Message from Former
Secretary Richard Riley
To the Family Involvement
Network of Educators (FINE)
November, 2000
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I am pleased to congratulate you on the establishment of
your new website and on the first edition of your e-newsletter,
FINE Forum. Your
work with teachers and administrators to strengthen their
preparation for engaging families and communities in education
is very important.
Increasing parental and community involvement in local schools
is one of the most important things we can do to improve education
for all of America's children. Research shows that when family
and community members are directly involved in education,
children achieve better grades and higher test scores, have
much higher reading comprehension, graduate at higher rates,
are more likely to enroll in higher education, and are better
behaved.
We must do everything we can to emphasize to parents and
communities the importance of their involvement in their children's
education. Teachers, as integral members of the community,
are in a unique position to encourage and support this engagement.
And they benefit from family involvement as well - the morale
boost that teachers receive from supportive parents helps
them to feel more positive about their jobs and their schools.
It is therefore essential that teachers know what research
and sound practice reveal in promoting family involvement
in education in our increasingly complex and diverse society.
That is why teacher educators have such an important role
in this process. They help prepare our future teachers and
they provide the professional development for teachers already
in the classroom. They can transmit to practitioners the latest
in research and promising strategies on engaging parents and
communities in the education process. They can bring experience,
perspective, and innovation to the effort to develop collaborative
relationships with families and put schools at the center
of communities.
I commend the efforts of FINE and the teacher educator community
to promote greater family-school-community partnerships. Through
such collaboration, we can strengthen schools, raise student
achievement, and help ensure that every child in America receives
a high-quality education.
Thank you for your commitment to children and your efforts
to increase parental involvement in our nation's schools.
Richard W. Riley
Former Secretary, U.S. Department of Education
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