Involving Latino Families in Schools: Raising Student Achievement Through Home-School Partnerships » (1st Edition)

Dr. Concha Delgado Gaitan is an award-winning ethnographic researcher and scholar of oral and writ ten traditions in immigrant communities. She relates her work with families, communities, and schools in many publications, among them her books: The Power of Community; Literacy for Empowerment; Protean Literacy; Crossing Cultural Borders, and School and Society. To her scholarly work, Dr. Delgado Gaitan brings a broad experience as an elementary school teacher, elementary school principal, ethnographic researcher, and professor of sociocul-tural studies at the University of California. She is currently a writer in the San Francisco Bay Area. The genesis of this book begins with her experience as an elementary school teacher and principal. Involving the parents in every way possible prevented many problems in the classroom dur-ing the year and enhanced the classroom curriculum to more mean-ingfully engage the students in their learning. As an ethnographer/researcher and professor, Dr. Delgado Gaitan once again worked in Latino communities to study family and community literacy. During these years of observing and interviewing parents, educators, and community leaders, she collaborated with them to facilitate family-school partnerships. One of the most success-ful efforts continues to thrive in Carpinteria, California. It has been the focus of countless articles, many national and international presenta-tions, and a professional video, Parents and Schools United for a Better Education, on bridging the gap between Latino parents and the schools, which she produced. With this first-hand experience on the topic, this book offers a composite of insights, instructions, and possi-bilitiestoward sustainable partnerships between schools and Latino communities to advance Latino students' academic performance.

"Anyone involved in preservice training for future and present classroom teachers should read this book. Both the content and context of the book are practical, timely, and necessary as our country and classrooms become more diverse."
Michele Dean, Principal
Montalvo Elementary School, Ventura, CA

Raise school attendance, reduce dropout rates, and improve academic performance of Latino students!

Often marginalized by poverty, linguistic isolation, or prejudice, Latino students face many academic obstacles. And while research has shown that parental involvement plays a key role in academic achievement, most schools have failed to modify their parent involvement programs to address social and cultural realities of Latino families.

Involving Latino Families in Schools provides tools and strategies for including Latino parents in developing sustained academic improvement. Sharing numerous first person success stories, author Concha Delgado Gaitan stresses three conditions of increased parental participation: connecting to families, sharing information with parents, and supporting continued parental involvement.

Offering easily applied techniques for cultivating communication, this practical handbook examines

• Latino families and their educational aspirations for their children
• The communication systems needed between schools and Latino families
• How Latino families can assist their children at home
• Techniques to foster Latino parent involvement
• How to organize schoolwide parent involvement programs

Through suggested activities, case examples, andvignettes, the author provides insights and instruction for planning, designing, and implementing parental participation programs that enhance the classroom curriculum and effectively engage Latino students.

Designed primarily for elementary and secondary school principals and teachers, this innovative text is also an indispensable resource for district-level administrators.