MARYSVILLE – The Marysville School Board on Monday night discussed a policy to increase parent involvement in their children’s education.
Parents would be asked to volunteer at least 20 hours a year under the proposal.
However, board members acknowledged they would likely have to drop the hour threshold or soften the policy recommendation in other ways.
“It’s unenforceable,” said Helen Mount, a school board member. “For now, it’s a work in progress.”
Among other things, Marysville’s proposal states: “Each family of a Marysville School District No. 25 student will be expected to dedicate a minimum of 20 hours a year of volunteer service to each student’s school(s).”
Board member Michael Kundu said he doesn’t want the district to back off too far from an aggressive approach of getting parents more invested in the schools, however. He hopes the district can come up with incentives for schools to promote more parent involvement.
Parent help need not be in the classroom during the day, he said. It can come with after-school enrichment, tutoring and helping with field trips or night time assemblies.
“I think this is an exceptional policy,” he said. “The reality is we can’t force people, but I would hate to think this is just being done for feel-good purposes.”
The issue is a thorny one for Marysville and districts across the country. They are feeling the pressure to improve test scores and meet new federal and state accountability requirements or eventually face sanctions. Yet they can’t legally mandate parent involvement.
Marysville’s parent and family involvement policy needs came up for review as the district applies for federal Title I grant money that goes to qualifying schools based on percentages of students from low-income homes.
Superintendent Larry Nyland said the initial policy recommendation was merely a starting point.
“As a discussion with our community, we have to ask: ‘How do we proceed for the benefit of our kids?’ ” Nyland said. “It’s much more complicated than 20 hours.”
The policy debate of promoting parent involvement is a good one for any community, said Dan Steele, assistant director for governmental relations for the Washington School District Directors Association.
“More and more, we are seeing evidence that if parents are involved in their students’ education, they are more apt to succeed,” Steele said.
In recent years, the association has provided sample policies to districts. However, the policy Marysville is considering is “a little meatier” than its version, said Ingrid Gourley, assistant director of the association’s policy division.
“Each board knows what is really needed in their district,” Gourley said. “It’s easier for them to see it.”
Obviously, there is a difference between encouraging, expecting and mandating parents to volunteer hours, said Judy Parker, a Marysville School District spokeswoman. The district can’t legally require parent involvement, she added.
Mount said any debate should also include quality vs. quantity of hours volunteers work. No one wants to spend time if the work isn’t meaningful, she said.
“We need to have programs in place that will help them be successful as volunteers,” Mount said.
The policy recommendation also states that families should emphasize the importance of students attending school each day, valuing their education and following through with learning activities at home. It leaves it up to Nyland to develop procedures to administer the policy.
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@ heraldnet.com.
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