December 2003 — Features

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Engaging Families With Technology

These criteria were chosen because research has shown that students from minority groups and high-poverty areas are at the greatest risk for school failure and dropout. Therefore, these students have the greatest need for intervention. Classroom selection was based on a teacher's willingness to stay with the same students over a two-year period for the length of the program's implementation. Thus, participating teachers were required to instruct at a higher grade level during the second year of the study.

Students in each of the targeted classrooms were given a refurbished computer on long-term loan that was donated by a FamilyTech business partner. FamilyTech funds were used to educate teachers on how to incorporate computer technology into instruction, as well as to train parents on the use and maintenance of the computers and software at home.

Teachers reported that the quality of parental involvement significantly improved and the percentage of parents involved with the school more than doubled due to the FamilyTech program (Birnie 1999). Prior to implementation of the program, 80% of the participating schools were classified as 'D' and 'F' schools, based on student performance on standardized tests by the state. Following the FamilyTech intervention, this number dropped to 10%.

At the conclusion of the study, participating students were more likely than non-FamilyTech students to score above the 50th percentile on the mathematics (57% versus 19%) and reading (44% versus 14%) subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test. More than 90% of stakeholders (i.e., teachers, administrators, parents and students) reported being satisfied by both the implementation and outcomes of the FamilyTech program (SFAC Evaluation Team 2002). By putting computers in the hands of students and in the homes of their families, we learned valuable lessons about gaining parental participation that have applications for educators and researchers nationwide.

Shared Goals and Expectations

Families who do not share the same spoken language as their children's teachers or whose status in the United States is temporary, perhaps even undocumented, can be expected to be at least hesitant to visit a school and communicate with its staff. In order to reach these individuals and other non-mainstream families, their fears must first be acknowledged and assuaged. Therefore, it is imperative that contact serve the dual purpose of connecting with and empowering families. Parents need to know that school personnel respect their views — even when these views differ from the mainstream — and value the families' power and abilities in terms of promoting their children's education.

Because technology is associated with its own vocabulary and language, it is an excellent platform from which to make connections and build working relationships with non-mainstream families. In such a scenario, families do not have to give up their native tongue for the language of the teacher or school. Instead, both teachers and families are augmented by the addition of the language of technology.

In order to join with families, it is also vital that the families recognize that school staff members share the same expectations and goals for their children as they do.