commended that schools consider the adoption of flexible scheduling for ESL instruction to accommodate parental time constraints. Such scheduling likely would involve some ESL instruction outside of what is considered to be ônormalö school hours. Secondly, it is recommended that orientations for parents of ESL students be conducted in their native languages to help them understand how important their participation is (regardless of the level of their own English language skills) to their child's academic progress.
An interview was conducted with the parent of a student recently arrived in the United States from Puerto Rico. The student attends elementary school in a small city in the State of New York.
The interview focused on several issues. One of the focal issues was parental participation in the educational experience of their children. There was a desire to learn why the rate of parental participation involving ESL students is relatively low when compared to non ESL students. During the conduct of the interview it emerged that two factors held causal implications for non participation by parents. The first factor was available time. The parent interviewed indicated that work and family responsibilities other than the child's education made parental participation in the child's educational experience difficult. This point is important, and schools need to be flexible in arranging participation opportunities for ESL parents.
A second important reason for non participation eme
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