New Jersey Department of Education State Improvement Grant)
• Wisconsin State Parent Educator Initiative (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction)
• Working Together: School-Family-Community Partnerships (New Mexico Public Education Department)

• Technical Assistance ALLIANCE for Parent Centers
• National Technical Assistance Center at PACER
• Region 1 Technical Assistance Center at SPAN
• Region 2 Technical Assistance Center at ECAC
• Region 3 Technical Assistance Center at PRN
• Region 4 Technical Assistance Center at WI FACETS
• Region 5 Technical Assistance Center at PEAK
• Region 6 Technical Assistance Center at Matrix
• CADRE (Center for Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education)
• Early Childhood Outcomes Center Web site
• IDEA Partnership
• IRIS Center for Training Enhancements
• National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools
• LSU Accountability Data Web Site (Formerly NCSEAM)
  
• National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education
• National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)
• National Network of Partnership Schools
• National PIRC (Parental Information and Resource Centers) Coordination Center
• Project Forum at NASDSE
• RRC Program