Link Student Learning Between Home and School
"There is a positive and convincing relationship between parental engagement and benefits for students, including improved academic achievement. This relationship holds across families of all economic, racial/ethnic, and educational backgrounds and for students at all ages.” – Karen Mapp
What is this best practice area?
Learning does not begin and end in the classroom. Rather, staff provide regular and timely ways to keep families informed of their students’ progress and help families understand what they can do to support their children’s learning.
Staff are proactive in finding ways to hear from families about what they want and need to support their children’s learning.
Similarly, staff find ways to learn about their students’ families’ expertise and utilize it within the classroom and/or through take-home projects and learning opportunities.
Make this Best Practice Area Come to Life
1. Link Schoolwork to Real Life
2. Positive Phone Calls Home
3. Inform Families on How their Child is Doing Academically
Link Schoolwork to Real Life
It is a best practice to provide homework that includes interactive activities shared with others at home or in the community, linking schoolwork to real life (source:Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools). This is especially important to consider in the midst of distance learning.
All families hold so much information and knowledge that often goes unacknowledged. How do we bring in all the expertise and knowledge families carry into our work as educators and school staff?
Use this tool to help you reflect on how to bring in families experiences and knowledge into your practice to help bridge student’s learning between home and school.
Positive Phone Calls Home
Example from The Power of the Positive Phone Call Home:
"On the first day of school I’d give students a survey that included this item: “Who would you like me to call when I have good news to share about how you’re doing in my class? You’re welcome to list up to five people, and please let them know I might call—even tonight or tomorrow!”
Inform Families on How their Child is Doing Academically
Schools inform families on how their child is doing academically, and communicate in a timely manner when interventions are needed.
Teachers also inform families what their child is expected to learn and what they are currently learning, skills required for students in all subjects at each grade and how families can help students at home to support their learning at home.
This template outlines suggested information to reflect on & share with families throughout the school year to support linking student learning between home and school.
This page was last updated on June 29, 2022