As part of an ongoing effort to assure the academic success of the children of Red Bank, the Community Characteristics Team of the Red Bank Education and Development Initiative conducted focus groups and a survey with parents of children enrolled within the Borough. Of primary interest were parent perceptions, experiences, and needs related to their children’s education, and the recognition and desire that parent input play a significant role in the town’s educational offerings.

To that end, six focus groups were conducted involving a total of 39 parents. To ensure representation of the diversity of the town and to capture the broadest range of responses, groups included parents from the African American, Latino, and White communities, and those of Charter School students – all of whom were known to participate in school events. The focus groups were conducted by the Center for Organizational Development and Leadership at Rutgers University. A brief survey related to community service needs and usage was also completed during the sessions.

The data gathered served to reinforce ideas and concerns expressed by members of the community in a preliminary survey completed in 2000 by 189 parents of children in the Red Bank Primary, Middle and Charter Schools, and to identify others that were new to the team. While insights gained from a small number of focus groups can be useful for identifying themes and areas for further study - as was the case in this instance - such insights may be limited in terms of generalization across the broader parent population.

The information gathered revealed opportunities for future focus and improvement in three general areas, while not to the same degree with all parents or at all schools: 1) Greater communication between parents and the schools; 2) Continued/enhanced engagement of parents in the educational process, and 3) Attention to affects of the Middle School vs. Charter School debate. (See Appendix C.) Overall, parents recognized the important role they play in their children’s education and were eager to be involved.

African American and Latino parents noted a lack of two-way communication with the schools. Parents of students enrolled in the Charter School expressed appreciation for an abundance of communication methods used by the school to keep them informed and engaged, including Charter Chat, email, and personal phone calls.

Latino parents felt most comfortable when dealing with Spanish-speaking personnel, but noted their desire for more Spanish-speaking administrators within the schools. They also expressed the desire to have more after school programs devoted to enrichment vs. remediation. The survey revealed uneven usage of existing services such as after school

programs and transportation services. However, it appears that some usage such as that related to after school programs could be directly correlated to the availability of such programs within the different schools, rather than the desire to take advantage of such programs.

Several comments made by both African American and Latino parents indicated a lack of trust and a sense of "us (Latino & African American) vs. them." This sentiment was not expressed by Charter School parents.

All three groups made reference in some way to uneven distribution of resources and/or the "rivaly" between the Middle School and Charter School. Parents with children in both schools, noted a clear difference between the education received, and some noted a desire to have all their children attend the Charter School.

The impact of transportation, housing and childcare needs was also noted. Parents noted access to affordable housing and adequate affordable housing as two issues that affect involvement in their children’s education. Strongly suggested topics for future focus groups included family involvement in education, cultural activities for families, and child health care for working families. (See Appendix D.)

Information gathered to date can serve to advance next steps, including further dialogue, broader data gathering, the creation of forums for "best practices" sharing, and a general exploration of ways to best use existing resources to enhance the effectiveness of schools and the satisfaction of the parents and students for whom they are designed.

The Modified Focus Group, a combination of the focus group interview and the nominal group technique, was used to gather information from parents. The technique was chosen because it offered an efficient way to gather data in parents’ own words and afforded them an opportunity within each group to build on each other’s ideas.

This method of information collection is ideally suited to the task of identifying and enriching the committee’s basic understanding of the needs and problems related to ensuring a successful educational experience for the children of Red Bank.

Sessions ran for two hours and were scheduled in locations deemed to be convenient to the participants. Questions focused on facilitators and barriers to parental engagement, and on parental satisfaction with current educational practices. (See Appendices A and B.)

Ø An idea of parent perceptions of and experiences with current educational offerings within Red Bank.

 

Ø The level of engagement within the educational experience desired by parents.

 

Ø Parental priorities based on need.

 

Ø Involvement of parents in the process.

 

Ø Identification of other things that affect the success of a child’s educational experience/and or parental involvement.

 

Ø Ideas on how the Red Bank Education and Development Initiative can assist with the realization of academic success for all the Borough’s children.

 

 

To that end, six parent focus groups were conducted involving a total of 39 parents. To ensure representation of the diversity of the town and to capture the broadest range of responses and concerns, groups included parents from the African American and Latino communities, as well as parents known to participate in school events, and those of Charter School students.

Capitalizing on existing relationships and personal credibility, members of the committee sent letters of invitation, followed by personal calls with invited participants to try to ensure a high rate of attendance. While participation was less than anticipated, the information gained from this small number of focus groups can be useful for identifying themes and areas for further study. Such insights may be limited in terms of generalization across the broader population.

The information gathered revealed opportunities for future focus and improvement in three general areas, while not to the same degree with all parents or at all schools: 1) Greater communication between parents and the schools; 2) Continued/Enhanced engagement of parents in the educational process, and 3) Attention to affects of the Middle School vs. Charter School debate. (See Appendix C). Overall, parents recognized the important role they play in their children’s education and were eager to be involved.

The engagement and empowerment Charter School parents felt was evident, as was the sense of lack of empowerment expressed by other groups, Latino parents in particular. Language and the level of education attained by these parents appear to play a significant role in these feelings/experiences. They felt most comfortable when dealing with Spanish-speaking personnel, but noted a lack of such individuals within the schools.

The perceived "rivalry" between the Charter School and Middle School was evident, and was noted by several participants as causing problems for parents who had children in both. There seemed to be a strong sentiment that the Charter School provided a better education than that of the other schools. Uneven distribution of resources and politics were noted as related to this issue as well.

Charter School parents noted the school’s dedication to two-way communication with parents, and its commitment to "never giving up on a child." Parents with children in other schools noted a need for enhanced communication between the school and parents, and the need for more attention to discipline. The non-Charter school African American and Latino parent participants noted a lack of willingness to provide adequate communication and opportunities for parental engagement on the part of the non-Charter Schools.

Latino parents, in particular, expressed the desire to have more after school programs devoted to enrichment vs. remediation. The survey revealed uneven usage of existing services such as after-school programs and transportation services. However, it appears that some usage such as that related to after-school programs is directly correlated to the availability of such programs within the different schools, rather than the desire to take advantage of such programs.

Several comments made by both African American and Latino parents indicated a lack of trust and a sense of "us (Latino & African American) vs. them." This sentiment was not expressed by Charter School parents.

The impact of transportation, housing and childcare needs on parental involvement was also noted by all three groups. Charter School and African American parents noted access to affordable housing as significantly affecting their involvement. All three groups noted knowing where to get information about available housing as an issue.

SUrvey Question 1:

Services most frequently used

Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of participants that responded to the survey.

Survey Question 3:

Housing issues that may affect involvement in your child's education

Parents noted family involvement in education, cultural activities for families and child health care for working families, among others as desirable areas of emphasis for future focus groups.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Survey question 4:

Topics for future focus groups

 

Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of participants that responded to the survey.

**Sports Programs; Recreation; Technology in Education; Multi-Ethnic Community Awareness;

Transportation for Middle School students from Westside to after-school functions; How to implement greater discipline among the students; How to make the parents responsible for their children’s behavior.

 

Data from the focus groups will be viewed along with information gathered from principals, superintendents and other administrators within the Borough to begin to better understand what works and where opportunities for improvement exist.

The committee plans to make the use of focus groups a regular process in order to build on established relationships and strengthen parental ownership, empowerment and engagement in the educational experience of their children.

This constituent feedback will help to guide the work of the Red Bank Education and Development Initiative in its upcoming strategic planning efforts.