Family-School Connectivity: Barriers and Oppportunities for Academic Achievement among Children of Immigrants

Jennifer E. Glick, Arizona State University

This paper examines the role of family-school connectivity on the academic trajectories of children of immigrants in U.S. schools and asks the extent to which parental involvement in schools is more effective in some school settings than others. The analyses focus on non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black and Mexican origin families in the United States whose children are in Kindergarten in 1999-2000 (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten). The analyses examine different domains of family-school connectivity including parents’ activities and motivations for contacting the school as well as the extent to which schools reach out to parents from different linguistic backgrounds. These domains are used to predict children’s progress over their elementary school years with multilevel growth models. Results suggest parental involvement is advantageous for children’s success and is more beneficial when schools reach out to parents from different linguistic origins.