Whether you’ve found yourself desperately searching for fundraiser volunteers or are simply wondering why parents don’t seem be very involved in their children’s academic lives, you’ve probably noticed that parents at your school aren’t as engaged as you would like them to be. Though there are many different factors that can contribute to this, we’ve tracked down some of the most common reasons for low parental engagement.

  • They don’t have the time. Many parents are busy these days, dashing from one job to the other, unable to find the time to meet with a teacher or attend PTA meetings. The solution? Make it easier for parents to schedule appointments far in advance; try to use emails and other methods to reach parents who can’t physically be at school.
  • They feel like the teacher doesn’t want them to be involved. This is a common misconception among many parents- that the classroom is the domain of teachers, and many schools wouldn’t want them to get involved in a place that’s not their job. Schools can combat this by encouraging parents to call whenever they have any concerns. A welcoming attitude can go a long way.
  • They don’t know how to be engaged, or what parental engagement really is. A lot of parents, especially first-time parents or those in underprivileged areas, aren’t sure about what is expected of them, or what they can do to best help their child succeed. Many schools have found great success by offering free (sometimes bilingual) informational programs aimed at helping parents out.
  • You’re boring them. It’s easy for parents to simply stop paying attention when schools send them the same updates, the same information over and over again. Schools need to be able to make things exciting in order to get parents involved, and they need to make their messages clearer in order to avoid getting lost among all the words.
  • Their child is already doing fine. Why fix what isn’t broken? Like we said above, some parents don’t know why or how they can be better engaged with their child’s school, or that parental engagement doesn’t only benefit kids- it helps parents and teachers as well. Again, informational sessions, where parents can ask their questions of administrators and faculty, are always invaluable resources.
  • It’s hard for them to communicate with schools. It can be difficult for parents to have meaningful communication with school faculty, especially when parents don’t know how to contact schools.. Bilingual parents in particular can find it difficult to communicate with school officials, a problems many schools are taking the initiative to solve by providing specialized options for parents who may not be comfortable speaking English yet still want to play a role in their child’s school life.
  • They’re always traveling. Things can be tough for parents who want to want to help out with their child’s school experience but can’t, due to frequent travels. Developing alternatives aimed at engaging commuting parents, such as more flexible conference scheduling, creating personalized school mobile apps, or allowing parents to have “virtual conferences” on the phone or through Skype, can all help parents be part of their child’s school experience, even if they aren’t always able to be physically present.
  • “My child keeps losing those information sheets!” The paper packets and pages that schools usually send home with kids often may not make it back to the parents they were supposed to reach. To avoid messages getting lost in translation, schools should try using more direct methods of communication with parents: text messages, apps, websites, even social media like Twitter are much better solutions for parents.