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Parental Engagement a Top Priority in California Passed in 2013, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was a huge win for parent involvement advocates, specifically the stakeholder engagement guideline, as it made parental engagement a top priority in California. The reason it held such appeal, and still does, is because, along with making parental involvement an important goal, it also … Read More

Children Do Best in School When Parents Have High Expectations Most of the research indicates that children do best in school when parents have high expectations. It’s not a surprise that a strong correlation has been found between these two variables. Children are strongly influenced by their parents in nearly every way, so how they perform in school is often … Read More

Bilingual/Dual Language Programs Increasing in the US On any given weekday in New York City, there are native English-speaking first graders tentatively asking their teachers if they can get a drink of water or use the bathroom in a foreign language. These youngsters are sitting side-by-side with nonnative English-speaking students in what’s called a dual language program, and it’s sizzling … Read More

Understanding Common Core Common Core (CCSS) Common Core (CCSS) is an educational initiative that was implemented back in 2010. Its main purpose was to create a national set of guidelines for all of the states to follow. Prior to this, each state set and followed its own educational standards; however, this created a marked inconsistency among students in the country. … Read More

In previous years, a few studies that have been conducted examining the significance of parental involvement in a child’s academic career were not able to discern if it made a positive difference or not. The largest body of research, by far, however, indicates that a parent’s involvement not only has an influence but, when other factors are controlled, like socioeconomic … Read More

Recent Research on Family Engagement with Dual Language Learners A report by the California Governor’s State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care compiled six research papers on best practices for young dual language learners. One of the papers, “Family Engagement in Early Childhood Programs: Serving Families of Dual Language Learners,” looks at the many positive developmental outcomes that are … Read More

Parent involvement makes a real positive difference in the academic success of children. In one influential academic paper, researchers noted that what goes on in the school itself is, of course very important. There is, however, a big “but” here. As Toby L. Parcel from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at North Carolina State University writes in the paper, … Read More

Is First Language Important to Learn Second Language? A common question about language learning is the debate if first language is important in order to learn a second language. Ongoing research surrounding the best methods for teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) English has yet to deliver a clear answer. Various and sometimes controversial approaches to ELL education continue to yield … Read More

Learning a new language can be challenging, especially for students who have recently migrated to the United States. Although there is no single method for the easiest way to learn a new language, over the past few decades researchers have come to many correlations. What is the Easiest Way to Learn a New Language? A study by the Center for … Read More