Building Successful Partnerships
National Standards for Parent and Family Involvement

Welcoming all families to the school community: Families are active participants in the life of the school and feel welcomed, valued, and connected to each other, school staff, and to what students are learning and doing in class.

Supporting student success: Families and school staff have regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills to support students’ learning and healthy development.

Communicating effectively: Families and school staff engage in regular, meaningful communication about student learning.

Speaking up for every child: Families are empowered to be advocates for their own and other children, to ensure that they are treated fairly and have access to learning opportunities that will support their success.

Sharing power: Families and school staff together inform, influence and create policies, practices and programs, as equal partners in decisions that affect children and families.

Collaborating with community: Families and school staff collaborate with community members to connect students, families and staff to expand learning opportunities, community services, and civic participation.

National PTA has long supported the need for effectively involving parents and families in their children’s education.  Research studies demonstrate that parent and family involvement increases student success at all levels of learning.   The National Standards for Parent/Family Involvement were updated and renamed to reflect the findings of Anne T. Henderson and Karen L. Mapp.

Henderson is a consultant on education policy author and founder of National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education.  Mapp has a doctorate from Harvard in education and is the President of the Institute for Responsive Education in Boston.  Together, they coauthored and published A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement.

The findings presented by Henderson and Mapp provide a framework for strengthening parent/family involvement programs. The updated National Standards shift the focus from what schools should do to involve parents......to what parents, schools, and communities can do together to support student success.