TAPP recognizes parents and teachers as equal experts

September 26, 2023

Teachers and Parents as Partners, known as TAPP, is an evidence-based intervention designed to support children with academic, behavioral or social needs at home and school. TAPP recognizes parents and teachers each bring valuable insight and ideas to the table. By working together as equals, they can create powerful solutions.

TAPP is an intervention about relationships. Across three to four problem-solving meetings, parents, teachers and school specialists form a team and work closely together to:

• Identify a student’s strengths and needs.
• Implement a home-school support plan.
• Monitor progress over time.

Decades of research has demonstrated that when parents and teachers participate in TAPP, they exchange ideas, learn from each other and develop strong family-school connections.

How does TAPP support parent-teacher partnerships?

At times, parents and teachers may struggle to work together effectively. They may experience interpersonal and logistical challenges to communication.

For example, parents may feel a disconnect between their knowledge and experience and the teacher’s education and classroom experience, or they may feel unsure about how to approach the teacher. Sometimes communication between home and school may be challenging due to difficulty in scheduling home-school meetings (e.g., parent-teacher conferences) at mutually convenient times, limited time and the impersonal nature of electronic messaging.

TAPP circumvents these communication problems through structured, dedicated time for communication. First, the TAPP consultant works to identify common times and locations for meetings. This may involve thinking creatively about when and where effective communication can occur. During TAPP meetings, all members of the team are encouraged to use open and inviting communication that builds trust and validates one another’s concerns.

The result is adequate time for effective problem-solving and relationship development. Strong relationships between parents and teachers reinforce the fact that no one needs to feel alone when it comes to helping a child be successful.

Participant perspectives

We asked parents and teachers: How did your relationship with your child’s school or teacher change after TAPP?

• One parent said, “I felt some kind of common connection between the teacher and me just because we were […] working toward a main goal that we both wanted.”
• A teacher said, “Having time to sit down and talk with families about the realities of what is going on in their lives and getting that connection […] was key to the success that we saw here with the program.”

What are the benefits of TAPP?

Partnership helps parents and teachers develop effective interventions, find commonalities and establish shared accountability.

Through TAPP:

• Children see that the adults in their lives are working together to help them.
  • “[I liked] all of us coming together and the child seeing that there were a lot of adults who wanted to do what was best for them and to get them all on the same page. The child benefited greatly from it. They really grew in their confidence of being able to be independent and do what they needed to do.” – TAPP Teacher
• Families are empowered with new ways to address their child’s needs at home.
  • “[My child] was able to meet [short term goals] successfully, and then, of course, the reward afterwards … I really, really liked [that]. It set her up for success. It helped me follow through, so we both kind of benefited from it.” —TAPP parent
• Teachers add new strategies to their “tool kit” and learn valuable information about students’ family background.
  • “[The school specialist] had a lot more strategies than I would ever have […] and the parents were very, very thankful.” —TAPP teacher
  • “It has been very cool to see the ways in which different cultures are brought into my classroom […] it helped me to be more open to asking questions.” —TAPP teacher

How can I bring TAPP to my school?

Your child’s school may be eligible to participate in one of our ongoing research projects across the U.S. We invite all parents, teachers, school specialists and school administrators interested in TAPP to contact our team to learn about opportunities to bring TAPP to your school.

Where can I learn more about TAPP?

For additional information on TAPP, please explore our website, which features research findings, webinars and testimonials from parents and teachers who have participated in TAPP.

We have a current opportunity for schools in rural Nebraska. Find details in our TAPP Online handout for school administrators.

We are happy to answer your questions about TAPP and how to get started!