Family School Partnership
Research shows that family involvement promotes student success. Students with involved parents are more likely to:
- Earn higher grades and pass their classes,
- Attend school regularly and have better social skills,
- Go on to postsecondary education.
When families, schools, and communities work together,
- Student achievement improves,
- Teacher morale rises,
- Communication increases,
- Family, school, and community connections multiply.
Building Family-School Partnerships the PTA Way
PTA’s process for building successful partnerships starts with the National Standards for Family-School Partnerships and consists of three steps:
- Raising awareness about the power of family and community involvement.
- Taking action to cultivate involvement through specific programs and practices.
- Celebrating success as your school sees increased involvement and its impact.
Take Your Family to School Week
The event that provides local PTAs and school leaders, opportunities for families to engage in their child's education and well-being in school.
PTA’s National Standards for Family-School Partnerships
- Standard 1: Welcoming all families into the school community—Families are active participants in the life of the school, and feel welcomed, valued, and connected to each other, to school staff, and to what students are learning and doing in class.
- Standard 2: Communicating effectively—Families and school staff engage in regular, two-way, meaningful communication about student learning.
- Standard 3: Supporting student success—Families and school staff continuously collaborate to support students’ learning and healthy development both at home and at school, and have regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills to do so effectively.
- Standard 4: Speaking up for every child—Families are empowered to be advocates for their own and other children, to ensure that students are treated fairly and have access to learning opportunities that will support their success.
- Standard 5: Sharing power—Families and school staff are equal partners in decisions that affect children and families and together inform, influence, and create policies, practices, and programs.
- Standard 6: Collaborating with community—Families and school staff collaborate with community members to connect students, families, and staff to expanded learning opportunities, community services, and civic participation.