Fall, 2000 No. 9 National Network of Partnership Schools
Parent Networks: An Overlooked Resource to Strengthen Partnership Programs
Steven B. Sheldon,
Postdoctoral Research ScientistMost parents know at least one other parent at their children’s school, and some parents know many more. If you stepped back to examine parents’ social networks, you would see an interconnected web of relationships among parents in every school. These networks can be a valuable resource to help all parents become more effectively involved at home or at school.
Sharing Information
One of the most important functions of parent networks is to help parents share information about upcoming school events and programs, as well as community activities such as sports, dance, scouts, and others.. In a study in Michigan, one mother with three children commented that keeping informed of the many available community activities takes a great deal of time and effort. She said that having friends who share information about community activities makes her life more manageable. Such connections also help to enrich children’s learning experiences.
Encouraging Participation
The relationships parents establish with one another may prompt more of them to volunteer or participate in school events. For example, one mother recalled how she drew upon the strengths and talents of her friends in order to coordinate successful after-school carnivals and fundraisers. Parents who otherwise would not have been involved, became active because they were asked by friends to help. Similarly, parents may be more likely to attend PTA/PTO meetings if they can arrange to ride to school or to attend with their friends.
Mobilizing Resources
One challenge facing schools is how to encourage and systematize parent-to-parent interactions to develop supportive and informative ties among all families. Many schools in the National Network of Partnership Schools proactively bring parents together. Shaker Heights High School, for example, established a parent support group for parents of ninth graders to share information and advice about the challenges and strategies of parenting adolescents.
Schools can increase the flow of information between and among parents with telephone “trees” that include all parents, or in special parent-to-parent meetings. For example, Monica Leary Elementary School in Rush, NY, conducted a discussion group for parents of fifth graders about their children’s upcoming transition to middle school. Altoona Middle School in Altoona, WI, organized a panel of sixth-graders’ parents to present information to parents of fifth graders who would be attending their school in the fall. Such meetings help parents meet and talk with other parents who are experiencing similar situations.
Helping Schools
Parents’ social networks also benefit schools. The web of parent networks in a school may alert Action Teams to resourceful community partners that can help the school. Every school’s Action Team for Partnerships plans some activities that require team members to delegate tasks to other teachers and parents for successful implementation, creating opportunities for parents to collaborate. Action Team leaders should be mindful about opportunities to introduce parents to one another at formal and informal school events including open houses, workshops, and other parent meetings. Parents and their social ties collectively represent an important resource for schools to strengthen their partnership programs.
This article draws from Sheldon, S. B. (2000). Exploring the Mesosystem: Parents’ Social Networks and Parent Involvement. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Researchers Association in New Orleans, LA. Also, some school activities are drawn from the National Network’s 2000 and 1999 collections of Promising Partnership Practices.
