Parental involvement of families with limited financial resources: Bridging home & school to positively impact academic achievement of struggling elementary readers

This two-phase mixed methods case study investigated the school based parental involvement of families with limited financial resources who have early grade children struggling with reading. Phase I details how the existing research on school-based parental involvement applies to one group of parents within a particular school. Two interventions were implemented in Phase II---Partners-in-Reading tutoring program utilizing parents and teachers as tutoring partners and Home-School Connection which allowed parents to capture via photography, the family's home literacy strategies and cultural experiences as a way for educators to bridge the gap of home and school. Results documented improved achievement for students and the implementation of initial pathways between the literacy practices of the school and home.