Note: This is the third of four stories on the Hamilton Township School District’s improvement plan. Prior articles in the series appeared in the November 2011 and January 2012 editions of the Hamilton Post. The final installment will be published next month.

Hamilton resident David Fanders didn’t find the decision to be involved with his young children’s schooling too difficult.

His children only have one shot to build an academic foundation, after all. It made sense he’d want to help his children’s teachers in developing that base.

“What do you do for a teacher?” Fanders said. “They are sitting with my child six hours a day since September. They probably spend more time with my kid than I do.”

Acting on his desire to be involved, Fanders joined the Sunnybrae Elementary School PTA. He eventually rose to his current position as incoming president, along the way helping balance the organization’s budget, raising funds so the school library could purchase new books and volunteering himself to be decorated like a Christmas tree by his son’s Kindergarten class.

Through his involvement, he believes he’s also displayed he values his children’s work at school.

“When your children see how important it is to you … they think it’s great,” Fanders said. “They see how important it is to not just do your homework, but spend time in school.”

Hamilton Township School District administrators would be thrilled to hear Fanders’ tale, especially now as they attempt to include parents more in the education process, as well as simply get more parents involved.

It’s been a goal of administrators at the school district’s central office—and those in the schools—to increase parental involvement well before the district landed on the 2010 District In Need of Improvement list, district special services director Barbara Frascella said.

It was only natural then that parental involvement would fit as one of the three major areas district administration would want to include in a DINI-mandated district improvement plan, along with the need for more classroom time and a shift to data-driven instruction. As part of the reforms, the district also reinvented its hiring practices.

Increasing parental involvement could be the easiest reform to start, yet the most difficult to control. The push continues, even as district test scores in 2010–11 moved Hamilton off the DINI list and into “on hold” status.

Frascella said the district sent parents surveys to find out why the district hasn’t gotten the participation it desires. The survey asked parents which existing activities they feel are worthwhile, what activities parents would add and what obstacles parents face when considering attending school activities.

The district organized statistics from the responses by school and by level and has begun addressing some of the issues brought up by parents, like the need for events that accommodate the schedules of both people who work during the day and people who work at night. The survey also raised the necessity for child care—or even a student component—during evening events for parents.

Frascella went over the results with school principals, and together, they identified specific activities school administrators will analyze over the next year to determine if initiative to get parents more involved actually worked.

“We don’t want to say it looks like there are more people in the room,” Frascella said. “We want to deal in reality and in facts.”

One of the greatest parent requests was for increased communication from schools and their children’s teachers, and the district has asked school principals to send any important information home and to build rapport with parents by calling them with positive information about their children.

Kuser Elementary School principal Roberto Kesting said his school uses the district’s phone system to get important messages to parents or follow up on vital notes.

“That way you get the message through,” Kesting said. “It really puts an emphasis on those important things that you value. We try not to overuse it.”

The district has turned to its Title I schools, like Kuser, for other tips, as well. A number of township schools fall under federal Title I designation, meaning 40 percent or more of their students come from families that qualify with the federal government as low income.

These schools receive funding for programs, with the stipulation that all Title I programs must have parent involvement.

Frascella said she met with the principals from the Title I schools to find out what activities and incentives have brought parents to their schools’ programming. The district then shared that information with every principal in the district.

Every school has its own twist on getting parents involved. At Kuser, for example, Kesting hosts themed parent forum workshops prior to PTA meetings. Kesting did one explaining Annual Yearly Progress and student assessment data, and recently hosted one on bullying. At the workshops, parents can ask questions about the day’s topic, but also has the floor to address any concern or topic they want to discuss.

“They’re informative for parents, but they also try to stir up some additional representation at our PTA meetings,” Kesting said.

Kuser’s Kindergarten teachers initiated another event, called Kindergarten Brown Bag Lunch, now in its second school year.

The Kindergarten teachers invite parents into the classroom once a marking period during the teachers’ lunch time to answer any questions the parents have.

Then, on Feb. 10, the school will host a multicultural night, where students and parents can share their heritage with each other. Kesting said the event has been extremely popular in the past.

Klockner Elementary School planned to attempt something similar Jan. 31, by throwing its first ever Family Night.

Clearly, schools have tried to get parents involved. Yet, it still rests to the parents to act on the district’s overtures.

Klockner Elementary School principal Sharon Young said she recently had a parent write an article in the school newsletter to discuss how much the mother enjoyed being involved at the school. Young said she thought the piece would ring truer with parents since it was authored by a parent, and that she’s careful about harping on the issue because she doesn’t want parents to think she’s preaching to them.

Still, Young believes any little bit helps when it comes to parents being active in school life.

“Parents don’t believe they have the time,” Young said. “They may not be able to come into the classroom during the day, but just coming out for a two-hour segment at night is still parent involvement.”

For any remaining skeptics, Kesting made perhaps the best point: parents don’t only help the school when they volunteer, they help their children and themselves, too.

“Research shows a direct link between parent involvement and student achievement,” Kesting said. “For me, it’s as simple as that. But if you’re involved as a parent in the school, you have more confidence in sending your child to school, you can develop a good relationship with your teacher, you can reach out to the teacher and any issues can be resolved readily, you have a better insight into your child and your child’s development.”