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May we boldly suggest a New Year's resolution for every parent of every school child in Utah to make for the coming year! It is simply to become more directly involved in your child's education.
Research over the years has made it very clear - everyone benefits when schools and families work together to support learning. Indeed, students do better in school, parents become empowered, teacher morale improves, schools get better and communities grow stronger.
One respected national study has actually quantified the impact of meaningful family engagement in a child's education. According to the National Coalition of Parental Information and Resource Centers, "Schools would need to increase spending per student by more than $1000 to achieve the same results" that come from effective parental engagement.*
It doesn't just mean attending parent-teacher consultations, volunteering in the classroom, and becoming involved in PTA, although those are vital things to do. It also includes supporting a child's learning at home through regular reading, involvement in homework assignments and limiting distractions to learning.
So what better New Year's resolution could there be for the parent of one of Utah's precious school children than to commit to more consistent engagement in the educational process. It is a resolution KSL encourages every parent to make.
*National Coalition for Parental Involvement in Education, http://www.ncpie.org/
