Parents send their kids off to school each day, supporting the educational journey for their kids to acquire an education for a better life. But with the changing demographics in today’s America, how can Spanish-speaking parents realistically help their kids with academic success if the school work comes home in English?

The Hispanic population is the fastest growing population in the United States and sometimes schools are left wondering how to bring Spanish-speaking parents into the mainstream educational process. This issues may be too complex for teachers to figure out on their own.

What if parents do not have high educational attainment themselves? Or what if parents don’t understand what parent involvement means in our school system? How can a parent help their child, if the child has surpassed the parent’s educational attainment? How can teachers bring parents into the school-going process?

The Latino Family Literacy Project are experts in training school staff to work with Spanish-speaking parents for schools success and has some suggestions for teachers to review with Hispanic parents at their next school meeting:

At school:
Get to know their child’s teacher and principal
Volunteer to help the teacher in the classroom
Help the teacher by assisting children with special needs
Help with special events or projects
Plan and accompany classes on field trips
Assist coaches at sporting events, or the drama teacher with school plays.
Volunteer to help with parent workshops
Visit your child’s class for parent career day to describe your special gifts.
Assist in the library and help with story time or tours with other parents.
Plan to meet with your child’s teacher regularly to discuss reading level.

At home:
Share as many stories as you can in your first language!
Read to your child – reading aloud is the most important activity that parents can do to increase their child’s chance of reading success.
Discuss the books, stories and characters you read to your child
Share your own family stories
Tell your own childhood stories to your children. Describe what your childhood was like and what you enjoyed doing most as a child.
Provide structure for each day, where possible.
Limit television viewing on school nights or after school work is finished
Talk to your child regularly about what’s going on in school
Help with homework and check homework every night

Teachers can attend our workshops to learn more ways to help the Spanish-speaking parents at their schools so that their children can benefit from home reading routines and other activities.

Watch some testimonial videos for some easy suggestions for working with Spanish-speaking parents.