The Power of Parental Contact: Strategies for Teaching in Highly Transient, Urban Classrooms

Abstract

Research states that parental involvement is associated with student success and achievement. Research also documents that currently in our society students are transferring in and out of schools at an alarming rate. Urban schools, in particular, are subject to high mobility subpopulations, and the student movement can penetrate the interaction of teachers and students around learning. This purpose of this article explores the many ways practicing teachers in an urban school in Pennsylvania are reaching out to parents of highly transient students in an effort to foster a stronger home and school connection and increased student learning. The results show that teachers use a myriad of strategies to connect with parents and not one single strategy proves to work best.