As it applies to Title I and reaching out to Hispanic parents, through the reauthorized ESEA, The Department of Education (ED) states that schools are required to nurture strong partnerships in the following ways:

• Extend opportunities to parents with limited English proficiency (LEP), such as providing information in a form and language they understand.
• Give parents a written parental involvement policy, and get them involved in conducting a yearly evaluation of its effectiveness and content.
• In accordance with the Migrant Education Program, support outreach and advocacy activities for migrant children and families.

ED also states that according to research on family and community involvement in children’s education these three ways are especially effective:  (1) provide training of parents and staff for strong and effective partnerships; (2) move beyond more typical school-family activities; and (3) bridge cultural and language differences between school and home.

Professional development is especially important in schools with a lot of Latino students, says the article “Building Teacher and Organizational Capacity to Serve Hispanic Students.” Teamwork and open communication are imperative for teachers facing difficult educational issues like cultural diversity, English-language development, and challenges linked with mobility, immigration and family poverty, it says. Comprehensive and effective professional development that involves all teachers and staff not only coordinates program services and unifies the school but also ensures important collaboration between bilingual/ESL teachers and mainstream ones. In addition, ESEA supports the research recommending that all teachers who share responsibility for the same students also participate in the same professional development activities.

All too often, family engagement and parental involvement are seen as add-on activities separate from the real work of creating an effective school system, says the report “Title I and Parent Involvement.” Building the awareness of the essential role that families and parents play in reforming schools along with the capacity in creating and sustaining strong partnerships between families and schools requires a new level of support and commitment.

The Latino Family Literacy Project greatly assists schools in both meeting the requirements for Title I and reaching out to Hispanic parents. Available for parents and their children on the school site through trained teachers, its age-specific programs are designed to establish family reading routines which can significantly help with literacy, vocabulary and overall English skills, as well as Spanish.

Teacher trainings are available through in-person workshops or online webinars. For those who cannot attend in-person, the online training is grade-level specific and is approximately 1.5 hours long. It provides training for the implementation of all programs: infant/toddler, preschool, elementary, and middle/high school levels. Curriculum manuals are shipped in advance for review during the online training. For more information, please contact The Latino Family Literacy Project.