Educators need to do even more to help parents become partners in their child’s education.
See SALT Survey Teacher chart #19

• On average, statewide, RI schools do not have a high degree of contact with students’ homes. State-wide, 21% of teachers report that they do not have regularly scheduled parent-teacher conferences other than for problems. 47% report that they have parent conferences once a year. A full 70% of our high school teachers meet with the parents of their students once a year at most.

See SALT Survey Parent chart #6, #18, #18a, #18b, #18c

• Parent responses echo those from teachers. Parents report that the schools infrequently outline what skills the child needs to learn each year, explain how to check the homework or give information about how report card grades are earned. In general, contact and communication with parents and families steadily declines from the elementary to high school levels.

Parents are trying to help their children with school-related work.
See SALT Survey Parent charts #3, #5 and #8

• Of the parents who filled out the survey (who we know are at least somewhat committed and involved because they filled out the survey), the vast majority report helping their children with school work by, for example, reading to them, practicing spelling, and checking or helping with homework.
• A strong majority of parents feel that they can help their children with reading and math. The exception is high school mathematics in which only a slim majority of parents -- 55% -- said that they could help their children.
• Parents at every level ranked math skills as the number one subject about which they wanted to know more. Reading skills always fell within the top four subjects.
• Rhode Island parents report that they could spend more time helping their children with homework if teachers showed them what to do. 58% of parents report that they currently spend 10 minutes or less helping their children with homework on an average night. However, 80% of parents report that they could spend 25 minutes or more if they knew what to do.