Parents for Healthy Schools

At a glance

  • Parents play a key role in supporting their children’s health and learning.
  • Engaged parents can successfully guide their children through school, advocate for help, and shape a healthy school environment.
  • CDC's Parents for Healthy Schools helps schools, school groups, and school wellness committees encourage parent involvement in school health.
  • Parents for Healthy Schools uses evidence-based strategies for parent engagement.
Teacher talking with a group of students in school library.

Parent engagement in schools

Parent engagement involves parents and school staff working together to support and improve students' learning, development, and health. Parent engagement in schools is an important, shared responsibility. This engagement can succeed when:

  • Schools and other community groups are committed to getting parents involved in meaningful ways.
  • Parents are committed to actively supporting their children’s and adolescents’ learning and development.

School health activities are more successful when parents are involved. When parents are engaged in their children’s school activities, their children:

  • Get better grades.
  • Choose healthier behaviors.
  • Have better social skills.

Parents for Healthy Schools have resources for school staff, parents, and school groups, like parent-teacher associations (PTAs) and parent-teacher organizations (PTOs). The resources offer ideas to work together to create a healthier school.

Parents for Healthy Schools framework

Drawing from research and best practices from schools nationwide, CDC worked with key partners to create Parents for Healthy Schools. These resources give schools a framework for parent engagement. There are three parts of the parent engagement framework:

  • Connecting with parents.
  • Engaging parents in school health activities.
  • Sustaining parent engagement in school health.
Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health
Defines, describes, and identifies parent engagement strategies for school and staff.
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Promoting Parent Engagement in School Health: A Facilitator's Guide
Helps schools and school groups develop a plan for engaging parents in school health activities.
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Get more Parents for Healthy Schools resources.

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Content Source:
Division of Adolescent and School Health; National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP)
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 2012. Accessed September 17, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/protective/pdf/parent_engagement_strategies.pdf
  • Epstein JL. School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Preparing Educators and Improving Schools. 2nd ed. Routledge; 2011.
  • National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group: recommendations for federal policy. Global Family Research Project; 2009.
  • Resnick MD, Bearman PS, Blum RW, et al. Protecting adolescents from harm. Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. JAMA. 1997;278(10):823–832.
  • Ornelas IJ, Perreira KM, Ayala GX. Parental influences on adolescent physical activity: a longitudinal study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2007;4(3):1–10.