Parent Educational Background and Involvement      
And its relationship with Student Achievement

Abstract
There are countless studies that favor the participation of parents yet few that incorporate the situation of Latino parents whose academic level is limited or school structure prevents them from participating. The  research is a quantitative, descriptive, and inferential cross-section study. The sample was chosen randomly. The information was collected through interviews, surveys, and checklist to parents during a three years period. The study was done in four schools in the metropolitan area. The schools represented in this study were: an immersion school, a parochial school K to 8th, a middle school, 6th to 8th, and a school  K to high school, which has a large  population of international parents.

The author emphasizes the limitations of those parents and makes suggestions to improve their participation. The recommendations came from the needs of the participating parents

Introduction
"All immigrant students will reach challenging academic standards and graduate with a high school diploma or complete the GED that prepares them for responsible citizenship, further learning and productive employment."
(US Department of Education, 2000)

Hispanic students suffer from high drop-out rates and high failure rates, and they are over-represented in special education.  In short, they are not doing well in school.
Among students in the general population, many factors affect student achievement.  Two important factors are the educational background and level of involvement of the students™ parents. 
This study was to determine whether such a correlation between parent educational background and level of involvement with student academic achievement exists among Latino students in the DC metropolitan area.

A Pressing Issue for the Nation
          The failure of Latino students in public schools is an issue that cannot continue to be ignored.  Hispanics now constitute the largest minority group in the United States.  The marginalization of such a large population will impact the country, academically, socially, and economically.
Hispanic students and their families are represented in more than one fourth of (22,2250of the 80,000) public school nation wide. About 18% percent of these schools are considered high poverty, 32% are in urban areas.  The public school districts which are enrolling the highest number immigrants are found in California, Texas, North Carolina, Washington DC, Florida, New York and Puerto Rico.
Students who come from households with little academic support are typically characterized as at-risk students, school failures and drop out candidates.  Many of those students come from marginalized homes, have little formal schooling and limited proficiency in both, the native language and the academic English required in school.  Many of these students and their families have to face constant problems related to the legal status that often leads to a mobile and unstable lifestyle. These students´ lives are highly affected by our educational system.
To the author's surprise, Latino parents are very concerned about short-term goals. The events of September 11th have impacted their lives drastically. The United States government's first reaction of self “preservation was to close the doors to the immigrants. This caused Latino parents to be in a constant state of alert. Many Latino parents are concerned about being laid off, which has forced them to take additional jobs, in order to be prepared for any other unexpected events. Others have tried to improve their English or learn computer skills in order to obtain better jobs and save money in case of deportation.

Immigrant students or children of immigrants are seen simply as statistical data in the U.S. Census. They fall into categories, play the role of numbers, which are rapidly increasing over time in the general population.  Ironically, there has been a decrease on the impact or participation of the immigrants in the American society.  This marginalization, has driven families towards the benefits of public education. It is in education, in the searching of learning and dreaming of a better life, that students have an opportunity to break the circle of poverty. Their aspirations of becoming a respected part of society, their dreams have forms and meaning, and a path that needs to be walked with the support of parent's in the school system.
When we refer to the immigrant student population, we are describing approximately 752,689 immigrant children and youth in the US. (Title Immigrant Education State Performance Reports, 1997-1998.)

The most widely used academic service by immigrants is English language learning programs. Due to the fact that approximately 20% of American homes speak a language other than English, the need for ESL programs is in increasingly high demand. Yet regardless of the fact that English proficiency is the main predictor of success in the school setting as well as society in general, funding for ESL has not satisfied the demand. Moreover, there is a significant need for adult ESL programs.

Through a process of cultural assimilation, immigrant children in the U.S.commonly perceive Spanish as a necessary tool to access American mainstream culture and education. In cities like San Diego, New York, and many other cities in which the largest minority are of Hispanic origin, research has shown that 80% of the immigrant children prefer English over Spanish, their parents native tongue. (Moore, Stephen 1998& Rumbaut, Ruben 1999).

It is the author's opinion that this information to be bias. The digits are only covering the statistics aspect, the real research such have focused upon the real reasons, the access to the native language and the overall tacit attitude to their language. It is extremely important, The perception of one™s language by the community, is extremely important. This percentage changes depend upon the socio-economic status of the population researched.

A study conducted by the National research Council (NCR) and National Academic of Sciences (NAS) reflects that the total net benefit, meaning taxes paid over the benefits that are received, to the Social Security system in today's dollars from the continuing flow of immigration will be nearly $500 billion for the 1998-2002 period. (American Immigration Law foundation)  In addition, immigrants paid &70.3 billion in taxes per year and received & 42.9 billion in services, after a period of ten years, instead of draining the public coffers, which is the overall perception, they are really contributors to this economy and its growth.

According to some findings, no one really knows just how limited these U.S born children are because no one ever asked question. Harvard University began a four year study that eventually will enable them to pint point what exactly put these children at greater disadvantage than not just other American children but newly arriving immigrant as well.  The difference again, leads to the key element of first language. Even if hey are poor and illiterate in their countries, but had grandparents who told stories and talked back and forth, if they participated in the daily farming routine. They went to the market, recognized different element of nature. These children were exposed to inferences. They had rich experiences.  The children who are exposed to marathon TV in the states, grew with no stimulation have less experiences upon which their knowledge will be built. (Bridge Schulte-Washington Post, 2002).

Dr Jack Damico addressed some of the transitional differences and difficulties found in the community of learners who speak another language. His findings concurred with the former, in that, the students who attend nowadays schools have cultural linguistic, experiential and learning differences, which are often ignored, in the pedagogical arena.  Semilingualism.
For years, the immigrant communities that comprised schools were the sons and daughters of bankers, diplomats and scientists who entered school, learned English quickly. In a typical program, their ESOL teachers took them out of classes a few times a week and concentrated on building grammar and vocabulary.  For those students transferring the concepts was the only skill needed. Indeed, on many tests the non-native speakers, could outperform their native English-speaking classmates.

          As political changes occurred in many Latin American countries, people fled to the "promised land", with the majority of our Latino population in the DC public schools coming from Central America.  They came as immigrant mostly from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.  Their parents came as "downtrodden refugees" back in the 1980's and 1990's who inundated Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Texas.  The wars ended, and in the twenty years since the major waves an entire generation has grown up.

Recent studies have found that Latino immigrants, in particular, tended to be less educated and to earn less than those in the more established Hispanic community. They complained of being trapped in the closed circle- of low paid jobs because they do not speak English. Now their children are arriving in public schools. Those parents do not have the needed information to access all but one, of the resources to which they are entitled.

The literature on immigrant and migrant students shows the idea of providing an effective education means by using previous knowledge and skills.  It also means to recognize their cultural; values and believes. This principles applying to teachers and students as well, were emphasized on a research done by Sutton, in which, he outlined some steps that would help their incorporation to the educational system.

More recent research on the same field, (Ruiz- Escalante, 1995; Romo in LeBlanc Flores, 1997.) focused on the issue plus recommended best practices to be carried out by schools, districts system wide.  Parents need information and how this information is provided can be more important than what is provided. (E.g., Angelo, Kokoska&Jones, 1998). Their research extrapolated on the importance of the parent involvement and the use of technology devices.

The middle school years could be extremely difficult for students and for parents.  Many of the students as stated previously, have moved for different reasons, one of them, from their neighborhood school to a larger one. It is expected that parents feel less part of the school community than they felt before.  In many instances parents are not even involved in the decision making process of selecting a middle or a high school. And it is up to the student to determine which if any she/he is going to attend.

The Study
          Having considered many of  the political and social economic factors, the study will focus on the actual situation of the metropolitan area in this respect. As the national capital, The DC area offers a representation of the diverse demographic Latino immigrant population, ranging from refugees to diplomats.
This study was conducted in four different schools of the metropolitan area. The schools were chosen because of personal contact with them, the researcher has worked or tutored students who attend them.

As stated previously, the schools presented very different populations.  Their various social, economic, geographic composition, which will allow making this study more interesting.  They all have populations that range from low income housing to six-figure income figures.  Three of the four schools serve middle school students.  The middle school years could be extremely difficult for students and for parents.  Many of the students as stated previously, have moved for different reasons, one of them, from their neighborhood school to a larger one. It is expected that parents feel less part of the school community than they felt before.  In many instances parents are not even involved in the decision making process of selecting a middle or a high school. And it is up to the student to determine which if any she/he is going to attend.

The Schools
School  #1- It  is a dual immersion school with a population of  less than 45% Latino body. English and Spanish are taught within the content areas, social studies and language arts are instructed in English math and Science are taught in Spanish. It has ESL and Special education services, the school is mainly integrated/inclusion of those students in general education classes.
School 2 is a middle school in which English is the only means of instruction.  About ten percent of the school receives ESOL services.  The school serves a variety of students, including wealthy and low-income families, and immigrant and diplomatic families.
School 3 Parochial- perk to 8th grade school, with .45% of Latino population. The school is located in the Latino neighborhood.  (Parents do not have academic background, however, their level of support and participation compensates the lack of knowledge of language limitations.)
School 4 “ This school is a competitive private school located in a very affluent neighborhood.  It serves students from K- to high school, and offers content classes in foreign languages.  The majority of the parents here have advanced degrees.

The Survey
          The survey was comprised of 21 questions.  The first part of the survey asked for basic demographic information.  The next part included a few open-ended questions on parental knowledge about, involvement at, and recommendations for their schools.  The final portion of the survey asked the respondents to rank statements about parent involvement on a -like scale from 1 to 5.  See attach questionnaire
          The survey was distributed to 75 families at each school.  The families were chosen at random.  Some survey forms were distributed to the students to take home to have their parents complete them.  The remainder of the forms was distributed directly to parents at parent/teacher conferences.  A part of these were completed at the conferences, while the remainder was completed at home.  Forms were returned to teachers at the participating schools or directly to the researcher.
          A number of parents were unable to complete the survey form because of literacy and linguistic difficulties.  To enable their participation, the form was translated in to Spanish.  In addition, the researcher conducted telephone interviews with respondents who were unable to read.  52 respondents required a Spanish translation, and 17 respondents required a telephone interview.
          Of the 300 surveys distributed, 256 were received.  The response rate was about 85%.   None of the respondents shared any difficulties with the survey, and the portion of the sample that responded seemed to be random.

The Results
          The research was intended to be a quantitative study. I initially included the information in a descriptive manner, the researcher graphed the information obtained, and then it evolved to be a quantitative study veering to focus on inferential statistics in which the correlation of parental academic background was established. (See Graphs 1 and 2)
Finally, these quantitative analyses lead many doors open to examine different  avenues.  Even though, the situation cannot be reversed it could be improved by providing parents with the skills needed to participate in a different setting plus school can  begin incorporating parents by  appreciating the skills they possess.  Parents voiced their opinion and needs to make their participation feasible within a real context.
I expect to see a dramatic change in parent's participation of those students who attend parochial schools.
I expect to see a negative correlation between parents of students in the private setting versus parents whose children are in the public sector.

The involvement of family in a child's education is one of the most predictable factors of success in the school system.  Families in both the private and public system are constantly encouraged to participate in school activities.  The most popular and effective way for parents to voice their opinion is by participating in the home and school association and fund-raising activities.  The families establish a good rapport with teachers by volunteering, serving as aides when possible, chaperoning for field trips, being speakers in the classroom/ schools activities acting as sport coaches.
This active communication and participation on  the part of the parents  helps to develop strong ties between students and school. Thus, school is perceived as a positive part of their upbringing.  Obviously,  parent involvement in school will have a positive impact on the students' attitude towards school, and both  help teachers and students already set expectations
The main objective of the author is to identify the problems and reform them within the school working in collaboration with the parents whose academic background are not strong.  The situation the author has observed is due to the lack of participation of parents who do not have a university degree; many parents are never seen as role model to their sons or school community.

Conclusions
Some studies, ignore cultural, environmental and political frame in which a person is immersed, view the situation at the other end of the spectrum.  The author reviewed this research even though contrary to the author's believes and experiences, that focus on the individual involvement as the paramount factor on one's success, "It seems that being involved in school outweighs other factors that might impede an at risk- student.  The resilient students got good grades throughout high school, scored reasonably well on achievement test and graduated on time with her/his classmates independent of their family background and their own level of esteem or beliefs about who is responsible for their success or failures". This research represents the few that despite the environment or family support could overcome obstacles. The author feels that this information did not give detailed information of the school philosophy of teaching, teacher student ratio, accessibility to after school enrichment programs or the percentage of students who were successful in a linear study done throughout years.

Recommendations
The involvement of parents in school by using their skills and allowing their children see them as role model. For instance, One activity that the research found very successful in increasing parent participation was through the creation of a mini-store which functioned on daily basis throughout half of the school year, probed to be a extremely rewarding experiences for students and parents as well.   Daily, parents  alternated helped students to identify and count money, give change and kept record of the items. Repetition of successful  Withteacher guidance, they decided which items to buy and all learned to  manage  a checking account. This culminated on taking a trip to Orlando, Florida, as class with their families.

At the end, all  parents who participated on this project, requested  more information  to understand their children disabilities or  academic future.  The parents toured few middle schools and asked relevant questions.  By being constantly in schools, parents started to question the fact that their children were always in separate settings, they wanted  this following year to have them in more inclusive environment. This is one of the key issue when writing IEPs. The author will be facilitating workshops in the school their children attend in order to promote  active parent™s involvement. The author feels that services provided must derives out of their concerns and background knowledge.
Parents are willing to take evening classes if offered in school their children attend, administration should take a more active role in facilitating classes and programs that strengthen academic areas  and validates parents™ background  knowledge. In my opinion, school and teachers should facilitate information on the programs available and direct them to various agencies that enhance their children participation on the school system and community.  Visits to different sites are an option that many requested. The school and teachers should coordinate on monthly basis speakers and outreach program addressing academic and social challenges to be faced when attending new schools.
Finally, information on transition should be given to the parents gradually from the beginning of the year, as per survey they do not know the programs available for students.

Table 1

Correlation Between Parent Education and Student Achievement

Table 2

Graph 1 — Parents by Country of Origin