Parent Involvement and Engagement at Rural Secondary Schools

When students transition from elementary to secondary school, multiple obstacles—more pronounced in rural, high-poverty districts—impede parent-school partnerships. To combat these challenges, school staff should provide curriculum information to encourage parents to engage with their student’s academics, organize workshops about post-secondary options to develop parents’ high educational aspirations for their students, and develop flexible parent programming to support the needs of different groups of parents.

This report discusses how to involve parents in secondary students’ academics, encourage parents to hold high educational aspirations for their students, and respond to parents’ needs with respect and flexibility when designing parent programming. It also focuses on strategies for rural school districts, and profiles two research-backed parent involvement and engagement programs.