Dive Brief:

• North Carolina's Guilford County Schools has taken an aggressive approach to improving parent engagement, including offering cash in return for some volunteer activities.
• The district also offers free online tutoring and an eBook library to every family, allowing parents to easily support students’ learning.
• Parent volunteer liaisons, who are eligible for up to $150 a month, have helped the district reach out to more parents and spread the news.

Dive Insight:

Parent engagement has been a tool for improving student performance for decades. But recently, the pressure to get parents involved has grown alongside increased accountability and discussion of educational outcomes.

Guilford established its program in part by using Race to the Top dollars. But even for districts without the extra funds, seeking out free resources to provide to parents to help support students learning may offer a useful tool for building a sense of community around students’ learning. The county has also reached out to local employers to negotiate parenting and education workshops during lunch breaks and other free time during the workday.