My personal reflection on the extent to which my family gets involved or feels welcome at school.

Family involvement in school is something that is seen a lot more with younger children. When I was in grade school and even middle school my family was way more involved then what they are now. I can remember my Mom coming to school for all of the parties on holidays in grade school. We always made crafts, played games, dressed up, and just had fun. My Mom was even a junior achievement instructor back  when i was in 5th grade. Life was just so much different back then. I don't see my family not being as involved so much as a lack in my families interest, but more as my dis-interest. Once children get into high school they feel a sense of independence and don't really want their parents to be as involved. Parents like to give their children more responsibilities, and in doing so they give them more independence in school. After high school, when children become adults thy go on to college or their desired career and take on responsibilities. High school is just a steeping stone towards college or a career and children should gain responsibility during high school in order to prepare them. Once children get into high school and sometimes middle school, not as much goes on in school that parents can get involved with. Some parents may still come to school events such as open house and parent-teacher conferences but not as often as in the younger years. If a child plays a sport or is involved in an extra curricular activity, a parent might be more involved in school because of this. I can remember back in middle school and freshman year, when i played volleyball, my parents were very involved in school and came to every game i ever had, no matter what. Playing a sport or being in drama club, for instance, always gives parents another way to get more involved in school. Once i got into high school, my Mom and i joined PTSA, but i have dropped out since then. Being in PTSA was more or less a joke to me. My Mom is still involved in it, but I don't see it as useful for me to be in it. If more organizations were more involved in school and more successful, it might drive more parents to get involved. In the end, family involvement in school depends on a lot of factors and varies drastically from family to family. It can depend on the children, parents, other family members, and how much they are all willing to get involved!