Business have much to gain and little to lose encouraging employees to become active partners in education. In a tight labor market, savvy employers know that employees with school-aged children are looking for flexible schedules and a workplace that values parents. Businesses can play a key role in building strong family-school partnerships.

Employers can:

1. Offer on-site training for employees on how to develop productive relationships with their children's schools and foster their children's love of learning. The Working Family Resource center (WFRC), sponsored by Saint Paul Public Schools, offers seminars and shot courses right at the workplace and a publication called Life Balance Digest for working families. "We know that communication between school can affect how well a child does in calss," says Marie Brooke, director of WFRC. "The seminar topic se offer include Improving Communication Between Home and School, Life and Adventures of the School-Aged Child and Help for Homework Hassles, which is one of the most popular courses offered."

2. Help employees balance work and family responsibilities. "The companies we work with wan too help their employees balance their work and home lives," Brooke says. "They know that helping their kids succeed in school is one of their employee's top concerns. Employees end help figuring out the most effective strategies for school success, given their very limited schedules."

3. Allow flexible scheduling so that employees can attend school fuctins and parent-teacher conferences. While the law provides for 16 hours of unpaid leave period per year, some companies offer paid time off, according to Brooke. These work-life champions are also the ones that value employees who call home at the end of the day to check in with their children who are home alone after shool, she says.

4. Establish a workplace lending library so employees can take home books and educational materials to share with their families. Ask employees to donate books their children have outgrown or educational materials that helped them become a partner in their children's education. Contact the local library to obtain children's book lists and parent education materials.

5. Help build broad community coalitions to strengthen all children's learning. Businesses are significant stakeholers in the community and have the potential to make a real difference in the education of children. From adopting a nearby school to allowing employee volunteers to use paid time to serve as a learning partner to a child, business can provide leadership and resources to promote strong partnerships.

© Copyright 2002, © University of Minnesota Children, Youth and Family Consortium.