Reaching out to Spanish-speaking parents has been one of the aims of educators and schools across the United States for quite a few years now.  Over 80% of all English Language Learners (ELLs) are Spanish-speaking.  With the Hispanic population steadily remaining the fastest growing segment of the population in the United States, schools and educators must find ways to encourage parental involvement in their students’ education.

A challenge that many educators and schools encounter is the fact that Hispanics often live in rural areas making it more difficult to communicate with Spanish-speaking parents and to get them to come into the school setting.

Some ways to reach out to Spanish-speaking parents in rural schools include:

• Use Their Language: It is important for teachers to find an adult who can translate or interpret communications with Spanish-speaking parents.  It is best to not rely on students, as this practice can lead to disempowering parents. Teachers can ask a school employee, family members, a friend, a parent liaison, or a community member to translate.  Also, teachers should translate all written communications.
• Inform Parents of the U.S. School System: Teachers should take the time to educate Spanish-speaking parents about how the U.S. School System works.  It is a good idea to inform teachers about school curriculum, standards, benchmarks, school expectations, and school curriculum.
• Set Up Home and Community Visits: Teachers should establish relationships with parents who work during school and afterschool hours.  Some Spanish-speaking parents might feel intimidated by coming to the school setting, so a home visit may seem more comfortable.
• Encourage Parents to Come Into the School: Some ways to encourage parental involvement include hosting a Spanish-language back-to-school night, recruiting parents to volunteer at events or to teach activities such as cooking, crafts, or story-telling with bilingual books.
• Foster Parental Involvement: Educators can foster parental involvement by requiring parents to partake in homework sessions with their children.  Since parents are either Spanish-speaking only or ELLs, educators should suggest that parents incorporate bilingual books into their parental involvement techniques.

The Latino Family Literacy Project offers workshops and webinars that can help educators and schools reach out to Spanish-speaking parents.  The Project offers suggestions on how to communicate with Spanish-speakers and provides ideas on how they can get parents involved in the education of their children.  Research shows that when parents are involved in their children’s education, their children perform better in school.  The Project takes pride in helping educators and administrators better communicate with Spanish-speaking parents, hence fostering education and literacy skills in Hispanic children.