Parent involvement matters. In this post, the benefits of having parent support are shared. Parent handouts for teachers are included.
Explore fresh ideas for parent involvement and power up your new school year. Uncover new strategies to engage and collaborate with parents in the classroom journey.
Community involvement is a HUGE focus in our school district, as I am sure it is in many of your districts. If you are searching for some great ideas....I have got one for you! Last week, the elementary school where I work hosted Pastries for Parents. As the interventionist, I was the lucky one (thankfully I had some amazing helpers) who planned the event. That may sound like a complaint---but seriously---I love planning events, but there is no way I could have pulled it off without my volunteers. Anyway....the turnout was AMAZING! We had so many parents show up that parents were circling the school to find parking spaces. It. Was. Awesome! Want to know the format? Well.....our school opened its doors at 7:15am. Parents, students, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and grandparents filtered through the donuts, juice and coffee line and then headed to classrooms where they read or played games with their child. Teachers were asked to leave their classrooms unlocked and to set out books and games students and their families could use. Many teachers set these things out the night before and instructed the students on what they could do with their parents. All in all this event was little prep for teachers, yet they did (and they were so gracious and willing) to give up their Friday morning so parents and students could be in their room. If opening up teachers classrooms are not an option for your school---you could have books and games set up in the gym, library or cafeteria. Students and their families were able to stay(if they wanted) in their classroom from 7:15 to 8:15, and then at 8:15 our principal got on the intercom and notified parents that the event was over. All students then reported to the gym for morning announcements, and our regular school day began. Want to know what you need to pull off the event? First, you need to secure volunteers. I needed help with passing out donuts, filling juice cups and serving coffee. I believe I had about 6 people helping me serve. Second, you need to notify teachers. Third, you need to pre-order all of your supplies. We ordered our 30 dozen donuts, plates, napkins, frozen juice and coffee a couple weeks in advance. We wanted to give the bakery plenty of notice--as 30 dozen donuts PROBABLY requires extra help. Fourth, you want to set up your donut and drink station up the night in advance. My janitor did this for me---love her! I also mixed the frozen juice in large jugs and set the jugs in the refrigerator. Making the juice in advance saved me some time in the morning...... Fifth, you will have an early morning pick up of donuts. I picked mine up at 6:30am.... yikes...right? I wanted to give myself plenty of time to set them up, and get the juice out before parents and students arrived. Check out my early morning tweet.... Sixth...ENJOY THE EVENT!
As teachers, one of our greatest resources can be the parents of the students we work with. It takes time and effort to foster strong relationships with parents, but it is often more than worth it in the end. I've worked with parents that are ready to jump right in and become a partner right away and others that needed more coaxing. There are several things you can do to create a welcoming environment that produces parent allies or even parent partners. This list is going to contain things I have done in my classroom, things my friends have shared with me, and things that I have thought about implementing when I get back into the classroom after my parental leave is over. Do not feel the pressure to do all of these things at the same time. You know your classroom and the parents you're working with best. You want to include them without overwhelming them. Do what feels right to you! Reach Out Right Away The easiest was to open a positive dialogue is to send a letter home before school even starts. Include something in the envelope for the student and something for the parents to introduce yourself. Give them your contact information and when you're available to take phone calls. Something I have not done, but I will consider doing in the future is including a photograph of myself and any other adult working in the classroom. My daughter's teachers did this and it lessened a lot of her anxiety as she prepared for the new school year. Teach Them About the Programs Often times, our parents have been out of the classroom as a student for years and have never been in the classroom as a teacher. Some of the programming may be confusing or overwhelming. I like to share which reading and math programs we will be using, along with any websites that may be helpful for them to use at home. Another thing I like to share with the parents I am working with is some information about the special education program their child is in. I created a Parent's Guide to Co-teaching that has been very helpful and well-received. If you're co-teaching, I encourage you to check it out! Accept Help When it is Offered How many times has a parent offered to help you and you politely declined? I know that sometimes it feels like it can be more work to find something for them to do, but often times the parents are literally willing to do anything to help! At the beginning of the year, create a list of things that you would be willing to hand off to a helpful parent, should they ask. Some of the help I have accepted (and offered as a parent) are running centers during rotations, organizing the classroom library, making copies, making play-dough, cutting out lamination pieces, and creating bulletin boards. Regular Communication Regular and expected communication is so important. Whether you send home a communication log, behavior charts, or newsletters, it is important to be consistent. When you have consistent positive communication, it will be easier to approach a parent about any issues that may arise. For some of my less verbal students, that means a daily communication log. I found that a lot of parents felt that the book was mine and they didn't feel comfortable writing in it so I created a printable version that I love! Not only does it encourage the parents to write in it every day, I can easily check off information and add in details as needed. Having a layout to write in saves me a lot of time when I have multiple logs to fill out at the end of the day. Newsletters are also great for communication! I know that as a parent, I love knowing what is going on in the classroom. I like to include a lot of photographs in my newsletters so that it makes the families I work with feel like they are a part of the classroom. Encourage Questions Welcome questions! Most of the time, when a parents is questioning something that you're doing in the classroom, they are honestly wondering the reasoning or research behind it. They want to know more so they can understand what is working and not working for their child. Take the time to answer their questions and alleviate their concerns. Make yourself approachable! Put Your Listening Ears On Do you know what goals the parents in your classroom have for their children? Are you aware of their short term and long term concerns? You may be the expert in education, but they are the expert in their child. They are a valuable resource and you will learn so much if you just listen. Before special education meetings, I like to ask for parental input. You can either call or ask on paper. I like to send home an IEP Parent Input sheet a few weeks before a meeting which gives the families enough time to really think about any questions, concerns, or goals they have. Do Not Judge or Take Offense Every family situation is different. Do not be judgmental if something is going on at home that you do not agree with, such as a child being allowed to stay up until midnight on a school night. You do not know the reasoning behind that decision or the parent may not know that is difficult for their child to focus after those late nights. Present your concern. Listen to the parent. Offer suggestions if opportunity arrises. Just like you, they are more likely to share their difficulties when they are confident they will not be judged. Do not take things personally. You are working with humans and sometimes it can become stressful for everybody involved. Sometimes harsh words are thrown in your direction. Do not take critiques or negative words personally. Take a deep breath and move on. Don't forget, that you are the professional. Of course, sometimes the negative comments can get out of hand. In this case, ask another teacher or an administrator to sit in on any contact you have with that parent to protect yourself. You can read more about how I handle difficult meetings in this blog post. Share Data Teachers are not the only ones that like data! When you do an assessment, send it home. If you are progress monitoring, keep the parents informed on how things are going. I have checklists upon checklists that are helpful in these situations. The parents you work with will thank you for the constant educational updates! I am always looking for more ways to involve parents in my classroom! I would love to hear what else you do to encourage parent involvement!
By Jennifer Larson - The key to improving parent engagement is a consistent and simplified flow of communication between school, home and all other stakeholders.
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Parent involvement matters. In this post, the benefits of having parent support are shared. Parent handouts for teachers are included.
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Lately I've been thinking a lot about how to get parents more involved in the learning that happens at school. In my board, more and more over the years we have been discouraged from sending home work that is to be assessed. There has also been a major reduction in homework in general - homework is not something to be assigned for the sake of giving homework - if work is sent home, it is usually something the student didn't complete during class time. Now, don't get me wrong - as a parent of three, it's lovely having that home time free of homework most nights. My kids are quite busy with their extra curricular activities, and we do read nightly at home (along with other learning rich activities). But, as a teacher, I have noticed an increasing disconnection with parents involved in their students' learning. Yes, they support the school, and are kept aware of activities and the learning we are doing through newsletters, phone calls, or apps like Remind 101, but they just don't have the same opportunities to get involved in the learning - to actually SEE the learning their students are doing until after the fact when the completed and assessed work is sent home. I asked my followers on my Facebook Page how they keep parents involved in the learning, and they (as always) had some great suggestions to share. Send parents links to websites or apps to support students' learning (update regularly to match classroom work). You can even make your own videos to send home (showme app) (Katie) Have a "Secret Reader". Parents sign up for a time once a month or so to come in and read to the class, and then do a craft. It's so neat to have the kids figure out who the reader is using clues from the parent, and it's also pretty amazing to see which book/craft the parent picks. (Christina) Have a classroom blog or website where the students chat about what they are learning and invite the parents to ask questions and make comments. Some of the more reluctant students really blossom when their blog post gets comments. (Carol-Anne) After class assemblies (twice a year), parents are invited into the class afterwards to take part in topic-related activities with their child for the morning. (Holly) Use a twitter account that the students post to about their learning for the day (with parent permission first). (Karen) Monthly parent meetings on different school topics. (Amy) Show parents a minilesson during conferences or on parent night. (Kathleen) Have students create youtube videos to share with parents. (Meredith) Challenge students and parents to "beat the teacher score" on online math game websites. (Alan) Send home Friday folders with all the completed and graded work for the week. (Stephanie) Family Math nights once a month - have centers and games with food and music. (Katie) Instead of traditional math homework, send home math games which parents need to play with their children to complete the required homework. (Ellen) Send home half-sheets for parents of each of the standards or expectations in math. It has the "I can" statements and example problems on one side, and then the answers and any notes/explanations/steps on the other. (Eildh) Have a parent discussion question each week that students write in their planner. During the week, they discussed it with their parent, wrote the response, and parents signed the planner. (Krista) Send home weekly reflection sheets that the kids write about themselves, their behaviour, and their work. (Kathleen) Have leadership nights where students share their data notebooks and goals. (Laura) Have a science kit with fun experience that goes home with a student to complete with a parent. (Laurie) Setting up online challenges through the class website. (Marci) Weekly homework sheet that has a current math concept, mini reading log, and quick reading piece with short questions to answer. Parent participation was encouraged. It kept parents in the loop and gave students practice with current work. (Kathy) Phys ed portfolio that is sent home with a family fitness challenge. (Melissa) Pose a question on the classblog about something learned each week. Parents check the student responses before they post ... that way they learn about something we learned, and help their children with spelling and grammar. (Kristen) Send home math extension menu activities and get parents to try them out, too. You can then have the parents do a reflective note back to the teacher about the experience. (Melissa) When preparing for tests, have the students teach their parents a lesson/skill from the unit. The parents write to the teacher, telling what they learned ... and they get to brag about their child as a teacher. (Lisa) Through the shutterfly blog, you can take pictures of students actually completing the work, and parents can order the pics right through the site. (Jen) In the Friday journal, there are 3 specific questions about the learning from the week. Students choose 1 of the questions and write a letter to their parents explaining what they learned. Parents are supposed to write a short letter back to their child. (Jennifer) Thinking about this particular topic led me to create my Math by the Month resource. Once a month, the corresponding math sheet / poster could be sent home for students to complete with their parents. To encourage completion, students could be given a small reward, coupon, or entry into a monthly draw if sheets are returned by a certain date. The posters also include the answers, where applicable (some of the questions are open-ended, or depend on the number of students in the class or number of members in the family). A parent reflection checklist is also included for the parents to complete alongside the student (if desired). You can take a peek at this resource by clicking HERE. Be sure to download the free preview (I have included a free poster for you to try out in your classroom). :) If you have any other ideas about keeping parents involved with the learning at home, I'd love for you to leave them in a comment below. :)
The trick to getting more parents engaged and involved in your schol + PTO is deceptively simple. Try this easy method to boost your school volunteer base!
Start building positive parent partnerships from the very first day of school and maintain communication with parents throughout the year by sending home a syllabus, creating a parent contact log, and calling as much for the positives as the negatives.
