If you know one of your parents is a carpenter, ask him for help on the school play set design. Many parents are happy to help out especially when they are being singled out for their talents. Keep parents informed. Send home a list of the skills and subjects that each child will be responsible for learning during the school year. In addition, parents will be more aware of academic issues and difficulties if they appear. Ask for input on the school's parent involvement policy.
As a component of the school-level parental involvement policy mandated by federal law Title I , each school served under this part shall jointly develop with parents for all children served under this part a school-parent compact that outlines how parents, the entire school staff, and students will share the responsibility for improved student achievement and the means by which the school and parents will build and develop a partnership to help children achieve the State's high standards.
Start a blog. A school-wide blog run by an administrator or an individual classroom blog run by a teacher can be a wonderfully way to reach out to parents on a regular basis — and they are free and easy to set up.
A blog can keep parents informed of the daily and weekly events at the school and alert those to opportunities to become involved themselves. If parents are more aware of what goes on in the classroom, they will be better able to offer specific help. Hold a school-wide book club. We tend to think that schools should stick to teaching academics and that home is the place where children's moral and emotional development should take place.
Yet children don't stop learning about values and relationships when they enter a classroom, nor do they cease learning academics -- and attitudes about learning -- when they are at home or elsewhere in their community. They constantly observe how the significant adults in their lives treat one another, how decisions are made and executed, and how problems are solved.
All the experiences children have, both in and out of school, help shape their sense that someone cares about them, their feelings of self-worth and competency, their understanding of the world around them, and their beliefs about where they fit into the scheme of things. These days, it can take extraordinary efforts to build strong relationships between families and educators. Schools have to reach out to families, making them feel welcome as full partners in the educational process.
Families, in turn, have to make a commitment of time and energy to support their children both at home and at school.
The effort involved in reestablishing these connections is well worth it, as many communities across the country -- including those we work with -- are discovering.
Our experience is that significant and meaningful parent involvement is possible, desirable, and valuable in improving student growth and performance.
The communities in which we are involved -- mostly inner city neighborhoods -- tend to start with relatively poor relationships between schools and families. Many of the parents experienced failure during their own school days and are reluctant to set foot inside their children's schools.
Teachers commute to work and often know very little about the neighborhood outside the school. Before they can develop effective partnerships, educators and families in these communities first have to learn to trust and respect one another. Although it is less obvious, the same is true in more affluent communities. The lack of trust and respect can be seen in the growing numbers of parents choosing to enroll their children in private schools or educate them at home, and in the growing reluctance of voters to approve school-bond issues.
At the same time, relatively few schools have open-door policies allowing parents to visit at any time, and parents who insist on playing an active role in their children's education are often branded as troublemakers. The starting point in any community is to create opportunities where parents and teachers can learn that they both have children's best interests at heart.
We applaud the growing trend to decentralize decision making from central offices to individual schools because it creates opportunities for parents and educators to work together, making decisions about school policies and procedures. Some may see this arrangement as shifting power from school staff to parents, but it's not power shifting; it's power sharing. It is empowering all the adults who have a stake in children's development. Participation on school-based planning and management teams gives parents a chance to learn about the professional side of schooling -- to understand the inner workings of curriculum and instruction.
It also allows them to educate school staff about the community and demonstrate that parents have much to offer if provided the opportunities to do so. Working together as full partners, parents, teachers, administrators, businesspeople, and other community members can create an educational program that meets unique local needs and reflects the diversity within a school without compromising high performance expectations and standards. They can foster a caring and sensitive school climate that respects and responds to students' differences as well as their similarities.
Try these strategies to connect with parents in the classroom and establish lasting relationships. Most schools schedule parent-teacher conference once or twice a semester, but you can get creative with how you bring parents into your classroom. Open houses, school festivals, and holiday celebrations are a few ways to connect parents with the school community.
If you want, you can even involve parents in the planning process to invest them in classroom activities. Discussing any academic or social-emotional concerns with parents can nip any issues in the bud before they become a problem. Putting parents in touch with school resources can make your connections with them meaningful and individualized.
Keep an eye out for ways families or specific students are struggling and brainstorm ways your school could help. Or, if a family is struggling financially, connect them to the school counselor to discuss free or reduced lunch programs. This will help families realize how many resources are available to schools, which will encourage them to involve themselves and participate more often. It can also encourage parent teacher partnerships by showing parents that you care about their needs and are looking out for ways to help.
Have a field trip coming up? Send out parent volunteering sheets to bring parents along! Families will feel more involved in the school community with hands-on involvement.
As an educator, you can facilitate parent trainings or workshops to teach them how. Webinars can engage parents in a face-to-face way while also allowing for convenience and flexibility in location. And, unlike pre-recorded videos, you can still engage in face-to-face discussion on important topics.
If your school has a parent-teacher association, connect parents with sign-up information and meeting times during the first months of school. This will give parents an outlet to make their voice heard and keep them up-to-date with class events. If they involve themselves regularly with parent-teacher committees, they may even help you plan and implement these events.
With the help of technology or transportation, you can connect with parents from the comfort of their homes. Use these strategies to facilitate parent teacher relationships in a setting that works best for them. You can connect parents with this information through a variety of mediums.
Online student portals, teacher parent communication apps, and emails are all easy ways to keep parents in touch. While in-person connections are always ideal, online tracking systems can help parents and teachers connect if transportation or scheduling issues arise. If you can, choose a medium that allows parents and teachers to message or otherwise collaborate online. Send out a parent survey at the beginning of the year and after each quarter or semester. Parent surveys encourage involvement by showing that you value their opinions.
As you incorporate their feedback, families may also feel more comfortable in your classroom. You may be surprised at how insightful parental feedback is for improving your school culture.
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