Chapter 1

1. 1
Encouraging Parent Involvement Through the Use of a Class Website
(Chapter One)
A Project Presented to the Faculty of the College of Education
By Michelle Stephens
Touro University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of
MASTERS OF ARTS
In
Educational Technology
By
Michelle Stephens
December, 2011

2. 2
Abstract
In the face of mounting academic requirements, teachers and parents must come
together in an educational partnership to better support students.A class website
can provide teachers and parents with a dynamic venue for collaboration and
communication. This project provided parents of a second grade class with an
interactive class website. The website promoted parent engagement through the
use of parent blogs, tutorials, weblinks,and educational resources.

3. 3
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
The ability to communicate using a class websitecould provide teachers with
an invaluable tool to connect with parents and gain their support outside of the
classroom. This underutilized venue of communication has the unique potential to
bridgethe disconnect that often lies between home and school and tap into a vast
resource of parent support. Using a class websitecan help streamlineparent/teacher
communication, clarify what parents can do at home to help their child, and avoid
problems often associated with more traditional forms of communication.
It is essential that today’s educators use every resource available to help
families cope with ever-increasing demands on their children. In today’s fast paced
society, many families have little time or inclination to focus on their child’s
academics at home. Time is a limitedcommodity, especially when sports and other
extracurricular activities are factored in. Students are being asked to learn at a
faster pace, at an earlier age, and learn greater amounts of material than ever
before. Combine all of these factors and a time crunch of epic proportions
emerges.A class websitecan ameliorate this by providingtimely communication
between parents, teachers and students.The website can allow parents access to the
material being covered at school,related educational resources, as well as,offer a
venue to communicate with the teacher outside of the classroom at their
convenience.The ability of a class website to extend learning beyondthe classroom
gives it an unmatched advantage as a communication tool.

4. 4
Frequent home/school communication is vital, in light of the dramatic
changes being wrought on our educational system. Parents are at a loss when faced
with the dichotomy of theeducational system of their childhood and the rigors of
today’s educational expectations. A growing questionamong parents about their
child’s education is, “Has it always been this academic?” and “I don’t remember
learning so much at this age.” The current focus on standards and
schoolaccountability has risen dramatically in the last 15 years. Teachers need to
provide the support necessary for parents to take an active role in their child’s
education at home by delivering crucial information about the curriculum taught at
school. “The problem is that collaborations like these take great communication and
planning, which, in turn, takes time” (Johnson, 2000, pg.2).Johnson clearly identifies
the inherent issue with the home/school partnership; the excessive amount of time
and planning required for it to be successful. Aclass website is especially well suited
for this because itfunctions as a window, providing the transparency needed for
parents to see into the classroom and become familiar with the curriculum. Parents
can take a more active role in their child’s education by utilizing tutorials, tips, and
other resources,which it provides.
The use of a class website also has the advantage of circumventing the
inherent drawbacks of other more traditional modes of home/school
communication. Some examples Johnson identifies are: Printed materials not
making it home or frequently ending up in the bottom of a backpack; and the
difficulty of scheduling parent teacher conferences due to time constraints on both
parties. The use of a class website can help avoid these common pitfalls by

5. 5
providing both teachers and parents with a consistent and accessible means of
communication. Teachers can use class websites to inform parents of upcoming
due dates, class events, assignments, and even current grades for each student.
Also, parents and teachers can avoid the constraints of finding a common time to
have a conference by using a class website to communicate. There is no longer a
need for synchronicity, each participant can access the website when it is
convenient for him or her.
Statement of the Problem
Teachers are often faced with students working well below their ability
levels because of deficient parental support. Differing levels of parental
participation and academic expectations can have a monumental affect on a
student’s academic success. This discrepancy is often overlooked by educators or
viewed as beyond the ability of the teacher to control. Kim Walters-Parker points
out in her recent article “Communication with Parents to Enhance Learning,” that this
perception may be due to miscommunication between teachers and parents. When
parents are unclear what the teacher is asking them to do, they don’t take action.
Their inaction may be misconstrued by the teacher as indifference.Walters-Parker
states:
“The parent who does not know how to comply with the teacher's
request may perceive vagueness(of the request) as a reflection of
indifference or insensitivity to the parent's needs. When the parent
does not comply, the teacher perceives the noncompliance as
indifference on the part of the parent. In this scenario, what started as

6. 6
a well-intended suggestion resulted in a mutual perception between
the parent and the teacher that the other is indifferent to the child's
needs” (Walters, Education.com, 2009, pgs. 5-6)
This quote identifies how the lack of specific and timely communication can create a
negative perception on both the part of the teacher and the parent. This negative
perception can greatly hinder the parent/teacher partnership, and the needs of the
child could remain unmet.
The pivotal role that parental involvement and expectations play in a
student’s achievement can best be illustrated by a comparison of two dissimilar
student case studies. The first case study examines an energetic, curious second
grade student named Jasper. He is reading below grade level and has been
identified as “at risk,” meaning his reading level could directly affect his academic
success. Jasper currently reads at a fluency level of 23 words per minute. He
frequently is unable to sound out sight words and struggles to decode multi-syllable
words. Jasper likes school and for the most part is successful. When reminded to
practice his reading at home, Jasper has shared that no one has time to read with
him. His mom is taking care of his new baby sister and his dad doesn’t get home
until his bedtime. At parent teacher conferences, when the topic of Jasper’s reading
comes up, his mom volunteers that between football practices and play-dates, Jasper
is just too tired and busy to find time to read. She inquires, “Is it really that
important?” Jasper’s mom wants her son to succeed in school, but doesn’t see the
importance of becoming more involved. The teacher, when faced with seemingly

7. 7
indifferent and lacking parent support, lets the issue subside. These factors
contribute to Jaspers’ slow progress in reading.
Contrast this family tableaux with the second case study subject, an
inquisitive, confident, second grade student named Jenny. She loves school and
often plays “school” with her sister at home. Jenny has been reading independently
since kindergarten and she now reads at a fluency level of 102 words per minute.
One of Jenny’s favorite activities is reading with her father every night. She
especially loves the popcorn game where he will stop reading mid-sentence and she
has to take over. Some of Jenny’s earliest memories are reading with her parents.
Jenny’s mom often consults with Jenny’s teacher about what books are suited to her
level and what she can do to challenge her at home.
When the two situations are juxtaposed, a glaring difference becomes
obvious. Herein lies the crux of the problem, although both sets of parents love their
children and want them to succeed, the amount of parent participation and level of
expectation for their child’s educational achievement varies drastically. Jasper’s
parents find it difficult to support his efforts at home and have low expectations for
him academically. Conversely, Jenny’s family has integrated academic support in
their everyday routine. Her parents are active participants in her educational
development and have high academic expectations for her. This discrepancy plays a
pivotal role in the academic success of their children. Jasper may not meet the
second grade reading fluency benchmarkof 90wpm (Dibels, 2011, pg. 5). and will be
flagged as “At Risk." Oppositely, Jenny will not only make adequate progress, but
will even exceed the second grade reading fluency standard. In each case, the

8. 8
teacher provides the student with individualized attention and support in the
classroom. Both students enjoy reading and want to make progress. However, the
teacher did not provide adequate information and motivation to Jasper’s family
because of the parent’s perceived indifference. Jenny’s family took a more proactive
role and requested the needed information to help their child succeed. Not only can
the differing parent involvement and expectations play a key role on each child’s
academic outcome, but the teacher’s perception of the parent’s interest can
contribute to the situation as well.
Background and Need
Several significant factors have contributed to the shift of education
extending beyond the walls of the classroom and into the home. Teachers today are
faced with the monumental task of effectively covering a vast amount of standards
within the time constraint of the average school day. When calculating the mounting
number of standards teachers are required to address, Marzono and Kendallin their
article “Awash in a Sea of Standards”, found that, “If American educators were to
adequately cover all of the knowledge identified in the current set of standards for
the core subject areas, it might take as much as 22 years of schooling within the
current structure“(Marzano and Kendall, 1998, pg. 1). Savvy administrators,
acknowledging the futility of addressing every standard, have instructed teachers to
focus on key standards or “essential standards.” These are typically the
standardsidentified as the most crucial areas for students to master. However,
attempts by administrators to staunch the current flood of educational standards
seem to have little or no effect. Teachers remain unable to introduce all the material

9. 9
and provide enough time for student masteryeven when focusing solelyon “essential
standards”.
This leads to a challenge for teachers to educate their students as efficiently
as possible. Teachers are utilizing every minute available during school, and even
outside of school hours to ensure that their students are meeting these “essential
standards.“ Some teachers work through recess and lunch to offer their students
the one–on-one tutoring they need. Others pull students aside before or after school
to work with them. Even these well-intentioned interventions are sometimes not
enough to help students achieve success. Marzano and Kendall, advocate two main
options for educators to meet the growing number of standards. The first is to
increase the amount of instructional time or secondly, to decrease the number of
standards that must be addressed (Marzano and Kendall, 1998, pgs. 11-15). While
these two options could remedy the situation, neither option is currently available
to the average teacher. Therefore, teachers need to draw on any and all methods
available for improving student success.
One proven method of increasing student achievement is to increase parent
involvement. There is a strong positive correlation between parent involvement
and academic achievement. According to Jeynes’ 2005 meta-analysis, which drew
from 77 studiesandlooked at the effects of parent participation and student
achievement of over 300,000 students in grades 1-12, researchers found that
greater parent participation led to higher student achievement across all socio-
economic and cultural groups. The study also found that the manner of parent
involvement was a determining factor as well. Parents who invested more time

10. 10
reading with their child and had higher expectations for them had a greater impact
on student success(Jeynes, 2005, pgs. 241-243). This meta-analysis demonstrates
the potential to improve all students’ academic outcomes by tapping into a more
active parent support system. It clearly illustrates the benefits of the
interrelationship between teachers, students and parents all working together to
achieve a common goal. Teachers must provide parents with the tools necessary to
help their child successfully navigate through the plethora of increased educational
demands. Student learning is more effective if it is not solely sequestered to the
brief time students are in the classroom. It is now more crucial than ever to enlist
the support of parents to help educate their child.
There is a scarcity of information about the efficacy of the use of class
websites. Zafer Unal, addressed the shortcomings of the literature on the subject by
conducting an online survey of 244 Elementary school teachers and 483 parents
about the ideal content and favorite features of class websites.According to Unal, the
majority of parents and teachers agreed that a class website was the favored form of
communication between home and school for three main reasons. The first was that
a class website provided parentsaccessto information about class news, upcoming
events, homework and what is happening daily at school in a timely manner.
Secondly, some of the parents indicated that the website allowed them to feel more
involved in their children’s education by “break(ing) the place and time
requirements and limits of the physical classroom.” Thirdly, the participants felt
that the website provided valuable resources for parents which helped them to
“expand the learning possibilities beyond the classroom walls”(Unal,2008, pg. 9).

11. 11
These findings demonstrate how both parents and teachers can gain a deep
connection and commitment to the partnership by using a class website. A class
website can provide a link between parents(who want to help their child, but don’t
know how,) and teachers (who need their help, but are unable to connect in a
meaningful manner.) The need for a flexible, timely, personalized communication
tool for parents and teachers is at hand. Traditional forms of parent/teacher
communication are no longer enough. Parents, teachers, administrators, schools
and districts must consider this new communication tool in order to reach the next
developmental stage inour ever-changing educational system.
Purpose of the Project
The purpose of this project is to create and implement an interactive class
website, to be used by the teacher, parents and students in a second grade
classroom at Pleasant Valley Elementary, in Novato, California.Class websites have
been shown to be an effective communication tool to enhance the home/school
connection. The goal is to provide parents with this interactive tool, which will
enable them to become more engaged in their child’s education. Based on a
compilation of studies, several significant website elements were identified. The
website will contain, but is not be limited to the following key elements which will
be updated and modified frequentlyand as needed:
Teacher Information:
o E-mail Address
o Short Autobiography/Resume
o Picture

12. 12
Parent Information:
o Parent Blog
o Parent Contact Information
o Parent Survey
o Parent Conference Information
o Suggestions for at Home Support Activities
o Parent Tutorials for Accessing Web-link Resources
Student Information
o Student Challenge
o Star Student Downloadable PDF
General Class Information:
o School/Class Calendar of Important Events
o Supply List/Class Donation Needs
o General Daily Schedule
o Class Pictures (Privacy Protected)
Homework Information:
o Daily Overview/Expectations
o Tutorials
Project Objectives
The class website projectwill meet the following objectives:
1. Parents will use the class website to accesscurrent information about
classroom activities and specific ways they can support their child at home.

13. 13
2. Parents willuse the resources provided by the website to work with their
childat home.
3. Parent usage and perception of the website will be measured via parent
surveys and interviewsconducted before, during, and after implementing the
webpage.
Definition of Terms
At Risk: A student who doesnot meet grade level standards in a particular area for
example, reading, writing or math. This could have a potentially negative
impact on their academic progress.
Blog:Is a blend of the term “web log” and is a dynamic webpage, which allows users
to post comments about a related topic.
Class Website: A website which is hosted and managed by the teacher. The website
containsa combination of webpages which are either private, password
protected (eg. picture gallery or student grades) or public (general class
information.)The website is open to the students and parents in the class.
Essential Standards: Grade level/content standards that students must master in
order to be successful in school. These standards are the highest priority for
instructional time, attention and resources.
Parent Blog: Is an interactive webpage included on the class website which allows
parents to communicate openly with each other and the teacher about
classroom questions or issues.
Web-link Resources: These are links to educational web resources specifically
designed to support parents and help students master thecurriculum.

14. 14
Webpage:A webpage is an individual HTML document which may be static (non-
changing like a PDF or read only text) or dynamic (interactive or content that
can change with each use like a Blog.)
Website: A website is a collection of related webpages, which can contain images,
text, videos and other electronic resources.
Summary
Teachers need to provide parents with every educational tool available to
promote active academic engagement and high academic expectations. Increased
parent involvement and expectations can positively and directly affect the progress
of a struggling student. A class website can offer parents an essential, personalized
teaching tool which is at their disposal any time of day or night. Teachers need to
provide the information, teaching tips, and at home strategies. Parents need to
work with their child at home at a convenient time. If both parents and teachers
perform their role in this partnership, they create a symbiotic relationship where
the child reaps the benefits. This project will provide a class website which can be
used as a means of communication between parents and the teacher. The website
will also provide information and resources to parents to enable them to become
more involved in their child’s education. The project will measure changes in parent
usage and perception of the website based on surveys and interviews.

15. 15
References
Dibels Next Benchmark Goals and Composite Score (2010). Dynamic Measurement
Group Inc, 2, 14.
Jeynes, W. H. (2005). A meta-analysis of the relation of parent involvement to urban
elementary school student academic achievement. Urban Education, 40, 237-
269.
Johnson, D. (2000). Teacher Web Pages That Build Parent Partnerships. Multimedia
Schools, 7(4), 48.
Marzano, R.,Kendall, J. S. (1998). Awash in A Sea of Standards. mcrel.org, 1-28.
Tubin, D.,Sarit, K. (2007). Designing a School Website: Content, Structure and
Responsiveness. Planning and Changing. 38, (3&4), 191–207.
Unal, Z. (2008). Going The Extra Step For Parental Involvement: Connecting Family
And School With The Power Of Teacher Websites. Journal of College Teaching
& Learning, 5 (6), 41-49.
Walters-Parker, K. (2009). Communication with Parents to Enhance Learning.
Education.com, 1-10.