No Dual Language program can be successful without a strong relationship between the families of the children, their teachers, the school and the community. It goes without saying that anything is more successful the more support and “buy-in” there is, and that holds true for dual language programs. There should be various levels of parent and family involvement in order to strive for success.
First, all dual language programs should review and become familiarized with the Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education – Strand 6 – Family and Community. This strand highlights the important features of family and community engagement and includes these principles and sub-categories:
Principle 1: The program has a response infrastructure for positive, active, and ongoing relations with students’ families and the community.
- (A) There is a staff member designated as liaison with families and communities associated with the program.
- (B) Office staff members have bilingual proficiency and cross-cultural awareness.
- (C) Staff development topics include working equitably with families and the community.
Principle 2: The program has parent education and support services that are reflective of the bilingual and multicultural goals of the program.
- (A) The program incorporates ongoing parent education that is designed to help parents understand, support, and advocate for the program.
- (B) The program meets parents’ needs in supporting their children’s education and living in the community.
- (C) Activities are designed to bring parents together to promote cross-cultural awareness.
- (D)Communication with parents and the community is in the appropriate language.
- (E) The program allows for many different levels of participation, comfort, and talents of parents.
Principle 3: The program views and involves parents and community members as strategic partners.
- (A) The program establishes an advisory structure for input from parents and community members.
- (B) The program takes advantage of community language resources.
These components are crucial in the success of a dual language program. I’ve thought a lot about parent/family involvement and education on dual language programming as well as how reaching out to the community can truly help a program be successful. I’m going to outline several ways to involve families and the community more in relation to your dual language program.
- Hold a “Mandatory Dual Language Information Session” for families who are interested in signing up their child for the Dual Language Kindergarten class
- This is extremely important because many families tend to sign up their child for these programs without really understanding the structure of what ‘dual language’ really is, or without understanding the commitment and the effort it requires on their part for their child to be successful
- Dual Language Program Contract
- Have a contract where parents need to sign to show their commitment to the program. Below you’ll see this example that I created
- Dual Language Informational Sessions throughout the year (2-4 sessions per year)
- Topics can include dual language 101, specific sessions related to your school’s program, stages of second language acquisition, how to help your child at home, etc…
- Designate a Dual Language Liaison for your school’s program
- Create a Parent Dual Language Advisory Committee
- This should be a way for the parents to have some input and advocacy for the program with a designated parent or several parents to communicate with the school/program
- Community Fundraising/outreach events for your school’s dual language program
- Partnering with community organizations that support bilingualism/provide target language resources/activities for the community
- Inviting parents as “mystery” guests (for read-alouds) or to share cultural activities in the target language
- Dual Language Program Yearly Showcase (this can be adapted to a virtual showcase)
- Having a showcase where each grade of the Dual Language program has their students showcase a project or an activity they did and they chose (from their ‘portfolio’ of projects/activities) to share with parents, families, teachers, community members.
There are many ways to effectively involve parents and the community to support student success in a long-term program like Dual Language. It’s also important to make sure that a school is welcoming and receptive of the other languages of the school, especially the languages most spoken other than English in the school and community. Making sure that the parents and families feel welcome allows for them to feel comfortable becoming more involved in their child’s education and in the dual language program. Don’t be afraid to work with parents to provide the kids with amazing learning experiences!