Education City Examples: Parent Involvement

Nashville, Tennessee
(population  569,891)

Every year, the City of Nashville holds a First Day Festival to celebrate the start of the upcoming school year.  The event includes a variety of educational activities, entertainment, and back-to-school giveaways.  As a community-wide event, the First Day Festival attracts businesses, local non-profits, and the higher education community.  Schools continue the First Day celebration throughout the first week of school to orient parents and students and further promote parental involvement. 

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Lansing, Michigan
(population 119,128)

To address concerns of middle school attendance, the City of Lansing formed an Attendance Committee made up of a broad range of community stakeholders.  The committee launched a program called CAPTURE (Community, Schools, Law Enforcement, and Parents Teaming Up to Reduce and Eliminate Truancy) to help reduce student absenteeism rate but also increase participation from parents and the community. 

A Parental Involvement Committee was formed to encourage parents to read to their children, provide middle school parents with information about reading, and reach out to local businesses to provide incentives for students and parents.  A literacy conference was held for parents and students to engage them in reading activities such as storytelling and watching book illustrators. 

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Las Vegas, Nevada
(population 478,434)

As part of their Batteries Included Initiative, the City of Las Vegas provides Parents as Learning Support grants of up to $8,000 to local elementary schools.  The matching grants are used to increase parental involvement and communication between parents and school staff.  The city also provides funding and staff for parent/community resources centers located on school campuses.  The centers offer information and support services for families. 

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San Jose, California
(population 894,943)

In 2006, former Mayor Ron Gonzales convened a Mayor’s High School Parent Summit that attracted nearly 500 parents.  At the Summit, parents had the opportunity to participate in workshops on college and career opportunities, talk with counselors, and meet with the Mayor to discuss how they can become more engaged. 

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