Parent involvement continues to be our target goal for the next 3-5 years under Effective Schools Practices. This can help teachers or school leaders track how much parental involvement is being provided by our parents:

• Maintain a Parent Sign-in Folder for each teacher. There should be at least 7-10 sign-in sheets in each folder. Any activity such as Parent-Teacher Conferences, PTA, Programs, etc. parents will have to sign in and the school team can monitor via each teacher what percentage of parents give their time to their child's school. A 5-15 minutes visit can constitute as parent involvement!
  
  
• Newsletters going home should have a section that parents can cut off and acknowledge that they received their newsletters and return them back to the teacher via their child. The school team can also monitor the percentage of returned slips. Notes can go home to "remind" parents to look into their child's book bag every day for newsletters.
  
  
• I use a Congratulations! You have been selected to__________. This type of opening will make parents feel welcomed and actually feel a part of the school community. A letter with this opening goes a long way for parental self-esteem. This trick actually increased parental involvement in my school by 87%! Try it out, it works!
  
  
• We use Contracts for each family to provide at least 2 hours per quarter toward any parent involvement activity. Schools may choose to send out newsletters congratulating families or individual's of their standing and support for their child's education!