Here’s how teachers and parents can collaborate and help Michigan’s 1.4M students succeed

Source: The Conversation – USA (2)

About 1.4 million Michigan students will return to K-12 public school classrooms this fall.

One of the most powerful influences on how these students will perform exists outside the classroom: the quality of the partnerships that schools and families establish with each other.

Establishing these partnerships may be easier than it sounds. Throughout more than four decades as an educator and researcher studying literacy and family engagement, I have learned that most families deeply care about their children’s education and want to work with teachers toward the best possible outcomes.

Family engagement helps students achieve

This message is especially timely in Michigan. Many students continue to experience challenges in reading following the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 39% of Michigan third graders scored proficient or advanced in English language arts on the M-STEP, an annual state exam, in the 2024-25 school year.

In 2024, Michigan students scored below the national average in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Michigan fourth graders averaged 209, five points below the national average, while eighth graders averaged 255, compared with 257 nationally.

Although standardized test scores do not fully capture the breadth of students’ knowledge, abilities or potential, they can provide one useful indicator of how well students are developing literacy skills.

National studies also demonstrate that families want to play active roles in their children’s education. They show, too, that many parents seek clearer communication and more meaningful opportunities to collaborate with educators.

In my assessment, one of the most encouraging developments in family engagement research over the past two decades has been the growing recognition among researchers, educators and schools that parents are not simply volunteers who occasionally assist schools. They are co-educators whose knowledge, cultural wealth and lived experiences enrich children’s educational opportunities.

This understanding reflects a broader movement toward educational equity and shared responsibility for student success.

Parents are partners in education

Families may be invited to attend conferences, literacy nights or workshops, but they are not always invited to share their knowledge or participate as equal partners in decisions about their children’s learning.

In my experience, families may feel that educators do not understand their cultural and linguistic practices. They may notice that communication flows primarily from school to home rather than in both directions, or that their knowledge of their own children is undervalued.

For families whose previous encounters with schools have involved judgment, exclusion or racism, or educators focusing on perceived shortcomings rather than recognizing families’ strengths, an invitation to participate does not automatically create understanding.

Some of my most formative lessons came during my early work with African American families in Louisiana. I began spending time with parents and listening carefully to what they understood schools were asking them to do at home.

Teachers frequently encouraged parents to “read to your child,” without explaining what meaningful reading might look like.

Some parents were uncertain about teachers’ expectations or viewed reading primarily as getting the words right. These experiences helped inspire Parents as Partners in Reading, a program I designed to help families support children’s literacy through interactive read-alouds that encourage conversation and making connections between books and children’s everyday lives.

In Louisiana, I showed rather than simply told them how they might make reading with their children more interactive and enjoyable. I modeled how to sit comfortably with a child, let the child hold the book and turn the pages, vary their voices, pause to ask questions, talk together about the pictures and follow the child’s interests and reactions.

Rather than prescribing a single “right” way to read together, these interactions gave parents opportunities to try different approaches, ask questions and discover what worked best for them and their children.

Parents then practiced these approaches with one another before using them. As their confidence increased, the interactions began to flow more naturally: Parents relied less on the strategies I had modeled and became more comfortable following their children’s lead, responding to their questions and comments and allowing conversations about the story to develop spontaneously.

Talking to families with empathy

I’ve watched educators transform their relationships with families once they begin viewing parents through their strengths rather than perceived flaws. Families know dimensions of their children that may never be visible during the school day: the child who loves to tell stories at the dinner table, or the child who is fascinated by cars or animals.

When educators listen to those stories, they gain information that can change how they understand and teach a child. Family engagement must also mean creating opportunities for educators to learn from families.

Instead of asking why families are not involved, they begin asking how schools can become more welcoming, more responsive and more collaborative. That shift in perspective often changes the entire culture of a school.

Here are a few ways educators can build relationships with families and vice versa:

Build relationships before you need them

Teachers shouldn’t wait until there is a problem to reach out to families. Relationships are strongest when schools communicate with families before challenges arise.

A welcoming phone call, a quick note celebrating something a child did well, an invitation to visit the classroom, or simply taking time to learn about a child’s interests can go a long way.

Parents can make a point of introducing themselves to their child’s teacher early in the school year. Parents might share something the teacher would find helpful to know about their child – what excites them, what they enjoy reading or doing at home, or what helps them feel confident as learners.

These early exchanges also communicate an important message: “I know my child in ways that can help you teach them, and I want us to work together.”

Make communication a conversation

Families should hear from educators, but educators also need to hear from families. Communication is most meaningful when educators listen as much as they inform.

Educators can ask parents and caregivers: What are your hopes for your child this year? What should I know about your child that will help me be a better teacher? How does your child learn best? What is the easiest way for us to stay in touch?

Parents can ask teachers: “What are you noticing about my child as a reader and learner?” and “What are some things we can do at home that would reinforce what you are teaching at school?”

Bring empathy to difficult conversations

At some point, educators may need to talk with families about academic, behavioral or attendance concerns. Teachers can begin by sharing what the child does well and listening to what the family is seeing at home. Then invite their insights and perspectives: “Here is what I’m noticing. What are you seeing, and how can we work together?” This small shift – from presenting families with a problem to inviting them into a conversation – can transform a potentially difficult exchange into an opportunity for genuine partnership.

Families can listen carefully when teachers raise concerns and ask questions to better understand what the teacher is observing about their child. They can also share what they notice about their child at home, since children may demonstrate different strengths, behaviors and abilities in different settings.

Together, families and teachers can identify strategies to try at home and at school to address the concern and agree on a time to reconnect and discuss the child’s progress.

Patricia Edwards does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/09/11/heres-how-teachers-and-parents-can-collaborate-and-help-michigans-1-4m-students-succeed/