10 Creative Ways To Boost Parent Involvement at Your School

The relationship between families and schools has never been more important than it is today. When parents engage actively in their children's education, students don't just perform better academically—they develop stronger social skills, attend school more regularly, and are more likely to graduate. As educators, we know this intuitively, but implementing effective parent involvement strategies that go beyond the traditional back-to-school night can be challenging.

After fifteen years in education, I've observed that the most successful schools aren't necessarily those with the most resources, but those that foster authentic partnerships with families.

The research backs this up: studies have consistently shown that parental involvement is one of the most accurate predictors of student achievement, transcending both family income and social status.

So how do we move beyond the same tired approaches and develop creative strategies that truly engage our families? Here are ten innovative tips that might just transform your school's parent involvement culture.

1. Implement Design Thinking for Family Engagement

Instead of assuming what parents want or need, try using human-centered design principles to reimagine family engagement. In southwestern Pennsylvania, the Parents as Allies initiative brought together teams of parents and educators to participate in design sprints—collaborative sessions where they interviewed each other to better understand everyone's needs and perspectives.

Try this: Host a design sprint at your school. Invite a diverse group of parents and teachers to conduct empathy interviews with each other, then brainstorm new approaches to family involvement based on what they learn. The insights might surprise you, and the co-created solutions are more likely to succeed.

2. Create a Virtual Volunteer Program

Many parents want to help but can't physically be at school during the day. Linda Yollis, an innovative educator, developed the concept of "virtual volunteers" who assist online rather than in the classroom.

Try this: Establish a roster of virtual volunteers who can respond to student work online, participate in digital classroom projects, or contribute expertise through video calls. This opens involvement opportunities for working parents, those with transportation challenges, or families with younger children at home.

3. Develop Personalized Communication Channels

One-size-fits-all communication rarely works for diverse family populations. Research shows that understanding parents' preferred communication methods dramatically increases engagement.

Try this: Create a simple survey asking families about their communication preferences—email, text, phone calls, apps, or paper notices. Then, track which channels work best for which families. This targeted approach demonstrates that you value families' time and preferences, increasing the likelihood they'll engage with your communications.

4. Host Student-Led Showcase Nights

Traditional parent-teacher conferences often put parents in a passive role. Flipping this dynamic can dramatically increase attendance and engagement.

Try this: Transform report card nights into student showcases by having students present their work directly to their families. As one educator found, "parents are most invested in events with their child". Add performances, demonstrations, or interactive activities to make these events more engaging. At one school, a "dessert night" where children shared stories they had written saw attendance triple compared to traditional conferences.

5. Create a Parent Talent Bank

Every parent has skills, knowledge, or connections that could benefit your school community, but many never get asked to contribute in meaningful ways.

Try this: Develop a "talent inventory" where parents can indicate their skills, interests, and availability. One principal I know discovered they had parents who were professional photographers, website developers, and even a published children's author—all resources that enhanced school programming without additional cost. Make sure to recognize these contributions publicly to reinforce the value parents bring to your school.

6. Launch Family Learning Challenges

Learning doesn't stop at the classroom door. Creating structured opportunities for families to learn together at home can strengthen both academic skills and family bonds.

Try this: Design monthly family challenges connected to curriculum goals. These might include science experiments, reading challenges, or math games that families can complete together. Share the results through your school's communication platforms. One elementary school using Seesaw found that these challenges not only improved academic skills but also sparked meaningful conversations at home.

7. Implement Digital Portfolio Sharing

Technology provides powerful ways to make learning visible to parents. Digital portfolios allow families to see student work in real-time, rather than waiting for report cards.

Try this: Use platforms like Seesaw or Google Classroom to create digital portfolios of student work. Encourage students to record explanations of their thinking or reflections on their progress, then share these directly with families. This provides conversation starters for parents and helps them understand exactly what their children are learning. As one teacher noted, "It's not just about sharing work, it's about inviting families into the learning process."

8. Celebrate Cultural Heritage Through School Events

Schools with diverse populations benefit tremendously from culturally responsive family engagement strategies. Creating events that honor and incorporate different cultural traditions makes all families feel welcome and valued.

Try this: Work with your parent community to design celebrations that reflect the cultural diversity of your school. This might include multilingual storytelling events, international food festivals, or cultural arts demonstrations. Research from IDRA highlights that "creating an atmosphere for purposeful parent engagement that is culturally responsive permeates throughout a school district". These events build community while also enriching the curriculum.

9. Establish a Parent-to-Parent Mentoring Program

New families often struggle to navigate school systems and culture. Creating connections between experienced and new parents can ease this transition.

Try this: Pair veteran parents with newcomers at the beginning of the school year. These mentors can answer questions, make introductions, and help new families feel welcome. This approach recognizes the difference between involvement and engagement—moving beyond having parents simply participate in school-directed activities to creating parent leadership opportunities. One principal I worked with found this approach particularly effective for integrating immigrant families into the school community.

10. Create Ongoing Feedback Loops

Too often, schools collect feedback from parents but fail to act on it or communicate how that input influenced decisions.

Try this: Establish regular opportunities for parents to provide input on school policies and practices through surveys, focus groups, or town halls. The critical step is closing the loop—report back to parents on how their feedback was used and what changes resulted. Research shows that when parents feel their voices genuinely matter, their engagement deepens. One school created a monthly "Principal's Coffee" where parents could raise concerns and hear updates on previous feedback.

Moving Forward Together

Implementing even a few of these strategies can transform your school's parent involvement culture. Remember that authentic engagement takes time to develop—start small, celebrate successes, and be willing to adjust based on what you learn.

As the Brookings Institution notes in their playbook on family-school collaboration, the goal isn't just to increase participation in school events but to create "a shared understanding of what a good quality education looks like". When families and educators truly collaborate, the impact on student learning can be transformative.

What creative parent involvement strategies have worked at your school? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments below.

This blog post was written for SchoolCulture.org by Brian Williams, founder of Think Kindness.org