The most effective schools seek to engage parents in each of the following ways: Parenting. Assist families with parenting skills, family  support, understanding child and adolescent development,  and setting home conditions to support learning at each age  and grade level. Assist schools in understanding families'  backgrounds, cultures, and goals for children.  Communicating. Communicate with families about school  programs and student progress. Create two-way  communication channels between school and home.  Volunteering. Improve recruitment, training, activities, and  schedules to involve families as volunteers and as audiences  at the school or in other locations. Enable educators to work  with volunteers who support students and the school.  Learning at Home. Involve families with their children in  academic learning at home, including homework, goal setting,  and other curriculum-related activities. Encourage teachers to  design homework that enables students to share and discuss  interesting tasks. Decision Making. Include families as participants in school  decisions, governance, and advocacy activities through school  councils or improvement teams, committees, and parent  organizations.  Collaborating with the Community. Coordinate resources and services for families, students, and the school with community groups, including businesses, agencies, cultural and civic organizations, and colleges or universities. Enable all to contribute service to the community. Source: Epstein et al., 2002.     The NH Parents Make the Difference website is a collaboration between the Parent Information Center of NH and the NH Department of Education.  This website is supported with funding from the US Department of Education through the NH State PIRC grant of the Natonal PIRC program. © 2010 The Parent Information Center of NH More on the Six Types Read this 6-page document on Epstein's Framework of Six Types of Involvement, including: Sample Practices, Challenges, Redefinitions, and Expected Results Click here to download Watch This Video Dr. Stephen Constantino Shares His Story about Turning Around a School with Family Engagment From the 2009 NH Partnerships for Education Conference. . . . . . . . .  For more on family-school partnerships, visit the NH State PIRC or NH Connections For special education-related issues, visit Parent Information Center on Special Education. How Does Your School Rate? If you would like to do a quick assessment of your school's efforts in the area of parental involvement, download this 1-page form  and complete it, preferably with other members of your school team or parent group. use the results as a guide to further conversation about how to strengthen family engagement in your school.